These Previously uncollected stories and letters are essential to the understanding of Babel's life and works. Babel rose to fame in 1920s Russia as the author of Red Cavalry and Odessa Stories, but as Stalin's regime began to bear down on its critics, he found it increasingly difficult to publish. He was arrested in 1939 for unspecified crimes against the state, and was executed in 1941. Of the nine stories here, three complete the Cavalry and Odessa cycles; one is a chapter from an aborted novel; others are among his late masterpieces. They and the letters were written during Babel's "lonely years," when his wife, child, and sister had all fled the Soviet Union for Europe. They reveal the heart and mind of a writer struggling against all odds - illness, poverty, and political compromise - to remain true to his craft and ideals.