The insightful and provocative stories in Tom Paine's collection spring from a series of seismic events that rocked the post-millennium world. News headlines from the last decade-the fall of Baghdad, the Occupy Wall Street movement, and the BP oil spill-not only inspire the settings but also raise ethical questions that percolate throughout this ominous and timely work. A stark reminder of the challenges and resultant anxiety facing a global society, "A Boy's Book of Nervous Breakdowns" depicts the simultaneously dreamlike and brutally real experience of witnessing contemporary political and...