The Essential Mailrer contains Norman Mailer's new selection of short fiction pieces taken from the American collection The Short Fiction of Norman Mailer and a non-fiction selection from Existential Errands, never before published in the U.K. The variety of themes and characters is astonishing. They range through the heroism and cowardice of young men in combat, to the American painter struggling with his artistic conscience and, of course, men and women at grips with one another in that sexual minefield that Mailer navigates so brilliantly. The selection continues with a dazzling compilation of his open letters to his enemies, critics and friends and appreciations of his heroes. In a virtuoso display, the author of such classics as The Naked and the Dead, The Deer Park and The Executioner's Song demonstrates that he is at the height of his considerable powers.