What do you think?
Rate this book
Short Stories: Five Decades
Featuring sixty-three stories spanning five decades, this superb collection--including "Girls in Their Summer Dresses," "Sailor Off the Bremen," and "The Eighty-Yard Run"--clearly illustrates why Shaw is considered one of America's finest short-story writers.
784 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
378 people are currently reading
452 people want to read
About the author
Irwin Shaw
264 books424 followersShaw was born Irwin Gilbert Shamforoff in the South Bronx, New York City, to Russian Jewish immigrants. Shaw was a prolific American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short-story author whose written works have sold more than 14 million copies. He is best known for his novels, The Young Lions (1948) and Rich Man Poor Man (1970).
His parents were Rose and Will. His younger brother, David Shaw (died 2007), became a noted Hollywood producer. Shortly after Irwin's birth, the Shamforoffs moved to Brooklyn. Irwin changed his surname upon entering college. He spent most of his youth in Brooklyn, where he graduated from Brooklyn College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1934.
Shaw began screenwriting in 1935 at the age of 21, and scripted for several radio shows, including Dick Tracy, The Gumps and Studio One.
Shaw's first play, Bury the Dead (1936) was an expressionist drama about a group of soldiers killed in a battle who refuse to be buried. During the 1940s, Shaw wrote for a number of films, including Talk of the Town (a comedy about civil liberties), The Commandos Strike at Dawn (based on a C.S. Forester story about commandos in occupied Norway) and Easy Living (about a football player unable to enter the game due to a medical condition). Shaw married Marian Edwards. They had one son, Adam Shaw, born in 1950, himself a writer of magazine articles and non-fiction.
Shaw enlisted in the U.S. Army and was a warrant officer during World War II.He served with an Army documentary film unit. The Young Lions, Shaw's first novel, was published in 1949. Based on his experiences in Europe during the war, the novel was very successful and was adapted into a 1958 film.
Shaw's second novel, The Troubled Air, chronicling the rise of McCarthyism, was published in 1951. He was among those who signed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the John Howard Lawson and Dalton Trumbo convictions for contempt of Congress, resulting from hearings by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Falsely accused of being a communist by the Red Channels publication, Shaw was placed on the Hollywood blacklist by the movie studio bosses. In 1951 he left the United States and went to Europe, where he lived for 25 years, mostly in Paris and Switzerland. He later claimed that the blacklist "only glancingly bruised" his career. During the 1950s he wrote several more screenplays, including Desire Under the Elms (based on Eugene O'Neill's play) and Fire Down Below (about a tramp boat in the Caribbean).
While living in Europe, Shaw wrote more bestselling books, notably Lucy Crown (1956), Two Weeks in Another Town (1960), Rich Man, Poor Man (1970) (for which he would later write a less successful sequel entitled Beggarman, Thief) and Evening in Byzantium (made into a 1978 TV movie). Rich Man, Poor Man was adapted into a highly successful ABC television miniseries in 1976.
His novel Top of the Hill, about the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid in 1980, was made into a TV movie, starring Wayne Rogers, Adrienne Barbeau, and Sonny Bono.
His last two novels were Bread Upon the Waters (1981) and Acceptable Losses (1982).
Shaw died in Davos, Switzerland on May 16, 1984, aged 71, after undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.
His parents were Rose and Will. His younger brother, David Shaw (died 2007), became a noted Hollywood producer. Shortly after Irwin's birth, the Shamforoffs moved to Brooklyn. Irwin changed his surname upon entering college. He spent most of his youth in Brooklyn, where he graduated from Brooklyn College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1934.
Shaw began screenwriting in 1935 at the age of 21, and scripted for several radio shows, including Dick Tracy, The Gumps and Studio One.
Shaw's first play, Bury the Dead (1936) was an expressionist drama about a group of soldiers killed in a battle who refuse to be buried. During the 1940s, Shaw wrote for a number of films, including Talk of the Town (a comedy about civil liberties), The Commandos Strike at Dawn (based on a C.S. Forester story about commandos in occupied Norway) and Easy Living (about a football player unable to enter the game due to a medical condition). Shaw married Marian Edwards. They had one son, Adam Shaw, born in 1950, himself a writer of magazine articles and non-fiction.
