A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Lean relentless and incandescent. -Colson Whitehead From the
acclaimed author of Stories of Your Life and Others-the basis for the Academy Award -nominated
film Arrival: a groundbreaking new collection of short fiction. THE UNIVERSE BEGAN AS AN
ENORMOUS BREATH BEING HELD. In these nine stunningly original provocative and poignant
stories Ted Chiang tackles some of humanity's oldest questions along with new quandaries only
he could imagine. In The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate a portal through time forces a
fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and second chances. In
Exhalation an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications that are literally
universal. In Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom the ability to glimpse into alternate
universes necessitates a radically new examination of the concepts of choice and free will.
Including stories being published for the first time as well as some of his rare and classic
uncollected work Exhalation is Ted Chiang at his best: profound sympathetic-revelatory.
