21 Essential American Short Stories
by Leslie M. Pockell (Editor)
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Description
This book is a collection of beloved stories that have comprised an important part of the fabric of our culture, from the earliest days of our nation to the twentieth century. Some of the stories, such as Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle," O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi," William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," and James Thurber's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," have been long regarded as literary classics, while others, such as Frank show more Stockton's "The Lady or the Tiger?" and Ellis Parker Butler's "Pigs Is Pigs," are lesser known but well worth discovering. The carefully selected stories, each preceded by an illuminating headnote, powerfully illustrate the varied richness of our national literature and history. This beautifully packaged volume, containing the unforgettable classic short stories that evoke our shared American tradition and national identity, makes the perfect gift for the short story aficionado and novice alike. --From publisher description. show lessTags
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I sought out this collection after reading a discussion thread not long ago about the most memorable/traumatizing short stories assigned by high school English teachers. Only 21 stories are included here, and they are limited to those of only American origin, but I thought it was a reasonably well-rounded collection. They range from the humorous and the delightfully disturbing to the incomprehensible ("The Call of Cthulhu") and the weirdly twisted, and I limited my reading to no more than a single story each day to allow more time to ruminate.
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- Canonical title
- 21 Essential American Short Stories
- Alternate titles
- Essential American Short Stories; Twenty-One Essential American Short Stories
- Original publication date
- 2011-02-15
- Dedication
- For Noriko
- First words
- In 2003 Stephen King was presented with a lifetime achievement award by the National Book Foundation. (introduction)
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"It isn't fair, it isn't right," Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her.
- Disambiguation notice
- Contents:
- Introduction
- Rip van Winkle / Washington Irving
- The Purloined Letter / Edgar Allan Poe
- Bartleby the Scrivener / Herman Melville
- The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County ... (show all)/ Mark Twain
- An Occurrence at Creek Bridge / Ambrose Bierce
- The Yellow Wallpaper / Charlotte Perkins Gilman
- Brer Rabbit and the Tar-Baby / Chandler Harris
- The Blue Hotel / Stephen Crane
- The Lady or the Tiger? / Frank Stockton
- Pigs Is Pigs / Ellis Parker Butler
- To Build a Fire / Jack London
- The Bar Sinister / Richard Harding Davis
- The Gift of Magi / O. Henry
- The Diamond as Big as the Ritz / Scot Fitzgerald
- The Killers / Ernest Hemingway
- Leiningen Versus the Ants / Carl Stephenson
- The Pomegranate Seed / Edith Wharton
- The Call of Cthulhu / H. P. Lovecraft
- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty / James Thurber
- A Rose for Emily / William Faulkner
- The Lottery / Shirley Jackson
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- Members
- 28
- Popularity
- 977,007
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.50)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 1
