The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction Paperback – 1 Jan. 1714

Soooo good! It's a learning tool.Love it.

First, get the complete edition, the real one, not a compact version. The instructor's version, if you can get it. Second, get ready for the best selection of short stories out there, period. I just hope she keeps it updated. This is a wonderful book, containing works by a plethora of major authors, from Hawthorne to Chandler and everyone in between.Especially noteworthy are the stories included by authors known more for their novels than short stories (like Tolstoy, Melville, and Faulkner). And good, quality editions of these stories, with interesting introductory prefaces.This is also a book containing diverse writings, which I appreciate: Marquez alongside Poe, Poe alongside Oates, Oates alongside Updike, Updike alongside Malamud. Not just your typical mainstream writers, but writers you might not be as familiar with as (for example) Hemingway, but are just as (if not more) important/influential.It contains more than three dozen short stories, few of which will fail to enthrall. Personally, I have yet to find a better collection of short fiction, leading me to adduce that one may not exist.The introductions to the stories are well worth the price of admission in and of themselves, in my opinion. And then there are essays at the end the book, about the writing of short fiction, most of which you will find hard to locate elsewhere. But here they are, all the various voices, and all in one place? I love it.Some of the best short stories ever written are in this volume: Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilych," Kafka's "The Metamorphosis," etc. Any one of which would be well worth the price of the book. But lesser known stories (but no less affecting ones) are included as well, like Joyce Carol Oates's timelessly creepy "Where are You Going, Where Have You Been." That one will mess you up for the rest of your life.In short, if there's a better book for short stories for the same price out there? I haven't found it. This is my ultimate go-to, and I don't expect that to change. Hope for many, many more editions.

This was a great textbook in my English class.It definitely consists of good stories.Added to that,one will really learn a lot of about different styles of writing by different writers.

This is a text book that you should value your entire life. It has brief bios of ALL the writers you may or should know - and then a sample or two of their short stories. I am working my way through it page by page and learning about writers I skipped over for years thinking I would never like their writing. Wrong. I have found many I should have read years ago. ALL of the writing is excellent, and the commentary about the writer or writing isan interesting viewpoint in many cases. I have it by my bed for a tasty sample to color my dreams.

This is a great resource for writers (and is also enjoyable for readers since it is a great collection of short stories). I particularly appreciated the information about the authors and their writing experiences.