Out of the hundreds of stories published in American magazines last year, the editors of this distinguished annual have selected twenty stories by new writers and established authors--a rich and stimulating collection. Read for sheer entertainment, THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 1964 is an extraordinary value, with new stories by Bernard Malamud, Reynolds Price, Shirley Jackson, and William Humphrey. For anyone interested in the technique of the short story or the astonishing level of quality in American fiction it is, of course, a must.