Jackpot, The Short Stories of Erskine Caldwell

by Erskine Caldwell

75 short stories including: Horse Thief, A Day’s Wooing, A Knife to Cut the Corn Bread With, The Corduroy Pants, The Man Who Looked Like Himself, The Fly in the Coffin, Nine Dollars’ Worth of Mumble, We Are Looking At You, Agnes.

756 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1943

About the author

Erskine Preston Caldwell was an American author. His writings about poverty, racism and social problems in his native South won him critical acclaim, but they also made him controversial among fellow Southerners of the time who felt he was holding the region up to ridicule.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erskine_...

Reviews

[Susan Emmet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this 1931 copy of Caldwell's anthology at John Merrill's Bookshop. Haven't read EC in a long time - not since Tobacco Road in college - and really liked this collection of 75 stories, complete with EC's introductory comments to each one. Many are very dark; can see why Caldwell was often censored over the years. He tackles lives of the rural poor (in the South and Maine) and delves into motive and asks many questions about race, poverty, power and hope. Hardscrabble stuff, but well worth reading along side Faulkner and O'Connor.

[Jose Antonio Moch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read an anthology titled "When you think of me". It comprised THE STORIES, AMERICAN SKETCHES, CHECOSLOVAQUIAN SKETCHES and finally the short story that gives the name to the book. Although it is not as good by far as "A Swell looking Girl", there are stories like "A visit to Mingus County", "A short sleep in Louisiana" and "Wine from Surancy" ,"The light" and "When you think of me" that are funny and tragic respectively. Although they touch the fibers of human nature, they lack in depth probably because they are only a few pages long. Nonetheless, Caldwell continues to be one of my favorite storytellers.