"Damon Runyon was many things: a westerner who fell in love with New York City, a quintessential newspaperman, an entertainer, but most of all, he was a storyteller. Through a broad range of genres, he wrote indelibly of gangsters and grifters, immigrants and itinerants, the pathetic and the powerful. And against the stark reality of the Depression, Runyon continued to capture the exciting, powerful New York City that he believed in, and soon America adopted his voice as its own. This collection presents the full range of Runyon's extraordinary talent, from his sports journalism to the Broadway tales for which he is chiefly remembered. It is the ultimate tribute to a writer celebrated for his broad-shouldered prose, colorful characters, and singular eye for detail, especially when it came to delivering his greatest character: the city of New York"--Page 4 of cover.