Tom Hall and The Captain of All These Men of Death

This coming-of-age work draws the reader into 1940s back-country Arizona as well as urban Los Angeles, both from the viewpoint of twelve-year-old Tom Hall. Tom is searching for meaning in a lonely and transient time in his life, time spent skipping school, exploring the streets, raising hell at the beach and at the racetrack, and recognizing the finality of his father’s battle with tuberculosis.