Classic American Short Stories - Literary Touchstone Classic - Softcover

This classroom friendly edition contains: Young Goodman Brown, Bartleby The Scrivener, The Cask of Amontillado, To Build a Fire, The Open Boat, The Outcast of Poker Flats, The Gift of the Magi, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, Desiree's Baby, and Hands
Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville were sometimes friends, sometimes bitter rivals. Mark Twain called Poe's prose "unreadable," while Kate Chopin embraced Twain's use of dialect and local color. Stephen Crane used the eastern City, and Jack London used the rugged Northwest to explore the greatness of their country and her people. The writers in this collection-all of whom helped turn the trickle of American literature into a torrent-set literary milestones. Always pushing and stretching their art into something new, they remained ever grateful for what the generation before had prepared for them and careful to leave a rich legacy for the generation that would follow. Be a part of this great American conversation. From Goodman Brown's longing for salvation from inescapable evil, to Désirée's dangerous struggle for racial equality, these stories resonate with self-sacrificing heroism, petty revenge, true love in the midst of abject poverty and human foolishness in the face of nature's indifference. They are the stories of Americans. They are the stories of America. This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classic includes a glossary and reader's notes to help the modern reader appreciate each story's unique qualities.