Shaw enlisted in the U.S. Army and was a warrant officer during World War II.He served with an Army documentary film unit. The Young Lions, Shaw's first novel, was published in 1949. Based on his experiences in Europe during the war, the novel was very successful and was adapted into a 1958 film.
Shaw's second novel, The Troubled Air, chronicling the rise of McCarthyism, was published in 1951. He was among those who signed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the John Howard Lawson and Dalton Trumbo convictions for contempt of Congress, resulting from hearings by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Falsely accused of being a communist by the Red Channels publication, Shaw was placed on the Hollywood blacklist by the movie studio bosses. In 1951 he left the United States and went to Europe, where he lived for 25 years, mostly in Paris and Switzerland. He later claimed that the blacklist "only glancingly bruised" his career. During the 1950s he wrote several more screenplays, including Desire Under the Elms (based on Eugene O'Neill's play) and Fire Down Below (about a tramp boat in the Caribbean).
While living in Europe, Shaw wrote more bestselling books, notably Lucy Crown (1956), Two Weeks in Another Town (1960), Rich Man, Poor Man (1970) (for which he would later write a less successful sequel entitled Beggarman, Thief) and Evening in Byzantium (made into a 1978 TV movie). Rich Man, Poor Man was adapted into a highly successful ABC television miniseries in 1976.
His novel Top of the Hill, about the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid in 1980, was made into a TV movie, starring Wayne Rogers, Adrienne Barbeau, and Sonny Bono.
His last two novels were Bread Upon the Waters (1981) and Acceptable Losses (1982).
Shaw died in Davos, Switzerland on May 16, 1984, aged 71, after undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
Read
August 2, 2019
The experience of going through the[se] stories was also something like what is supposed to happen when a man is drowning, as scene after scene of his life passes before his eyes. If the drowning man is devout, it can be imagined that in those final moments he examines the scenes to determine the balance between his sins and his virtues with a view toward eventual salvation. Since I am not particularly devout, my chances for salvation lie in a place sometime in the future on a library shelf. These stories were selected, often with doubts and misgivings, with the hope that a spot on that distant shelf is waiting for them."
_ Irwin Shaw, 1978
reading experience
Part because it was given to me as a present, and part because my reading ocd is overwhelming I wanted to finish this book no matter what.
This book contained 63 out of 84 of all the short stories Irwin Shaw wrote in his career.
The days of the months of July and August combined add up to 62 and that was almost ideal for 1 story a day. But it didn't work exactly like that.
I was reading one story a day up to July 19 and then I was drawn into Stephen King's last book in The Dark Tower series and at the beginning of August I dedicated a whole week to catch up with the stories, reading around 300 pages.
Then I was buddy-reading To Kill a Mockingbird and again I stayed behind so it was time for one more catch up, and yesterday I decided to exhaust every single story even though it wasn't the end of August as I planned.
Irwin Shaw is a bit of an underrated author these days. He wrote a few novels that became well known films and TV series in the 50's, 60's, and 70's, with well known actors like Marlon Brando and Nick Nolte starring in them.
So reading 63/84 of his stories is like reading 1/5th of his writings and I can say he's not my cup of tea. Although many of his later stories, if not all of them, have an intensity that you find in films, they didn't please me enough to like or love them them.
For example many of his stories started abruptly (in medias res) and when you finally started getting an idea of what was going on the story ends even more abruptly; like watching a scene from a 50's movie. Nice but not enough. Most of the time I had a feeling of disappointment and a feeling of WTF. . . .
the stories
The stories begin in the difficult years of the 1930's then they move on into the turbulent years of 1940's with the World War II as a main theme, then they move into the 1950's with the memories of the war still fresh, still affecting the lives of young people (mainly), and then by the end they move on into the 1960's and 1970's with a feeling, a touch of noir films; bourbon, dark bars, rain and old fashioned cars, love and hate.
