Born July 6, 1959, in Chicago, IL; son of William and Bess Amidon; married Caryl Casson, October 12, 1986; children: Clementine, Alexander, Aurora, Celeste. Education: Wake Forest University, B.A., 1981. Addresses: Home: MA.

NOVELS; EXCEPT WHERE NOTED

• Splitting the Atom, Bloomsbury (London, England), 1990.
• Subdivision (stories), Bloomsbury (London, England), 1991, Ecco Press (Hopewell, NJ), 1992.
• Thirst, Ecco Press (Hopewell, NJ), 1993.
• The Primitive (fiction), Ecco Press (Hopewell, NJ), 1995.
• The New City, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2000.
• Human Capital, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 2004.
• Security, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 2009.

Contributor to periodicals, including Washington Post, New Statesman, Salon.com, Sunday Times (London, England), and Literary Review.