This collection of Robert James Waller’s essay and short stories is really a treat. The stories cover his own life’s experiences and his thoughts and emotions for people around him. Waller did show his talented writing style in pieces like ’’Slow Waltz for Giorgia Ann, ’’ an loving speech of his heart about his wife, who endured and helped nurture his odd life of an artist. In ’’A Rite of Passage in Three Cushions, ’’ an interesting story about his youthful experience with the billards game, Waller went through the valuable lessons he learned from the billards table, at a time when he was ’’small and tender, and wandering what it was like to be a man.’’ The story takes us on a soft and tender stream of memories and let us float on until the end. Or in ’’A Canticle for Roadcat, ’’ a moving story about his pet hero, the cat that took a special place in his heart, that ’’helped hime turn the pages of some old books when the stove quietly crackled its way through some winter afternoons of Iowa...’’ Waller also his sharp observation and understanding of the world through some essays such as ’’The Boy from the Burma Hump, ’’ his own viewpoint towards ’’Romance, ’’ which originally was the speech he made at an college commencement ceremony... and many more... With his simple yet elegant writing style, Waller will take us into his own world of wonder, joy and sweet experiences.