Harlan Ellison, prolific and powerful writer for motion pictures and television, has been one of America's finest short story writers for more than fifty years. Deathbird Stories is his most daring collection of dangerous visions, each tale a gem that peels back layers of human emotions to reveal a dark dream inspired by the madness that finds us in unprotected moments. From the nightmare-stalking that inspires "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs", to the glass-and-metal prison of "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes", as well as in seventeen other brilliant tales from the new pantheon of gods, Ellison paints incredibly vivid portraits of the human soul in all its infinite variety of torment and torture, courage and charisma.