"Anna Karenina" and "War and Peace" branded Tolstoy as one of the greatest writers in modern history. Few, however, have read his wonderful short stories. Now, in one collection, are the 20 greatest short stories of Leo Tolstoy, which give a snapshot of Russia and its people in the late nineteenth century. A fine introduction is given by Andrew Barger. Annotations are included of difficult Russian terms. There is also a Tolstoy biography at the start of the book with photos of Tolstoy's relatives. The classic stories include:

A Candle
After the Dance
Albert
Alyosha the Pot
An Old Acquaintance
Does a Man Need Much Land?
If You Neglect the Fire You Don't Put It Out
Khodinka: An Incident of the Coronation of Nicholas II
Lucerne
Memoirs of a Lunatic
My Dream
Recollections of a Scorer
The Empty Drum
The Long Exile
The Posthumous Papers of the Hermit Fedor Kusmich
The Young Tsar
There Are No Guilty People
Three Deaths
Two Old Men
What Men Live By