The American Short Story, Volume 2 — Random House

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.

"Paul's Case" by Willa Cather
Now considered a true classic, Willa Cather's tale brings to life a sensitive high-school student who runs away to embrace the offbeat, artistic life he craves. But will he find his dreams . . . or tragedy?

"The Greatest Man in the World" by James Thurber
Thurber's unique satire creates Jack "Pal" Smurch, a mechanic's helper in a small garage in Westfield, Iowa, who becomes a national hero as the first pilot to fly around the world--with hilarious results.

"The Sky Is Gray" by Ernest J. Gaines
The author of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman illustrates the meaning of black manhood in a story filled with pain--of poverty, of a young boy's life, of a mother's dreams--and with transcendent, heart-lifting joy.

And five more superb stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Twain, Ring Lardner, Katherine Anne Porter, and William Faulkner, presented with their award-winning film adaptations