The American Short Story

An exciting perspective on outstanding American writing in two media--print and film

The stories collected here were chosen for adaptation and inclusion in a series of films sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, bringing together the works of America's master writers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

"Parker Adderson, Philosopher" by Ambrose Bierce
A wry, wisecracking Civil War spy is awaiting execution, but his last interrogation by a Confederate general leads to events neither could foresee. Ambrose Bierce uses his favorite device of "reversal of character" to create this natural vehicle for a haunting film about physical and spiritual violence.

"Berenice Bobs Her Hair" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Advice on how to become popular with young men backfires for two young women in a story written in the Jazz Age, but is immediately familiar as a right-on-target study of modern flirting, dating, and relationships.

"Almos' a Man" by Richard Wright
When David, a black farm laborer of seventeen, is ridiculed because he wants to be treated like a man, he decides that owning a gun will gain him the respect he seeks in this deeply moving story by one of America's greatest writers.

And six more superb stories by Sherwood Anderson, Stephen Crane, Ernest Hemingway, Henry James, Flannery O'Connor, and John Updike, presented with their award-winning film adaptations

Calvin Skaggs is the president of Lumiere Productions. Skaggs has directed or produced more than 30 films for theatrical and television exhibition. His award-winning films have screened at the Venice Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival. His work as a producer has been featured on PBS, the Discovery Channel, HBO, and more. He earned a PhD from Duke University. He is the editor of The American Short Story: Volume 1 and The American Short Story: Volume 2.