This collection of 21 stories gives insight into the diversity and wealth of short stories written in English. An introduction to various concepts of culture, to cultures where English is spoken and to the genre of the short story provides guidance for approaching the stories as cultural and literary works. The authors include Rudyard Kipling (England), R. K. Narayan (India), Ray Bradbury (U.S.), Mark Twain (U.S.), Andrew Salkey (Caribbean), Susan Power (Sioux, U.S.), Archie Weller (Aboriginal, Australia), Chinua Achebe (Nigeria), Bessie Head (Black/white, South Africa), Mary Beckett (Irish), Maya Angelou (Black, U.S.), Edgar Vega Yunqué (Hispanic, U.S.), David Leavitt (U.S.), Michal Schott (Jewish, U.S.), Kazuo Ishiguro (Japanese, England), Graham Greene (England), Val McDermid (Britain), Virginia Woolf (England), Janet Frame (New Zealand), Janice Kulyk Keefer (Ukrainian background, Canada) and Mary Shelley (England). Although most of the stories were written in the latter part of the 20th century, some represent earlier time periods. This book is aimed primarily toward beginning university students in English but is also of interest to the general reader.