William T. Vollmann's new book "Poor People" reviewed by David L. Ulin of the LA Times.

Quoted: William T. Vollmann has long been concerned with the fringes of society, where necessity reduces moral questions to their most elemental fiber. He spent much of the 1980s and '90s in San Francisco, tracing the urban demimonde in works of fiction such as "The Rainbow Stories," "Whores for Gloria" and "The Royal Family." He has also reported from Afghanistan and Sarajevo, where in 1994 he was nearly killed. He's become known for densely layered narratives filled with allusions: His National Book Award-winning 2005 novel, "Europe Central," which seeks to personalize the history of 20th century Russia and Germany, runs more than 700 pages.

Quoted: Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Perhaps it's not the right tone to be so giddy for what I'm sure will be a sobering reading experience, but who cares? I was very happy this morning to discover via the "Amazon Newsstand" Plog that William T. Vollmann has released a new book, this time going where others truly fear to tread, into the heart of poverty.

William T. Vollmann has released a new book which looks very interesting. I'm definitely going to pick this one up.

Quoted: "The best reason to read the book is for the character of Vollmann himself--an utterly exposed writer, in all senses of the word. He goes where no one else wants to go (Congo, Serbia, Afghanistan) and talks to people no one else wants to approach (the starved, the deformed) with little regard for hygiene or the reporter-subject boundary (he often pays interviewees)." Mother Jones, March/April 2007. Reviewed by Michael Agger

The William T. Vollmann page at McSweeney's. This has a biography, bibliography, and links to tons of interviews.

Quoted: Timothy McSweeney's Internet Tendency

I nearly bought this a couple years ago and now it's out of print and skyrocketing in price. The cheapest set I've found on ebay is $333. I sure hope they do a reprint someday.

Quoted: A labor of seventeen years, Vollmann's first book of non-fiction since 1992's An Afghanistan Picture Show is a gravely urgent invitation to look back at the world's long, bloody path and find some threads of meaning, wisdom, and guidance to plot a moral course. From the street violence of prostitutes and junkies to the centuries-long battles between the Native Americans and European colonists,Vollmann's mesmerizing imagery and compelling logic is presented with authority born of astounding research and personal experience.