Bread Upon the Waters

With one act of kindness, the fate of a New York City family is forever altered— not, perhaps, for the better The Strands are a happy family, save for the occasional financial struggle. Allen, the father, has a decent job as a schoolteacher, a lovely wife, and smart, ambitious, and compassionate children. When Allen’s daughter witnesses a mugging, she takes the victim back to the Strand home for help and a warm meal. The Strands have no clue that the man they are helping is Russell Hazen, a powerful and wealthy Wall Street lawyer. In his gratitude, Hazen offers gifts, vacations, networking opportunities—even plastic surgery. But with each reward comes baggage, and soon the Strands begin to lose sight of what matters most in life.Bread Upon the Waters is a masterful story about the way lives interconnect, and how every good deed, no matter how selfless, comes with a price.This ebook features an illustrated biography of Irwin Shaw including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s estate.Review“Shaw remains a genial, seductive storyteller, especially adept with money matters and comfy milieus.” —Kirkus ReviewsAbout the AuthorIrwin Shaw (1913–1984) was an acclaimed, award-winning author who grew up in New York City and graduated from Brooklyn College in 1934. His first play, Bury the Dead (1936), has become an anti-war classic. He went on to write several more plays, more than a dozen screenplays, two works of nonfiction, dozens of short stories (for which he won two O. Henry awards), and twelve novels, including The Young Lions (1948) and Rich Man, Poor Man (1970). William Goldman, author of Temple of Gold and Marathon Man, says of Shaw: “He is one of the great storytellers and a pleasure to read.” For more about Shaw’s life and work, visit www.irwinshaw.org.