The stories taking place in the 1930's (1-168pp. 23 stories) with a few exceptions were pretty boring.
The stories taking place in the 1940's during the World War II (169-284pp. 10 stories) were where the stories became more interesting to me and they weren't brief and abrupt, many of them taking place in Europe and Middle East.
The next group of stories (285-461pp. 16 stories) takes place after the war mainly in the US with people moving on with their lives but haunted with the memories of the war.
The next group of stories (462-617pp. 8 stories) takes place in France and Switzerland, the war well behind but a war that changed the way people act and think.
The last group of stories (618-756pp. 6 stories) has no allusions to WWII but a new war takes place now (Vietnam War) and the anti-communist craze is on the rise along with the hippies and the anti-war protests.
Overall, reading this massive collection of short stories I experienced the idiosyncrasies the character and lives of Americans from the end of the Prohibition (early 1930's) up to the early 1970's.
If all these themes are your favourite kind of themes you want to find in stories then this book (might) be for you. If not stay away or proceed with caution.
7/10
_ Irwin Shaw, 1978
reading experience
Part because it was given to me as a present, and part because my reading ocd is overwhelming I wanted to finish this book no matter what.
This book contained 63 out of 84 of all the short stories Irwin Shaw wrote in his career.
The days of the months of July and August combined add up to 62 and that was almost ideal for 1 story a day. But it didn't work exactly like that.
I was reading one story a day up to July 19 and then I was drawn into Stephen King's last book in The Dark Tower series and at the beginning of August I dedicated a whole week to catch up with the stories, reading around 300 pages.
Then I was buddy-reading To Kill a Mockingbird and again I stayed behind so it was time for one more catch up, and yesterday I decided to exhaust every single story even though it wasn't the end of August as I planned.
Irwin Shaw is a bit of an underrated author these days. He wrote a few novels that became well known films and TV series in the 50's, 60's, and 70's, with well known actors like Marlon Brando and Nick Nolte starring in them.
So reading 63/84 of his stories is like reading 1/5th of his writings and I can say he's not my cup of tea. Although many of his later stories, if not all of them, have an intensity that you find in films, they didn't please me enough to like or love them them.
For example many of his stories started abruptly (in medias res) and when you finally started getting an idea of what was going on the story ends even more abruptly; like watching a scene from a 50's movie. Nice but not enough. Most of the time I had a feeling of disappointment and a feeling of WTF. . . .
the stories
The stories begin in the difficult years of the 1930's then they move on into the turbulent years of 1940's with the World War II as a main theme, then they move into the 1950's with the memories of the war still fresh, still affecting the lives of young people (mainly), and then by the end they move on into the 1960's and 1970's with a feeling, a touch of noir films; bourbon, dark bars, rain and old fashioned cars, love and hate.
The stories taking place in the 1930's (1-168pp. 23 stories) with a few exceptions were pretty boring.
The stories taking place in the 1940's during the World War II (169-284pp. 10 stories) were where the stories became more interesting to me and they weren't brief and abrupt, many of them taking place in Europe and Middle East.
The next group of stories (285-461pp. 16 stories) takes place after the war mainly in the US with people moving on with their lives but haunted with the memories of the war.
The next group of stories (462-617pp. 8 stories) takes place in France and Switzerland, the war well behind but a war that changed the way people act and think.
The last group of stories (618-756pp. 6 stories) has no allusions to WWII but a new war takes place now (Vietnam War) and the anti-communist craze is on the rise along with the hippies and the anti-war protests.
Overall, reading this massive collection of short stories I experienced the idiosyncrasies the character and lives of Americans from the end of the Prohibition (early 1930's) up to the early 1970's.
If all these themes are your favourite kind of themes you want to find in stories then this book (might) be for you. If not stay away or proceed with caution.
