Richard Ford, who is among the finest of American novelists and
short-story writers, edits and introduces this volume. First published
by Granta Books in 1992, it became the definitive anthology of American
short fiction written in the last half of the twentieth century - an
'exemplary choice' in the words of the Washington Post - with stories
by writers such as Eudora Welty, John Cheever and Raymond Carver (and
forty others) demonstrating how much memorable power can lie in the
briefest narration. Along with The New Granta Book of the American
Short Story, this book constitutes an important reflection and
judgement of recent American writing - as well as the superb pleasure
yielded by the stories themselves.