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.
