Publication Date: March 15, 2025
Altiplano and other Short Stories is a collection by David Bassano, author of Trevelyan’s Wager. It combines in a single work short stories and flash fiction from the author’s long writing career, some previously published, some available for the first time. David Bassano is a history professor and human rights advocate. Many of the stories reflect his human rights work, giving the collection a human rights slant. Nevertheless, the stories encompass a wide range of topics, from life in the music industry to martial arts tournaments to a bit of science fiction. The collection will appeal to a wide range of tastes.
Altiplano is a collection of short stories by David Bassano. In reading this collection, it felt like a quick flip through a gamut of daily struggles from human suffering, victims to criminals. This made me think of a childhood Viewmaster: a snip of that, then push the lever to see a snip of another picture.
If a collection of short stories seems too academic for casual reading, consider how easily scrolling through social media can make reading about a tragic accident. The next group of paragraphs can fill you in on a new ordinance, then scroll to an issue that seems too far away from your own life to really give it attention. So reading a collection of short stories can be just as easily devoured and give you a perspective that may be vastly different from your own.
David Bassano, a history professor and human rights advocate, has gathered stories that will make you realize that life is hard and that shadows of experiences exist. Within each writing is a thought about fear, sadness, courage or just plain perseverance. Each is about life, the life that is collectively being survived by our whole planet; whether these stories are known or acknowledged, they are in some form being lived.
David Bassano’s Altiplano is a collection of 16 stories, of various lengths which span human experiences that have been witnessed and recorded by a human rights advocate.
 
David Bassano is a history professor and human rights advocate. His stories often reflect the victims, heroes, and criminals from his human rights work. He is also an avid hiker and cyclist, often found on trails in the NJ-NY-PA region.
