Joyce Carol Oates offers a sweeping survey of American short fiction, in a collection of 59 tales that combines classic works with many "different, unexpected gems", and that invites readers to explore a wealth of important pieces by women and minority writers. The collection ranges from time-honoured works by Irving, Poe, and Hemingway, to modern classics by authors such as Bharati Mukherjee, Amy Tan, Alice Adams, David Leavitt, Bobbie Ann Mason and Tim O'Brien.