""My task as an anthologist in this series"", Block writes in the introduction, ""is threefold: first, I have to pick the stories; then I have to write a langoish novella with my four series characters, whom we know only as the priest, the doctor, the soldier, and the policeman; finally, I have to hammer out an introduction"".

The stories Block has chosen are delightful. His novella delivers what he promises. And the introduction is a heads-up plea for authors to ensure that their work will continue to be read after they are no longer around to write any more.