Short Story Masterpieces: 35 Classic American and British Stories from the First Half of the 20th Century

I needed this for a book club project. The stories are varied, but I find I am not a fan of short stories. That is not the books fault. If you do enjoy short stories, you will likely enjoy this collection.

I got this book for a class and decided to give it a look for myself and it has some interesting stories for those who like reading, even the story I read for my class was captivating enough for me even though I don't like reading.

Years ago when in a creative writing class in college a wonderful teacher recommended this as a fabulous collection of examples of inspired writing by many of the greatest writers in America. Do treat yourself to this collection. I love to read a little before going to sleep and love a good short story and this was always one of my favorite books. Everyone truly is a little gem, a masterpiece. I highly recommend this little treasure.

I sure like this collection and recommend it. I just bought a used version on Amazon to replace a beat-up copy I had. My original copy (red), the 1954 version, has 542 pages and 36 stories. This new copy (yellow), the 1982 version, has 513 pages (inconsistent with Amazon's specs) and 35 stories (consistent). The missing story is Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut by J.D. Salinger. So I'll extract/staple those pages before recycling. Really I should just buy Salinger's Nine Stories, but it's like twice the price and fewer pages/stories, so I probably won't.

A bit pricey, but if you are interested in classic american short stories you can't go wrong here. I will try to read it all in a couple of years since it's made of acid paper that will be turning yellow with faded ink.

I know that there are a lot of famous authors in this book. However, I find that more contemporary works are of interest to me.

As a devotee of short stories, I was not disappointed with the stories contained within this small, almost pocket-sized book. I would have been happier had the book been full-sized in measurement but that would not present a deterrent due to the quality of the stories that are artfully presented within the pages of this surprisingly diverse anthology. Books such as this one has completely replaced the television in my home. Good books challenge the imagination in ways that television is not able to do. I also like the feel of a book over an e-book even though my Kindle finitely has its place. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in good storytelling. They are short enough to read in a single sitting but long enough that they don't leave you hanging.

really interesting stories

tutto perfetto

Though not much impressive as the design, page quality, font choice or overall production quality are concerned, in my opinion this is by far the best short story anthology I've ever read. I love short stories. The structural tautness appeals me. But my problem with modern day short stories is their excessive experimentation with the form and plot and setting and construction and "message"-hinting tendency. And those experiments slack the narrative quality I guess. In short, I love a "pure" storyline without any ultra-literary way of expression. This little book serves that purpose perfectly. There are 35 well chosen stories from big shot American and British writers. This is a must-have book for those who love shorter version of narrative storytelling. Highly recommended.

Estou aperfeiçoando meu ingles de modo que contato com a melhor literatura me beneficia e me agrada demais. Sou ja uma pessoa de idade (84) que sempre leu bastante e a literatura sob forma de contos me oferece uma oportunidade de relatos mais curtos que me permitem começar e finalizar no mesmo dia l O que é otimo para meu prazer e para minha memoria !!!!

Well chosen. Not all to my taste, but all well done.

Ce livre est composé de plusieurs histoires courtes. Très bien pour un voyage de plusieurs heures et parfait pour approfondir sa culture générale et notamment celle en littérature anglo-saxonne.