The aliens of earth

For over a decade, Nancy Kress has written a succession of science-fantasy stories in which a depth of imagination is conjoined to an uncommon perception of human nature. Even Kress's most committed partisans, however, were unprepared for the appearance of her two awesomely accomplished nouvelles, "Beggars in Spain, " and "And Wild for to Hold." The former - a Hugo and Nebula recipient - has become an acclaimed novel; the latter - a time-travel adventure involving Anne Boleyn - explores the uneasy interface between technology and humanity as one of the eighteen stories in this outstanding collection: "The Price of Oranges, " "Glass, " "People like Us, " "Cannibals, " "To Scale, " "Touchdown, " "Down behind Cuba Lake, " "In a World like This, " "Philippa's Hands, " "Inertia, " "Phone Repairs, " "The Battle of Long Island, " "Renaissance, " "Spillage, " "The Mountain to Mohammed, " "Craps, " "And Wild for to Hold, " and "In Memoriam."