Great Short Stories of the World: 71 of the Finest Stories Ever Written

by Reader's Digest Association (Editor)

Great short stories have been called "masterpieces in miniature," and here, carefully selected for your pleasure by the Editors of the The Reader's Digest, are more than seventy that are among the finest examples of the storyteller's art. Many stories are American and British, but the distinguished authors of sixteen other nations are also represented. The result is a rich variety of backgrounds and points of view--all brought vividly to life by that concern for the human condition only great writers can evoke.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Collections, Literature, Classics

799 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1972

About the author

The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. is a global media and direct marketing company based in Chappaqua, New York, best known for its flagship publication founded in 1922, Reader's Digest. The company's headquarters are in New York City, where it moved from Pleasantville, New York.

The company was founded by DeWitt and Lila Wallace in 1922 with the first publication of Reader's Digest magazine, but has grown to include a diverse range of magazines, books, music, DVDs and online content.

Reviews

[Vikram Karve]

I feel that his anthology of short fiction is a must for the bookcase of every creative writer - and essential reading for every person who loves literature - especially short fiction.
The book features a selection of 71 short stories from accomplished creative writers of the world - duly translated in English where required.
Each story is unique, conveys a powerful message, and is a lesson in creative writing.
I first read this book in 1991 and these stories introduced me to many authors I had not read before - which gave me the motivation to explore their writings.
I pull out this book from my bookcase very often - open a random page - and read a story - yes - the stories can be savoured again and again - and every time you read them - you feel an epiphany.
Do read the stories in "Great Short Stories of the World" - it will be a fulfilling experience.

[Chris Waterford]

A range of stories from one star to 5 stars. The best of them were by Frank O'Connor and Hernando Tellez. Most were less than great.

[Paul]

My mom and dad both passed away in the last year, my mom more recently. In going through their stuff, I found this book. Purely by accident I found written on the flyleaf page that my mom had given me this book for Christmas in 1972. I never read it, probably because it was not science fiction, and I was also fifteen years old (I'm smarter now).
This book has some good stories. There were a few favorites I'd read before.
It's titled "...of the World". There were a few Indian authors, but nothing from the rest of Asia. The rest of the world was well represented: America, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Finland, Russia, Italy, England, South Africa, Greece, France, maybe a few others.
These stories were all written between the late 1800's up to 1970. It is dated in some respects, but that is good. For example, the S. African story is by a white writer, who was probably considered progressive at the time, but still has some underlying cultural atitudes leak through.

[Edwin Martin]

The hard thing about short stories is; if you have time to read more than one in a day or especially in a sitting, you don't have time to get the first one in your "long term" memory and you forget it a week later. This collection has a lot of stories less than 10 pages so it would be good for someone who only has an hour or less per day to read. My favorites were:

Vanka by Chekhov, Young Archimedes by Huxley, Little Bouilloux Girl, Maternity by Nakos, A Letter To God by Lopez y Fuentes, The Huntsmen by P.Horgan and Fireworks For Elspeth by R. Godden all in a similar vein; innocent youth who need love but have few or none to really love them.
Suspicion by Dorothy Sayers, The Mezzotint by M.R. James- who-done-it mysteries, and Blind MacNair an old sailor's tale mystery
Six Feet of the Country and Old Chief Mshlanga- makes me want to read more about South Africa, by N. Gordimer and D. Lessing
God Sees the Truth But Waits by Tolstoy, Just Lather by Tellez, and Augsberg Chalk Circle- great Christian themes
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, Haircut by Ring Lardner, The Open Window by Saki, Rocking Horse Winner by D.H.Lawrence, Maria Concepcion by Katherine A. Porter, Patience by N. Balchin, The Outstation by W.S. Maugham, all with a touch of evil, or was it just mischievousness? and maybe justice in the end.
Among the Paths To Eden by Capote- realistic and funny way to catch a good man
The Bet by Chekhov- there is a reason why he is only author here with 2 stories. A serious bet!
The Man Who Could Work Miracles by H.G. Wells- proving that only God can work a miracle
Luzina Takes A Holiday by Gabrielle Roy-frontier life with a surprise ending

[Melody]

This classic collection of short stories showcases some of the finest authors of the early 20th century, but not necessarily their best work. There are a few very good short stories interspersed among some mediocre ones, but their mediocrity stems more from a lack of good plot development than from poor writing. A nice book to pick up for a few minutes before going to bed or even moving on to another book.

