Few writers at work in America today have been able to register the heartbeat of a place with the fidelity, skill and warmth that August Derleth has brought to his beloved "Sac Prairie."…

With the exception of a small handful, mostly juveniles, I have read all of [Derleth's books], and I have never failed to find enjoyment in them. But much as I have admired his novels and his essays, "Wisconsin in Their Bones" … convinces me that his primary talent lies in the short story.

This, believe me, is a striking collection. Whether Derleth is telling a story of unrequited love, as in "The Christmas Virgin," of savage father love, as in "April Kinney," or of the distressing effects of indecision, as in "The Telescope," he plays a penetrating light on the forces that often make a little town a serene pool one moment and a jungle the...