The Voice of the City: Further Stories of the Four Million [Paperback]

O. Henry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 20, 2000

In this book O. Henry is on an assignment to find out The Voice of the City (New York City -- 1907). You see, it's a special order. Ordinarily a symposium comprising the views of Henry Clews, John L. Sullivan, Edwin Markham, May Irwin and Charles Schwab would be about all. But this is a different matter. He wants a broad, poetic, mystic vocalization of the city's soul and meaning.

O. Henry wrote of real people, with real problems, but he brought such tender understanding to his portraits of life, and such verbal gymnastics to his manner of expression, that any story of his can be read now, a century later, and still summon your innermost tender spot. O. Henry wrote with realistic detail based on his first hand experiences both in Texas and in New York City.

Born William Sydney Porter, this master of short stories is much better known under his pen name "O. Henry." He was born September 11, 1862 in North Carolina, where he spent his childhood. His only formal education was received at the school of his Aunt Lina, where he developed a lifelong love of books.

You will laugh. You will cry. You will be glad to have found him.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Fredonia Books (NL) (December 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589630041
• ISBN-13: 978-1589630048
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,485,806 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, Fun, and Free, April 23, 2011

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This review is from: The Voice of the City: Further Stories of the Four Million (Kindle Edition)

In The Voice of the City, O. Henry uses excellently written short stories and high vocabulary to convey a sense on New York c. 1900. In this collection, he has created a myriad of heroes and heroins to serve as guides to this large city. It is full of some funny, some far reaching, and some heartwarming stories of life that make me smile. They are all expertly penned, however, he tends to reuse many of the same literary devices from one story to the next, which can make for some repetitive reading, but sometimes he also uses different literary strategies not seen before. These stories make for perfect vocabulary builders, inspiring stories, and pick-me-ups after a particularly long day. I would recommend this book to anyone with a fondness for literature or O. Henry.