Really - is there any way to go wrong when your list of authors includes the likes of Truman Capote, Philip Roth, Saul Bellow, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Norman Mailer, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Cheever, Flannery O’Connor, John Updike, Gabrial Garcia Marquez, and Ray Bradbury? (That is just part of the 24 authors included.) I suppose there is. For example, it could be one of those collections we were all forced to read in college where “great literature” was gathered to make us all smarter. But such is not the case here. This is a collection culled from Esquire magazine by people who apparently love the short story and are not trying to prove any point but that it is a joy to read good stories.

Of course there are low points – stories that didn’t work for me. But the overall quality of this collection is so high that the points seem low only by comparison, and, even if a story didn’t work for me, I could still the craft and quality inherent in the story.

Because the stories come from Esquire, it does not necessarily include the authors’ best stories. Sure, there is “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and other stories you may recognize. But there are just as many new delights in the collection as you will find anywhere. My thought was to list some of the new surprises, but it is just too much. This is an overall strong collection which is perfect for someone just learning about the short story or for the seasoned veteran. ( )