In "I Am Death: Bartleby the Mobster," muckraking journalist Jack finds himself increasingly over the edge when he agrees to ghostwrite the autobiography of a Chicago mob boss. In "Peasants," publishing employee Walter Rasmussen discovers he's the victim of sabotage by his coworkers -- or is he? As in his stunning debut, "Visigoth, " Gary Amdahl here isolates his characters in crisis and flux, drawing out their deepest fears. With its vivid wordplay and blend of black humor and pathos, "I Am Death "demonstrates that Amdahl is a most adept and honest guide into the modern psyche of the American male.