James H Pickering

Textbook anthology of short stories and novellas with special, but not exclusive emphasis on US authors. The first edition included one hundred stories, but subsequent editions let the collection grow to 128 stories (13th edition). Each edition drops some stories (and authors) and adds others.

The stories are listed alphabetically by author surname, and all editions include biographical notes on the author and a glossary of literary terms, both at the end of the book. The book also includes explanatory footnotes either defining currently infrequently used words or references to historical events and characters.

Some of the more recent editions include complementary websites. A reader's guide and an instructor's manual for most editions have also been published.