The Collected Stories of 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.