7/10
March 6, 2010
Short stories, reminiscent of Cheever and Salinger in their frank sadness and lean beauty, and an incredible reflection of 20th century American life. I could (and will) read these over and over again - whenever all I need is just a really good read.
April 12, 2014
best book of short stories I' ve ever read. Period.
September 3, 2021
A stunning collection of short stories from one of the most underrated writers of the 20th century. Shaw is so good with his twists, his dialogue (he started off writing for radio), his family dynamics, and his characterizations that you could easily teach an entire semester based on this volume alone. Any writer with standards should have this volume in his collection. These stories can be studied ad infinitum. That's how great they are.
January 28, 2024
Having first read “Five Decades” several decades ago, I’ve recently been rereading some of my favorite stories and dipping into a number of those I had previously neglected. The ending of one of those (“Voyage Out, Voyage Home”), at once quotidian in incident and dramatic in impact, left me whispering “what a master,” out loud and to myself.
Irwin Shaw is indeed a consummate master of short fiction. From their opening sentences, his stories drive the reader on with their narrative power and writing that is both Hemingwayesque and evocative. They are compelling, greatly entertaining and sometimes reflect basic truths about life and relationships.
So many of these stories are so good that a complete list of my favorites would be too long. But especially noteworthy in my view are “The Girls in their Summer Dresses,” “The Eighty-Yard Run,” “Then We Were Three,” "Medal from Jerusalem," “Gunners' Passage” and “The Inhabitants of Venus.”
For whatever reason (perhaps because he is now primarily known as the author of several immensely popular novels), Shaw is infrequently anthologized. (That no story by Shaw appears in "Best American Short Stories of the Century" is, to my mind, nothing less than incomprehensible.) Many modern readers of short stories may therefore be unfamiliar with his work. If they acquire a copy of “Five Decades,” they will not be disappointed.
Irwin Shaw is indeed a consummate master of short fiction. From their opening sentences, his stories drive the reader on with their narrative power and writing that is both Hemingwayesque and evocative. They are compelling, greatly entertaining and sometimes reflect basic truths about life and relationships.
So many of these stories are so good that a complete list of my favorites would be too long. But especially noteworthy in my view are “The Girls in their Summer Dresses,” “The Eighty-Yard Run,” “Then We Were Three,” "Medal from Jerusalem," “Gunners' Passage” and “The Inhabitants of Venus.”
For whatever reason (perhaps because he is now primarily known as the author of several immensely popular novels), Shaw is infrequently anthologized. (That no story by Shaw appears in "Best American Short Stories of the Century" is, to my mind, nothing less than incomprehensible.) Many modern readers of short stories may therefore be unfamiliar with his work. If they acquire a copy of “Five Decades,” they will not be disappointed.
February 28, 2014
My agent and I were discussing short fiction and he mentioned that he felt Irwin Shaw was one of the very best writers. On the strength of this I hunted through the various collections of Shaw's writings and discovered this volume on the internet. It was something like $10. maybe a little more. The copy was in new condition. It's the largest and likely best, as the stories were chosen by their author.
Great stuff if you like short stories, which I do. The collection covers work from the early 1930's to 1978, hence the title. At 756 pages a great buy!
Great stuff if you like short stories, which I do. The collection covers work from the early 1930's to 1978, hence the title. At 756 pages a great buy!
April 6, 2013
There are several memorable pieces in this collection, which is mostly set in the World War II and post-war era. Many of the stories explore relationships between men and women and the nature of fidelity. Some are comedic and some tragic but most resolve like life does with no real conclusion. But they were entertaining, so I'm not complaining.
January 25, 2009
Former lineman who could whip Hemingway in a boxing match. And could write a great story. (Neglect Rich Man, Poor Man).
The classic stories: The Eighty Yard Run, The Girls in Their Summer Dresses
The classic stories: The Eighty Yard Run, The Girls in Their Summer Dresses
December 9, 2019
Who writes, or can write, like this anymore??
