The World's Greatest Short Stories (Dover Thrift Editions)

This was a very good collection. Some friends and I used it for a short story club. It offers a wide variety of stories, including several authors I had never heard of before. Almost every story was worth reading and discussing, and I think it’s a good, affordable volume. One thing I found curious is that the volume does not provide a list of all translations used. Also, one should note that there are basically no notes or editorial material here. I personally didn’t mind that, but I could see someone needing more of an apparatus with the book. All the same, this worked for my purposes, and I thought each translation was a good one, even if I would like to know who the translations were by.

Good stories, although it’s missing the only short story I wanted. I couldn’t find a full list of stories, so I took a chance and lost. They may not be the “best,” but they are good stories.

I don’t agree with the ambitious title that these are the greatest short stories by their authors—but this is a magnificent collection not to be missed

This is a quick read. I'm not sure these are the world's greatest short stories, but they're quite good and readable.

I will preface this review by stating what should be obvious to all, which is that there are many ways that one can evaluate a book—or any creative work, for that matter. And I, naturally, am going to focus on a few aspects that matter to ME.To begin, let's acknowledge that this is a very inexpensive purchase, and its construction is commensurate with the price: pages are likely to drift away regularly, like oak leaves in autumn, and The World's Greatest Short Stories will simply not be around for the long haul, as they say. However, if you're just hoping to pass the time agreeably while resting your aching dogs at JFK, you'll be fine.But more importantly, let's talk about the content: there are several well-known and brilliant works of fiction in this collection that will not fail to entertain new readers or engage the attention of repeat readers, like a long-lost old friend. However. There are also a few stories here that are written from a point of view which I like to term, The Great Abyss. You have probably been to a similar place of despair in your own consciousness, or at least have peered over the edge briefly, before rapidly (and wisely) returning to safety. The adjective that keeps coming to my mind—and, yes, it is an old-fashioned word that has fallen out of fashion—is "depraved."BUT, I hear you say, these are all the works of great authors! And that may be, depending on your definition of greatness. Nevertheless, great human beings are capable of great evil and darkness; in fact, they may be more capable than your Average Joe, I'm inclined to think.For the reasons mentioned, small and large, I am unable to give full marks to this volume from Dover Thrift Editions.

I've used this in my college composition class for many years. Love it.

Item delivered intact and on time. It is exactly as described by the seller and what I was looking for. Thank you

Dover books are unsurpassed for economy and content - $3.50 for a collection of 20 stories from all over the world within the past two centuries. Would be a great teaching resource, as many of these stories are used in curricula for middle/high school and college. Table of contents lists author, country of origin and year written. Relatively diverse selection of authors, but also includes standard anthology fare like Hemingway and Woolf. Stories included:Bartleby the Scrivener (1853, Melville)The Necklace (1884, de Maupassant)The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886, Tolstoy)The Man Who Would Be King (1888, Kipling)The Yellow Wallpaper (1892, C.P. Gilman)The Fortune-Teller (1896, Machado de Assis)The Lady with the Toy Dog (1899, Chekhov)How Old Timofei Died with a Song (1900, Rilke)The Path to the Cemetery (1901, Mann)The Prussian Officer (1914, D.H. Lawrence)Araby (1914, Joyce)Mrs. Frola and Mr. Ponza, Her Son-in-Law (1917, Pirandello)The Mark on the Wall (1921, Woolf)A Hunger Artist (1922, Kafka)The Garden-Party (1922, Mansfield)The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket (1924, Kawabata)A Clean, Well-Lighted Place (1926, Hemingway)The Sacrifical Egg (1959, Achebe)A & P (1961, Updike)Borges and I (1962, Borges)

I have been delivered a different version of the book shown here but it was good as well.

The selection couldn't be better. The price is amazing. A great read. The paper isn't the nicest but it's not terrible.

Ho comprato questo libro per praticare la lettura in inglese. Devo dire che nonostante la mia volontà le storie contenute non attraggono molto... forse è questione di gusti.

Ce recueil possède de très bons auteurs. J'aime beaucoup.Il contient :Herman Melville--U.S.A.Bartleby the Scrivener (1853)Guy de Maupassant--FranceThe Necklace (1884)Leo Tolstoy--RussiaThe Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886)Rudyard Kipling--EnglandThe Man Who Would Be King (1888)Charlotte Perkins Gilman--U.S.A.The Yellow Wallpaper (1892)Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis--BrazilThe Fortune-Teller (1896)Anton Chekhov--RussiaThe Lady with the Toy Dog (1899)Rainer Maria Rilke--GermanyHow Old Timofei Died with a Song (1900)Thomas Mann--GermanyThe Path to the Cemetery (1901)D. H. Lawrence--EnglandThe Prussian Officer (1914)James Joyce--IrelandAraby (1914)Luigi Pirandello--ItalyMrs. Frola and Mr. Ponza, Her Son-in-Law (1917)Virginia Woolf--EnglandThe Mark on the Wall (1921)Franz Kafka--CzechoslovakiaA Hunger Artist (1922)Katherine Mansfield--EnglandThe Garden-Party (1922)Yasunari Kawabata--JapanThe Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket (1924)Ernest Hemingway--U.S.A.A Clean, Well-Lighted Place (1926)Chinua Achebe--NigeriaThe Sacrificial Egg (1959)John Updike--U.S.A.A & P (1961)Jorge Luis Borges--ArgentinaBorges and I (1962)

A great collection of 20 very enjoyable, very different short stories from some of the best writers around the world - England, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, Argentina, Germany, Brazil, USA, Russia, Czechoslavakia. Some writers I knew but some were new to me. All the stories were very readable and engrossing. Stories are collated in chronological order and written from 1853-1962.