These carefully selected tales of O. Henry, more than forty in all, showcase the author's unique storytelling flair. Treasured for their humor, warmth and clever characterisation, O. Henry's short stories carry a readability which is seldom uncompelling and occasionally outright gripping. Many have shocking endings, with a sudden plot twist turning the reader's perceptions on their head. Most often we join ordinary people working ordinary jobs, who happen to experience something extraordinary. Wide ranging in scope and setting, O. Henry would choose a variety of locales to situate his stories. Downtown New York, the vast cattle plains of Texas, and everyday small towns serve to vary the backdrop. It is a common theme for either a character, the narration, or both to provide witty asides and wordplay which keep the reader amused. Compiled after the author's death, this compendium summarises a stunning career in writing, cut tragically short by Henry's early death at the age of forty-seven. Henry's gift for weaving an interesting narrative and situation for characters inside of just a few pages is displayed superbly, making this book both a fine introduction and retrospective to O. Henry's works. Still fresh and stylistically impressive to this day, O. Henry's short stories are a worthy occupant of any fiction library.