Like many of America's greatest cultural exports, the modern short story grew out of necessity rather than a luxury. At the turn of the 19th Century, the United States was a burgeoning country with pathfinders and adventure-seekers pushing their way into the west in search of new opportunities. With so much of the American population constantly on the move from one town to the next, the serialized novel was not a viable form of literature as it was across Europe.

The new literary form soon grew popular; and more and more writers started writing in this wonderfully entertaining form. This collection comprises the best and the most popular short stories from the land.