This highly Acclaimed collection of short stories by American writers contains only the best literary art of the past four decades. With a bias toward realism editors Raymond Carver and Tom Jenks have selected fiction that "tells a story"-and tells it with a masterful handling of language, situation, and insight.

But what is so special about this volume is that it mirrors our age, our concerns, and our lives. Whether it's the end of a marriage, as in Bobbie Ann Manson's "Shiloh," or the struggle with self-esteem and weight in Andre Dubus's "The Fat Girl," the 36 works...