This book contains fifty classic short stories, meticulously chosen by the editor Milton Crane. The author names one encounters inside are: Katherine Mansfield, Hemingway, Pushkin, Dorothy Parker, Carson McCullers Rudyard Kipling, John O'Hara, Thomas Wolfe, Max Beerbohm, Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allen Poe, O. Henry, Guy de Mauppassant, William Saroyan, Edith Wharton, Katherine Ann Porter, Flannery O'Connor, Frank O'Connor, Edmund Wilson, Aldous Huxley, Stephen Vincent Benet, James Joyce, Clarence Day, John Steinbeck, E.B. White,Anton Chekhov, Virginia Woolf, James Thurber, Saki,Arthur Schnitzler, George Milburn,Sylvia Townsend Warner, William Faulkner, Robert M. Coates, Joseph Conrad, H.J. Mencken, Irwin Shaw, Lord Dunsany, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Somerset Maugham, Ring Lardner, H. G. Wells, Francis Steegmuller, Robert Louis Stevenson, and John Collier.
In the note, in the beginning of the book, the editor says he chose the stories from among five hundred inquiries he sent to English professors in select universities.
The stories vary in theme, style, and character depiction. Since most of them are even more aged than I am, exposition and author interruption steal a good amount of lines; however, they are an invaluable reference and learning material for writers of short stories.
Editor's note answering the question, "What makes a great short story?" is an eye opener. Crane answers: "The sudden unforgettable revelation of character; the vision of a world through another's eyes; the glimpse of truth; the capture of a moment in time.
All this the short story, at its best, is uniquely capable of conveying, for in its very shortness lies its greatest strength.
It can discover depths of meaning in the casual word or action; it can suggest in a page what could not be stated in a volume."

Reading carefully for the process of learning from the earlier authors.

the compilation and the price.

The editor Milton Crane(1917-1985) was the Professor Emeritus of English Language and Literature at George Washington University and the University of Chicago. He is the author several books and articles on English literature.

Whether you like the stories or not, they are a good source of learning especially if you are a short-story writer. Most of the stories are truly ageless, even if they are full of exposition and do not fit some of the requirements of today's editors for publication.

I saw this book at Borders while browsing and thought I couldn't do without it. The price $6.99 was perfect, even if I am used to reading things on media where I can adjust the font sizes for my sight.

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Created Dec 22, 2010 at 4:54pm • Submit your own review...