This collection of American short stories from the late-19th and early-20th centuries is quite good, though by including selections from only a handful of authors not really representative of American literature during that period (what, no O. Henry?). The four Mark Twain stories---"The One Million Pound Bank Note", "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", "A Visit to Niagara", and "Mysterious Visit"---are of course hilarious, particularly the first and third of these. "The Blue Hotel" and "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" by Stephen Crane are both good (though perhaps not great). "The Eyes of the Panther" by Ambrose Bierce is somewhat predictable and hokey, but "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is quite effective. And Jack London's "The Love of Life" and "To Build a Fire" are both quite dark, even disturbing---harrowing wouldn't be too strong a word---but very well crafted. The narrators here are all excellent as well. Definitely worth a listen. ( )