The Raffel Burton. Ed. : American Short Stories (Signet classics)

This superb collection celebrates the astonishing growth of the short storiy in America from the early nineteenth century to the outbreatk of World War II. From the very beginnings of this youngest of literary forms, American writers have played a crucial role in its development. Here are thirty-three of their finest stories, ranging from the brooding romanticism of Hawthorne and Poe to the wit of Twain and Thurber - from the high moral consciousness of James to the sheer high spirits of Saroyan. Taken together, these classic tales form a remarkably rich and vital record of one of our literature's proudest and most original achievements.