Sherman Alexie's writing has attracted a broad spectrum of readers in a relatively brief span. During his first eight years in publishing, Alexie was awarded the Washington State Arts Commission Poetry Fellowship (1991), the National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship (1992), the PEN/Hemingway Award for Best First Book of Fiction for the story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1993), and the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers' Award (1994), all before age thirty. Widely anthologized as a poet, essayist, and short-story writer, Alexie has also won distinction for his novels: he received the Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award for Reservation Blues (1995). Readers admire his keen eye for contemporary details, his often panoramic narrative style, and the complex tragicomic characters in his novels. He has also become a voice of and for the American Indian community, as evidenced by his work with the American Indian College Fund...