July 21, 2014
A wonderful read from a gifted story-teller. The scope of this collection allows the reader the opportunity to enjoy the progression of Shaw's abilities in character development and the atmosphere of the story. There's everything here - humor, melancholy, regret, dreams achieved, dreams lost. Shaw vividly portrays his understanding of we flawed creatures with a wry acceptance and a masterful depiction.
July 22, 2016
While the stories may appear a bit dated and the dialogue somewhat stilted, Shaw manages to reveal the essence of human nature. In particular, "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses" was wistfully sad but brutal in its truth.
June 30, 2022
Back in my younger days (50+ years ago), I read short stories by O. Henry and Mark Twain. My favorite short stories were by W. Somerset Maugham. Except for works by those authors, I was never a true fan of short stories.
Several years ago, I read “The Young Lions: A Novel” by Irwin Shaw. It became one of my all-time-favorite novel. When Amazon offered the Kindle version of Irwin Shaw’s “Short Stories: Five Decades” at a discount, I did not hesitate to buy it.
When reading “Short Stories: Five Decades” by Irwin Shaw, I felt I was eavesdropping on strangers by silently watching and listening to their private conversations. Most of the short stories end leaving the readers dangling with no clear explanation of what happens next except for the readers’ imagination.
The short stories were written in span of over 40 years. Shaw’s stories touched upon WW2 to the Vietnam War. I most enjoyed his short stories about American expatriates in post-WW2 Europe.
Irwin Shaw’s writing style is impressive. He also used lots of words whose meaning I did not know. I was constantly using the Kindle’s dictionary for the definition. For this reason, “Short Stories: Five Decades” might be a difficult book for someone who is less learned.
“Short Stories: Five Decades” is a book that I could re-read next year because some of the short stories are complicated. There are underlying storylines that I did not fully grasp or realize its significant.
Several years ago, I read “The Young Lions: A Novel” by Irwin Shaw. It became one of my all-time-favorite novel. When Amazon offered the Kindle version of Irwin Shaw’s “Short Stories: Five Decades” at a discount, I did not hesitate to buy it.
When reading “Short Stories: Five Decades” by Irwin Shaw, I felt I was eavesdropping on strangers by silently watching and listening to their private conversations. Most of the short stories end leaving the readers dangling with no clear explanation of what happens next except for the readers’ imagination.
The short stories were written in span of over 40 years. Shaw’s stories touched upon WW2 to the Vietnam War. I most enjoyed his short stories about American expatriates in post-WW2 Europe.
Irwin Shaw’s writing style is impressive. He also used lots of words whose meaning I did not know. I was constantly using the Kindle’s dictionary for the definition. For this reason, “Short Stories: Five Decades” might be a difficult book for someone who is less learned.
“Short Stories: Five Decades” is a book that I could re-read next year because some of the short stories are complicated. There are underlying storylines that I did not fully grasp or realize its significant.
September 13, 2024
I made the mistake of reading these stories without major interruption over 2 weeks or so. It was too much for me. The early stories in particular are just so bleak and depressing. I was hoping to find some enjoyment, again my mistake, instead I felt like I had been beaten up two or three times a day.
So, maybe better to read this collection spasmodically, allowing suitable recovery periods between story groups. Also, expect them to be hard work, and maybe the reverse will occur.
I often felt the stories were rather pointless. They all began, but many didn’t really end. They didn’t have an open ending, it just felt like Mr Shaw tired of the writing effort and thought he would move onto something else.
So, maybe better to read this collection spasmodically, allowing suitable recovery periods between story groups. Also, expect them to be hard work, and maybe the reverse will occur.
I often felt the stories were rather pointless. They all began, but many didn’t really end. They didn’t have an open ending, it just felt like Mr Shaw tired of the writing effort and thought he would move onto something else.
August 27, 2019
Fantastic read. Enjoyed 99% of the stories. This is a keeper I will reread these again.
December 5, 2020
Love his style and the way these stories are constructed. Shaw is a master of dialogue.
