A collection of short stories by twenty-six of United States most celebrated writers providing a comprehensive survey of the origin and growth of this literary form.

Stories from: Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorn, Ambrose Bierce, Bret Harte, Henry James, O Henry, Edith Wharton, Stephen Crane, Sherwood Anderson, Wilber Daniel Steele, Conrad Aiken, Katherine Anne Porter, James Thurber, John O'Hara, and twelve more great American authors.

Edited by Wallace and Mary Stegner