Irwin Shaw: 4 Complete Novels

Shaw's popularity seems to have diminished a good deal after his death. That's a pity, because he always turned out a very, very good story. Any of his novels or short stories (of the latter, try "A Sailor Off The Bremen") would be a good place to start your introduction to this master. Shaw wrote, very convincingly, about real people, for real people. This collection is well-priced, and will be much more worthy of your investment of time than any of the typical Dan Brown/Tom Clancy/Brad Thor-type "airplane read" nonsense that you find on all the airport book racks. Even if a state education has so addled your brain that you can't read anything longer than 200 or so pages, for starters, why not just rent the DVDs of the TV miniseries of "Rich Man, Poor Man"? The series was very good, and may lead you to actually want to read the novels upon which it was based.