August 18, 2025
This is not a short book of short stories! Over 60 of them! Some good, some not so good, but most of them excellent. A lot of WWII and post-war New York City, mostly amazing character studys.
November 20, 2017
While some of the story lines were clever and some of the dialogue entertaining, as a whole, it was difficult to be motivated to read this collection. Shaw's view on life seems jaded and his opinion of humanity dim. Perhaps this is because of the era in which Shaw lived; the depression, World War II, Viet Nam. Whatever the reason, Five Decades was not a fun read. It's not that I need need each story to end with everyone going to the beach, but an occasional happy ending or feel-good vibe would have been nice.
You won't find that in this book. In fact, I found that I would be in sour mood after reading a few stories, which was compounded by the fact that many of the stories have no resolution, and the ones that do are often depressing.
The reason for two stars and not one is that the stories are mostly well-written; Whispers in Bedlam, Circle of Light, Medal from Jerusalem, The Green Nude come to mind. I don't like to give bad reviews, but this book was not for me. If you are going to read it, do so not with the intent to be entertained.
You won't find that in this book. In fact, I found that I would be in sour mood after reading a few stories, which was compounded by the fact that many of the stories have no resolution, and the ones that do are often depressing.
The reason for two stars and not one is that the stories are mostly well-written; Whispers in Bedlam, Circle of Light, Medal from Jerusalem, The Green Nude come to mind. I don't like to give bad reviews, but this book was not for me. If you are going to read it, do so not with the intent to be entertained.
August 3, 2024
Short Stories: Five Decades (1978) del estadounidense Irwin Shaw es el mejor libro de cuentos de un único autor que he leído en mi vida, tal vez solo comparable con Ficciones de Borges.
April 2, 2015
Люблю рассказы в американском стиле - рассказчик сидит в баре, пьёт скотч, рассказывает мне свою историю. Шоу как раз такой рассказчик, это видно в начале и в конце книги. Там рассказы жирные, намекают на сложные характеры и на развитие, и не хочется, чтобы они заканчивались. В середине Шоу пошёл на войну, и рассказы превратились в репортажи. Солдат сидит в баре, пьёт скотч, скучает. Ничего не происходит. И так десять рассказов подряд. Если это перетерпеть, то отличная книга. В предисловии сказано, что для публикации Шоу выбрал 64 рассказа из 90 с чем-то. Это много, надо было выбрать 40. И страниц было бы поменьше.
February 7, 2017
a mostly forgotten master. under-appreciated these days. very highly recommended.
December 14, 2016
Felt like I was reading too much light fiction and this seemed like a nice side trip into more in-depth literature. It was, but I definitely think half the stories could have been cut without much pain to the work as a whole. The most interesting section, for me, was the post-war stories -- though I did very much like the arc of characters and backdrops over decades of US history. Not a light train read, but glad I read it.
favourite-short-stories
January 21, 2025Irwin Shaw was at his best in short stories. This collection includes almost everything he has written in the genre, in which he is among the best tellers in English, on a par with Somerset Maugham, better than Hemingway. Each of Shaw's stories is a perfectly constructed slice of life. My favourites are: "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses", "A Year to Learn the Language", "Mixes Doubles", "Voyage Out, Voyage Home" and "The Inhabitants of Venus".
May 2, 2013
Shaw is good at character studies. Spanning decades, these shorts offer a deeper perspective on the human experience and the Jewish experience. I would have enjoyed a briefer anthology of the most prominent pieces, say about one third of this 784-page length.
April 13, 2007
Uneven, but often masterful. Check out "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses" and its teasing evocation of desire.
May 5, 2008
Lots of tales, fine craftsmanship, plenty of male hormones woven within the gifted language of Shaw. Some good, some not so good, but many terrific reads. My kind of book.
July 10, 2015
It was a good read although there was a lot of detail that could have remained out for an example these are short stories but some appeared that they were more like perspective books on their own.
dnf
February 11, 2017DNF at 23
April 11, 2015
Finally finished. A little disappointing in the female characters.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews