Most of these stories were fantastic. This is not only a collection of entertaining stories but also a collection of instructive stories. I will definitely refer back to this volume often. There were a few duds in my opinion, so I'm curious to know why those stories were selected for the anthology.

This anthology, at the halfway mark, has already surpassed my expectations held out for a prime cut of anthologized meat! Inside my book, I felt the need to distinguish the very best of stories with underliner and checks as they were stellar examples of craft. Yet, nearly every story inside this book is a winner and a delight to feast one's imagination and desires for fulfilling fiction within. Joyous, but not wholly from joy...often from dailiness, sorrowing, and variegated jousts with the stuf...

This is the second edition, which I'm going to be teaching from. Except for a few of the same stories from the last version, this is a totally different book! ***I didn't read through the first edition quite so exhaustively as I did with this second edition, so it's unfair of me to say which one is better. I didn't like all the stories in this book, but many of them ask some interesting questions regarding structure, character, point of view--that is, they're useful for teaching, and learning.So...

This isn't a bad collection to have if you want to familiarize yourself with contemporary North American literary fiction. It isn't my favorite by a long way, and it includes some disappointingly mediocre stories. But there are one or two, like Sherman Alexie's This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona, or Kate Braverman's Tall Tales From The Mekong Delta which are worth having the book for.

50 short stories. I couldn't get through two of them. However, there were four that were so beautifully written they made my heart ache. I plan on using several of them in the classroom for my students. Two things were great about this book: the fact I didn't stay up until 3am reading and I have a slew of other books I want/need to read written by some of these authors.

I love this anthology and recommend it to anyone who has half a stomach for short stories. One of my favorite stories is "White Angel," it has phrases like "all velvet motherliness." It is a stunning piece of fiction. I also enjoyed "Silver Water" , "Customs of the Country" , "Brokeback Mountain" , "The Things they Carried" , "In the Cemetery where Al Jolson is Buried" , "Rock Springs" , "Tall Tales from the Mekong Delta" , "The Man who Knew Belle Star", "Wild Horses" "Sarah Cole: A Type of Love...

What an epic reading it was for me! And it took me an eternity to finish it. Somehow, more than three stories a day didn't feel right. So the reading went on.I have a 1999 edition, so it's the first one. And already thinking of finding a second one.The stories I want to come back to: "Wild Horses" Rick Bass"The Prophet from Jupiter" Tony Earley"Rock Springs" Richard Ford"Same Place, Same Things" Tim Gautreaux"Emergency" Denis Johnson"Marie" Edward P. Jones"Cold Snap" Thom Jones"You're Ugly, Too"...

I read this bit by bit over 5+ years to figure out how I feel about short stories. A short story compilation can be tough going b/c so many of the stories are just so somber one after another (Not that there's anything wrong with somber writing, but It's A Mood). My favorites were: Saint Marie (Louise Erdrich), Patriotic (Janet Kauffman), You're Ugly Too (Lorrie Moore); Intensive Care (Lee Smith).

I found this on one of those bargain racks at Waldenbooks, and man, was it worth the $4.99. For a collection this large, the quality is consistently excellent, and almost all of the modern masters of the short story are represented: Raymond Carver, Lorrie Moore, Alice Munro, Joyce Carol Oates, Sherman Alexie, etc. It would have been well worth the price just for the sake of Annie Proulx's "Brokeback Mountain," Richard Bausch's "The Man Who Knew Belle Starr," and Reginald McKnight's "The Kind of

Thank you for depressing me over and over again.

As with any collection like this, you will love some and there will be others that you don't care for nearly as much. Unfortunately, there are some in the beginning (it's set up alphabetically by author) that I've forgotten about. So the ones I do remember from the beginning were quite memorable (obviously) and I'll include those in what I think are the 5-star stories (though I've probably missed some as well):John Barth's "Click," Donald Barthelme's "The School," Raymond Carver's "Errand," Juno...