[Laura Verret]

A tremendous collection of short stories from the best of this genre's authors. I always knew that I liked short stories (thanks to O. Henry) but this collection really proved to me how powerful and involving a short story can be - how quickly you can be immersed in and captured by the setting, characters, etc.

[Karen]

I liked many stories in this collection, and felt it was worth reading, although there were a few that were pretty tepid.

[Jackie]

Everyone of these stories has some kind of special for which they got selected. I especially liked "Young Archimedes," by Aldous Huxley, one of nine condensed stories.

[J Crossley]

This is a compilation of short stories from countries around the world.

[Juergen John Roscher]

A wonderful collection of short stories compiled by the Reader's Digest Association. Some stories were old friends that I have read many times such as Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery', M.R. James "The Mezzotint, and James Thurber's 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'. Other stories were new to me and will be come a part of my reading plan such as Gabrielle Roy's 'Luzina Takes a Holiday', Santha Rama Rau's 'Who Cares?' and D.H. Lawrence's 'The Rocking-Horse Winner.'

There are short-stories from Hemingway, Wells, Capote, O. Henry, Fitzgerald, Updike and many other famous authors, but many that I never heard of but now I have a desire to read their other works like Gabrielle Roy, Machado de Assis and Jean Stafford.

I read this collection with the hope to study and better understand short-stories but fell in love and admiration for the writes of such wonderful literature.

I highly recommend this collection, especially for anyone interested in writing short stories.

[John Turner]

This is an ancient collection, originally published by Readers Digest in 1972, of some of the greatest short story writers of the late 1800s to the early 1900s. This is 799 pages spanning the gamete of stories imaginable: mysteries, romance, tragedy, science fiction, history, fantasy, what have you. Just a few examples:

The leader of the people / John Steinbeck
Mr. Know-all / W. Somerset Maugham
Vanka / Anton Chekhov
The happy prince / Oscar Wilde
The old demon / Pearl S. Buck
The sailor-boy's tale / Isak Dinesen
Young Archimedes / Aldous Huxley
Butch minds the baby / Damon Runyon
Suspicion / Dorothy L. Sayers
Hautot and his son / Guy de Maupassat
The open boat / Stephen Crane

Each story presents a short biological paragraph of each author.

[Richp]

I rate this a low four, as several stories are much lesser quality than a number of other stories by the same author. The world represented here is mostly the English speaking one, and almost all of the rest from other European settlers, so do not expect much insight into non-European thinking. Several stories are condensed in this volume.

Given the age and wide distribution of this volume, there are likely many cheap copies around; I paid a buck plus tax for mine.

[Meghan]

I came across this book at a short-term summer rental and didn’t finish it before we left, so I bought a used copy when I got home. I love short stories in general and enjoyed the variety in this. Only one I’d read before. I especially appreciated the author bios at the back of the book.

[Tyler Leary]

I picked this up secondhand, mostly because I was interested in reading The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. That one was fun, and several others were worthwhile. Short stories are hit and miss, but at least you're not committed for long.

[Josh]

Great collection. But why no Kafka?!

[Angelica Pena]

Some stories what made me want to throw the book in the trash others simply just made me smile.

[Srinagesh]

Great stories. One should read one at a time to allow one to soak in and appreciate the change of setting and cultural back ground from one story to another.

[Rajhesh Panchanadhan]

Over seventy short stories considered among the finest examples of the storyteller's art.

[Mitzi]

A Must Have for your bookshelf!

[Dan]

Rather dated stories, many with a foreign bent, and generally too provincial for me.

[Spencer]

Very interesting collection from some of the most recognized names in literature. So far, very interesting.

Finished and it was well worth each page. The short story format is amazing as it takes you through a whole concept in such a short manner yet is so intriguing. I would recommend this to anyone interested in the many well-known and not so well-known authors.

[Jessica]

I very fortunately found this book on my mother's bookshelf when I was in grade school and read right through it. It introduced me to amazing authors and taught me just how well-written and complete in itself a short story could be.

[Partridge Public]

Readers Digest 1072

[Mahesh Prasad]

first time i'm giving any importance to short stories.learned that they can be fun as reading a novel

[Sharon Thurnell]

Wonderful mixture of writers.

[Alissa]

I've read parts of this book. Not done yet.