Discover the literary genius of Ring Lardner in "7 Best Short Stories". This book presents a superb selection of the best stories by the renowned American writer, known for his sharp humor and keen observations on everyday life and the world of sports. With unforgettable characters and engaging plots, Lardner captures the complexities and nuances of human relationships and daily experiences. His ability to combine humor and depth offers the reader a unique literary experience, provoking both laughter and reflection. An essential collection for lovers of fine literature, revealing the unparalleled talent of one of the masters of the short story. Check out the stories in this book: - Haircut: a small town's stories are revealed by a barber as he chats with a customer about past events and local characters. - The Golden Honeymoon: a couple celebrates their 50th wedding anniversary with a trip to Florida, facing challenges and rediscovering their connection. - My Roomy: a baseball player recounts the difficulties of sharing a room with a peculiar roommate who interferes with his game performance. - Horseshoes: rivalries and intense competition emerge during a game of horseshoes, reflecting the competitive life and camaraderie among baseball players. - Harmony: amid the tension of the baseball season, the lack of harmony in the team challenges players and coaches to find a balance to win. - Alibi Ike: Frank Farrell, nicknamed "Alibi Ike", is a baseball player famous for his excuses and justifications for every play, good or bad. - Champion: Midge Kelly, a young boxer, faces challenges and personal struggles as he seeks to establish himself as a champion in the boxing world. If you like short stories, check other books of our collection 7 best short stories and get to know amazing writers of all styles.

This collection brings together twenty-one of Lardner’s best pieces, including the six Jack Keefe stories that comprise You Know Me, Al, as well as such familiar favorites as “Alibi Ike,” “Some Like Them Cold,” and “Guillible’s Travels.” For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

"An anthology of journalist Ring Lardner's writings on sports and other nonfiction topics that collects works that have been mostly unavailable for decades"--

This early work by Ring Lardner was originally published in 1925 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introduction. 'Haircut' is a dark satire about moral blindness. Ring Lardner was born in Niles, Michigan in 1885. He studied engineering at the Armour Institute of Technology in Chicago, but did not complete his first semester. In 1907, Lardner obtained his first job as journalist with the South Bend Times. Six years later, he published his first successful book, You Know Me Al, an epistolary novel written in the form of letters by 'Jack Keefe', a bush-league baseball player, to a friend back home. A huge hit, the book earned the appreciation of Virginia Woolf and others. Lardner went on to write such well-known short stories as 'Haircut', 'Some Like Them Cold', 'The Golden Honeymoon', 'Alibi Ike', and 'A Day with Conrad Green'.

Ring Lardner, America's great humorist and shortstory writer, began his career as a sports writer. Because of his interest in baseball, he began putting stories in his newspaper column that were purportedly written by unlettered athletes. Lardner, who had an excellent ear for dialogue, actually wrote these stories in the voice of the fictional rookie ballplayer Jack Keefe, a White Sox pitcher, who writes letters to his friend Al Blanchard back home in Bedford, Indiana. Several streams of American comic tradition merge in You Know Me Al: the comic letter, the wisecrack, the braggart character, the use of sporting vocabulary and fractured English as a means to apologetics. This collection of short stories revealed Lardner's talent for the sports idiom he made famous. Usually cynical and pessimistic, his stories are peopled by ordinary characters. Lardner often used his own experiences as the model or inspiration for the fiction he wrote.