Sometimes after reading too many novels I find a short-story collection to be just the break I need. I'm always looking for hidden treasures no matter what I read. When there is such a variety of authors and writing styles I know I'm bound to find some real gems. I gave four or five stars to ten of these fifty stories. (That's 10% as compared 38% of fiction and nonfiction books. At least I know I can finish a short story without thinking afterwards that I've wasted a whole lot of time.) My favor...

Read several of the stories a few years ago, then the bulk of them recently. From my notes and imperfect memory, these were standouts for me:- "The School" by Donald Barthelme- "Never Marry a Mexican" by Sandra Cisneros- "Car Crash While Hitchhiking" by Denis Johnson- "A Temporary Matter" by Jhumpa Lahiri- "Stone Animals" by Kelly Link- "The Translation" by Joyce Carol Oates- "Pilgrims" by Julie Orringer- "Sea Oak" by George SaundersAbout 34% female protagonists, 54% male, and 12% multiple/other...

This book is probably the best deal I've ever gotten. One book, fifty stories by fifty writers. While none of the stories in here blew me away, all of them are very good and they are a good introduction to a lot of great writers that I hope to read more from. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants an easy way to be exposed to a lot of good writing.

My advanced fiction class used this as a textbook in college; we read various selections and discussed them in class when we weren't work-shopping our peers' stories. As a new writer just beginning to get serious about writing, this collection offered a variety of stories told in different styles that helped me understand individual writers' voices. Though short, these stories are complex; each time I read one, I draw something new from it, something that I overlooked on previous readings.About

This is a pretty strong collection of short stories, some of which I had already read in various fiction workshops. It is impossible to collect the best works or to satisfy every reader, but I felt like this collection tries to get a lot of different authors both culturally and aesthetically. I thought the beginning and middle stories were stronger than the last third for whatever reason. If I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be The Caretaker. It is hands down one of the most powerful st...

A great collection of short stories. My only complaint is that i'd read many of the short-stories previously. I can't say i love every story in this collection. This is quite the eclectic group of stories and one out of three stories is incredible.Some of my favorites in the book:Richard, Mark: StraysKincaid, Jamaica: GirlJones, Thom: Cold SnapAtwood, Margaret: Death by LandscapeBarth, John: ClickOates, Joyce Carol: Ghost GirlHempel, Amy: In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is BuriedO'Brien, Tim: Th...

Loved reading a massive collection and being introduced to new authors and read stories that reinforced the ones I already admire. Interesting that while these stories are supposed to cover the 1970s to now that most of these stories were published in the 1990s and 2000s while a few were published in the 1980s and no later. Faves here are the stories by Antonya Nelson, Steve Yarborough, Stacey Richter, Daniel Orozco, Julie Orringer, ZZ Packer, George Saunders, Tim O'Brien (of course), Denis John...

I had to read this for class :) Definitely recommend checking it out if you're looking to get into short stories! I'd say my favorites were, "The Fireman's Wife" by Richard Bausch, "Silver Water" by Amy Bloom, "The Ceiling" by Kevin Brockmeier, "After Rosa Parks" by Janet Desaulniers, "Territory" by David Leavitt, "The Kind of Light that Shines of Texas" by Reginald McKnight, "Orientation" by Daniel Orozco, "Pilgrims" by Julie Orringer, "Brownies" by ZZ Packer, "Sea Oak" by George Saunders, "Ton...

Probably one of the better short story anthologies I've read (still have the Oxford and Ecco anthology left). Starts off incredibly strong, meanders for a bit, gets interesting again, then boring, then great, then really great, and then finishes strong. So, your typical anthology. Absolute favorites: "Sarah Cole: A Type of Love Story," Russel Banks"The Hermit's Story," Rick Bass"The Fireman's Wife," Richard Bausch"The Disappeared," Charles Baxter"The Caretaker," Anthony Doerr"Communist," Richard...