The Collected Stories of Chester Himes by Chester Himes

These 60 stories, written between 1933 and 1979, survive as history, as powerful fiction and as commentary on the current situation of the Afro-American. Racism, poverty, and bad luck are the main players in them. Himes reveals the underbelly of the Afro-American experience, and counters misfortune with dry humor and humanity. In his stories women frequently--through treachery or love, which in turn inspires crime--cause the ruin of their men. ISBN 1-56025-020-8: $24.95.