Pete Hamill has re-released his second novel, "The Gift," first published in 1973. Long out of print, "The Gift" is a small gem. Set on Hamill's home town (1950s Brooklyn), "The Gift" is about a young Navy man who comes home for Christmas. His girl has left him, his mother is short on money, and on Christmas Eve he has a confrontation with the father who has always seemed like a stranger to him. "The Gift" (the setting of which might remind readers of Hamill's Snow in August) shows us that Hamill can work well in short as well as in long form. ($16.95 / 160 pages / Little, Brown)