I hadn’t heard of John Edgar Wideman before reading his October 6 op-ed in The New York Times. Googling around, I see that he is the author of many books, both fiction (12 novels, six short-story collections) and nonfiction (memoirs, basketball, and social commentary). He is 69 years old, rather handsome in appearance, and African American with, I would guess from his pictures, about half-white ancestry"€”a mulatto. I’m not going to beat myself up for not having read any of Mr. Wideman’s books. There are far too many books in the world and far too little time. In any ...