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Paperback The Best American Short Stories of the Century Book

ISBN: 0395843677

ISBN13: 9780395843673

The Best American Short Stories of the Century

(Part of the The Best American Short Stories Series and The Best American Short Stories Series)

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Format: Paperback

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Book Overview

Since the series' inception in 1915, the annual volumes of The Best American Short Stories have launched literary careers, showcased the most compelling stories of each year, and confirmed for all time the significance of the short story in our national literature. Now THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES OF THE CENTURY brings together the best of the best - fifty-five extraordinary stories that represent a century's worth of unsurpassed accomplishments in this quintessentially American literary genre. Here are the stories that have endured the test of time: masterworks by such writers as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Willa Cather, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Saroyan, Flannery O'Connor, John Cheever, Eudora Welty, Philip Roth, Joyce Carol Oates, Raymond Carver, Cynthia Ozick, and scores of others. These are the writers who have shaped and defined the landscape of the American short story, who have unflinchingly explored all aspects of the human condition, and whose works will continue to speak to us as we enter the next century. Their artistry is represented splendidly in these pages. THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES series has also always been known for making literary discoveries, and discovery proved to be an essential part of selecting the stories for this volume too. Collections from years past yielded a rich harvest of surprises, stories that may have been forgotten but still retain their relevance and luster. The result is a volume that not only gathers some of the most significant stories of our century between two covers but resurrects a handful of lost literary gems as well. Of all the great writers whose work has appeared in the series, only John Updike's contributions have spanned five consecutive decades, from his first appearance, in 1959. Updike worked with coeditor Katrina Kenison to choose stories from each decade that meet his own high standards of literary quality.

The Best American Short Stories 2007
The Best American Short Stories 2007
Eileen Pollack, Karen Russell, Bruce McAllister, Lauren Groff, Aryn Kyle, Stephen King, Roy Kesey, T. Coraghessan Boyle, Heidi Pitlor, Richard Russo

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The Best American Short Stories 2017
The Best American Short Stories 2017
Heidi Pitlor

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The Best American Short Stories 2006
The Best American Short Stories 2006
Katrina Kenison

from: $4.59

The Best American Short Stories 2010: Selected from U.s. and Canadian Magazines by Richard Russo With Heidi Pitlor
The Best American Short Stories 2010: Selected from U.s. and Canadian Magazines by Richard Russo With Heidi Pitlor
Téa Obreht, Joshua Ferris, Karen Russell, Richard Russo, Steve Almond, Jennifer Egan, Lauren Groff, Heidi Pitlor, Lori Ostlund, Rebecca Makkai, Maggie Shipstead, Brendan Mathews

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100 Years of the Best American Short Stories
100 Years of the Best American Short Stories
Lorrie Moore, Heidi Pitlor

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The Best American Short Stories 2016
The Best American Short Stories 2016
Heidi Pitlor, Junot Díaz

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The Best American Short Stories 1999 (The Best American Series)
The Best American Short Stories 1999 (The Best American Series)
Katrina Kenison, Amy Tan

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The Best American Short Stories 2001
The Best American Short Stories 2001
Katrina Kenison

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The Best American Short Stories 2008
The Best American Short Stories 2008
Heidi Pitlor, Salman Rushdie

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The Best American Short Stories 2003 (The Best American Series)
The Best American Short Stories 2003 (The Best American Series)
Katrina Kenison, Anthony Doerr, Sharon Pomerantz, Adam Haslett, Dan Chaon, Mona Simpson, Susan Straight, Jessica Cage

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The Best American Short Stories 2013
The Best American Short Stories 2013
Heidi Pitlor, Elizabeth Strout

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The Best American Short Stories 2000
The Best American Short Stories 2000
Katrina Kenison

