Customer Reviews

Great Short Works of Edgar Allan Poe

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Edgar Allan Poe is one of the undisputed giants of United States literature--indeed, of all world literature. And "Great Short Works of Edgar Allan Poe," edited by G.R. Thompson, is a solid sampling of some of Poe's most marvelous literary achievements. The editor's selection allows the reader to experience the many different facets of this genius: Poe as poet, as critic, as mystery writer, as science fiction pioneer, as satirist, and, of course, as seminal master of horror.

Of course, no selective presentation of Poe will please everybody. I'm sure that most Poe enthusiasts will bemoan the absence of a favorite piece from this collection. Personally, I missed "The Gold-Bug," one of the stories that most impacted me as a young reader many years ago. But Thompson has packed a diverse cross-section of great material into a fairly compact space. You'll find such essential triumphs as "the Raven," "The Masque of the Red Death," and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue."

This edition includes both a good bibliography and a chronology of Poe's life. "Great Short Works" is a good resource for both the general reader and for classroom use.

I want to make this short and simple. If you want a good feeling for what Poe has to offer you should read this book.

I love this book. I like being able to sit down for a few minutes and get through a whole story.

Some of the stories I liked the most were: A Descent Into the Maelstrom. The Masque of the Red Death. The Black Cat. The Premature Burial. Some Words with a Mummy. The Cask of Amontillado. Shadow-A Parable. Silence-A Fable.

These are just a few of the tales, and none of the poems. One thing I noticed is that some of Poe's tales have the same basic idea to them. They've just been written a little different. Like a couple of them have the give himself away at the end because he thinks people can hear the heart of the dead person beating. There's a few other similarities between stories too, but you'll just have to read them to find out.

A Descent Into the Maelstrom was very good. Poe did a great job describing the "situation". As he did on Silence-A Fable too.

If you like Poe, this is a great summary of his works.

This was the best collection and critique I have read on Poe it was easy to read and a great subject for debate as are many of his works. If you haven't bought this book BUY IT.

He is one of the best poet to ever live he's inspiered me!