by Robert Shapard (Editor), James Thomas (Editor)
Responding to America's love affair with the short-short, editors Shapard and Thomas consulted nearly two-hundred magazines and chose the sixty stories, written in English or translated, that they considered best. Ranging across countries and cultures, the selection includes a number of new stories from the Pacific Rim Well-known writers William Maxwell, Margaret Atwood, Don DeLillo, Mark Richard join lesser-known writers Molly Giles, Andrew Lam, Judy Troy who will be (or should be) better known. Each story revels in its own element of surprise; each, whether traditional or experimental, proves that a tale told quickly offers pleasure long past its telling. Students and lovers of literature take note: this is serious writing that's fun to read "