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The Best American Short Stories 2002 (The Best American Series)
The Best American Short Stories 2002 (The Best American Series)
Katrina Kenison

from: $4.69

The Best American Short Stories 2011
The Best American Short Stories 2011
Megan Mayhew Bergman, Sam Lipsyte, Jennifer Egan, Heidi Pitlor, Geraldine Brooks, Allegra Goodman, Rebecca Makkai, Caitlin Horrocks, Nathan Englander, Ehud Havazelet, Mark Slouka, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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The Best American Short Stories 1986
The Best American Short Stories 1986
Raymond Carver

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The Best American Short Stories 2004 (The Best American Series (TM))
The Best American Short Stories 2004 (The Best American Series (TM))
Lorrie Moore, Katrina Kenison

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The Best American Short Stories 2012
The Best American Short Stories 2012
Heidi Pitlor, Eric Puchner, Alice Munro, Julie Otsuka, Edith Pearlman, Lawrence Osborne, Angela Pneuman, Annabeth Albert

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The Best American Short Stories 2005 (The Best American Series (TM))
The Best American Short Stories 2005 (The Best American Series (TM))
Katrina Kenison, Rachel Lacey

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The Best American Short Stories 1989
The Best American Short Stories 1989
Margaret Atwood, Shannon Ravenel, Joy Avery, Reese Ryan

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The Best American Short Stories 1998 (The Best American Series)
The Best American Short Stories 1998 (The Best American Series)
Katrina Kenison

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The Best American Short Stories 2015
The Best American Short Stories 2015
Heidi Pitlor, T. Coraghessan Boyle, Megan Mayhew Bergman, Kevin Canty, Victor Lodato, Diane Cook, Anna Todd

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The Best American Short Stories 1993 (Best American Short Stories)
The Best American Short Stories 1993 (Best American Short Stories)
Katrina Kenison, Louise Erdrich

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Best American Short Stories 1994 (Best American Short Stories)
Best American Short Stories 1994 (Best American Short Stories)
Katrina Kenison, Tobias Wolff

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The Best American Short Stories 1990
The Best American Short Stories 1990
Shannon Editor: Ravenel

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Customer Reviews

14 customer ratings | 5 reviews

Rated 5 stars
A Review

I used to go to the library and read the old annual Best American Short Story collections. There was something almost religious about picking up a copy from 1927 and reading a story by a then unknown kid named Ernest Hemingway in that old type-face, or the Faulkner stories in just about every annual volume during the 1930s. The bios of these writers at the back of the old copies when they were unknown writers was so innocent...

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Rated 5 stars
Some of These Stories Really are Great

Let's face it, superlatives sell. Who is going to buy a short story collection entitled: "A Collection of Well Written Stories from a Bunch of Different People, from 1915 to 1999". Not catchy and you can't dance to it. Another fact--there is no way that you could put together a collection of the greatest American short stories from the 20th century and have everyone agree on it. That being said, this is a very good collection...

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Rated 5 stars
Great Stories

I believe that most writers or short story readers will agree that these are not the "best" stories of the 20th century. Such a collection would include better known masterpieces like Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," and Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find." Instead, this a collection of brilliant, but lesser known stories by accomplished writers.I think Updike makes it clear that his goal was to assemble great...

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Rated 5 stars
Many happy hours of reading

One of the things I have always liked about Updike is that he is willing to undertake something like this--even though it will inevitably make him vulnerable to criticisms like the ones raised in other reviews here. I can see why some omissions rankle: but, but BUT! Look at what's here! Almost all of the stories are nothing short of brilliant. Yes, "The Lottery" was probably amongst the best of the century, but it is anthologized...

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Rated 5 stars
Stunning

I bought this book a little dubious of its quality (mainly because the annual publication has so many glaring ommisions, such as John O'Hara and more contemporarily, Deborah Eisenberg), however I was pleasantly surprised. The selection amongst the famous authors are brilliant (I'm thinking specifically of Nabokov, Faulkner and Hemingway). There are also short stories I'd never heard of that are amongst the best I've ever...

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