100 Years of the Best American Short Stories (The Best American Series)

From the publisher: "Witness the ever-changing history and identity of America in this collection of 40 stories collected from the first 100 years of this bestselling series. Together, the stories and commentary offer an extraordinary guided tour through a century of literature... These forty stories represent their eras but also stand the test of time. Here is Ernest Hemingway’s first published story and a classic by William Faulkner, who admitted in his biographical note that he began to write 'as an aid to love-making.' Nancy Hale’s story describes far-reaching echoes of the Holocaust; Tillie Olsen's story expresses the desperation of a single mother; James Baldwin depicts the bonds of brotherhood and music. Here is Raymond Carver's 'minimalism,' a term he disliked, and Grace Paley's 'secular Yiddishkeit.' Here are the varied styles of Donald Barthelme, Charles Baxter, and Jamaica Kincaid. From Junot Díaz to Mary Gaitskill, from ZZ Packer to Sherman Alexie, these writers and stories explore the different things it means to be American." The 2021 version, edited by Jesmyn Ward, and the 2022 version, edited by Andrew Sean Greer, are also on sale right now.