This is the expanded 2010 edition, with 3 new stories by David D. Levine, Michael Cassutt, and Carrie Vaughn. It's intertwined short stories, set from the end of WWII until the 1960s. It's alternative history, with an alien wild card virus infecting humans just after the war. It causes mutations, killing some, deforming some, and making just a few into all sorts of different superheroes. Wonderful stories, all different but meshing beautifully. David Levine 's story, Power's is heartfelt and exciting.