Rating: 
Summary: Many happy hours of reading
Review: One of the things I have always liked about Updike is that he is willing to undertake something like this--even though it will inevitably make him vulnerable to criticisms like the ones raised in other reviews here. I can see why some omissions rankle: but, but BUT! Look at what's here! Almost all of the stories are nothing short of brilliant. Yes, "The Lottery" was probably amongst the best of the century, but it is anthologized everywhere in the universe: many of these are not. Many are not-so-well-known works by the best writers the 20th century had. I could quibble about many of the selections. For instance, I wouldn't have chose "Greenleaf" to represent one my favorites, Flannery O'Connor, or "The Killers" to represent Ernest Hemingway. But they're still great stories, worth including and worth reading. The best I think are those from the early part of the century, but that's probably my own bias talking. I'm not a fan of many of the representatives chosen for the latter half of the century, and the selection for 1999--yuck! But I'm willing to trust Updike's judgment over my own for a little while, and if he thinks Annie Proulx is worth reading...ok: It's worth a few pages of my time to find out. The anthology also does a good job of tracing in fiction the transformations of American culture: the first are immigrant stories, the next are primarily rural-based farming stories (A Jury of Her Peers--great story), and then the last are urban, ex-urban, and suburban stories. Read and enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Doesn?t (can?t) live up to the title, but very worthwhile
Review: Solely due to the way this book was assembled, it cannot live up to its title. This book is not an assemblage of the best short stories from the entire body of 20th century American literature; rather, this book is an anthology of the best stories that happened to have appeared in the annual Best American Short Story volumes. So, to make it into this book, a story would have had to be recognized when it was written as being one of the best of that year, as chosen by a single editor/reader. I enjoy reading short stories, and every year I purchase both the O. Henry Prize Stories and the Best American Short Stories. When I first did this, I was amazed at how little overlap there is between 20 stories chosen for each anthology (usually, there are only one or two stories in common, and typically the story chosen by O. Henry as the best of the year does not appear in the other anthology). So once again we have evidence that beauty (and art and subjective opinions such as "best") are in the eye of the beholder. So, can John Updike's selections be debated? Undoubtedly; every reader of this anthology will be able to cite stories and authors that they believe should have been included (as for me, I was most disappointed by the absence of Ray Bradbury). But is this anthology worth reading? Absolutely! Reading this anthology cover-to-cover is like traveling through time, and provides an enriching perspective on the history of the 20th century in America. From the hardscrabble existence of immigrants and farmers, to the Depression, to the problems of racism, to the war, to the ennui that exists in a time of relative plenty, these stories do cover the broad American experience of the past century. Furthermore (aside from Ray Bradbury), many of our best authors are represented, so this book is a good way to get introduced to authors that one has heard about but not read before. It's surprising to me that short story anthologies aren't more popular, given our busy society. A well written short story entertains, conveys a message, teaches something about the human condition, and can be enjoyed in one sitting, such as a short plane or train ride. I would highly recommend this anthology as a way for short story novices to get started, and then one can graduate to the annual O. Henry and Best American Short Story anthologies.
Rating:
Summary: Doesn¿t (can¿t) live up to the title, but very worthwhile
Review: Solely due to the way this book was assembled, it cannot live up to its title. This book is not an assemblage of the best short stories from the entire body of 20th century American literature; rather, this book is an anthology of the best stories that happened to have appeared in the annual Best American Short Story volumes. So, to make it into this book, a story would have had to be recognized when it was written as being one of the best of that year, as chosen by a single editor/reader. I enjoy reading short stories, and every year I purchase both the O. Henry Prize Stories and the Best American Short Stories. When I first did this, I was amazed at how little overlap there is between 20 stories chosen for each anthology (usually, there are only one or two stories in common, and typically the story chosen by O. Henry as the best of the year does not appear in the other anthology). So once again we have evidence that beauty (and art and subjective opinions such as "best") are in the eye of the beholder. So, can John Updike's selections be debated? Undoubtedly; every reader of this anthology will be able to cite stories and authors that they believe should have been included (as for me, I was most disappointed by the absence of Ray Bradbury). But is this anthology worth reading? Absolutely! Reading this anthology cover-to-cover is like traveling through time, and provides an enriching perspective on the history of the 20th century in America. From the hardscrabble existence of immigrants and farmers, to the Depression, to the problems of racism, to the war, to the ennui that exists in a time of relative plenty, these stories do cover the broad American experience of the past century. Furthermore (aside from Ray Bradbury), many of our best authors are represented, so this book is a good way to get introduced to authors that one has heard about but not read before. It's surprising to me that short story anthologies aren't more popular, given our busy society. A well written short story entertains, conveys a message, teaches something about the human condition, and can be enjoyed in one sitting, such as a short plane or train ride. I would highly recommend this anthology as a way for short story novices to get started, and then one can graduate to the annual O. Henry and Best American Short Story anthologies.
Rating: 
Summary: The problem is with the basic pool from which Updike chose
Review: The Best Short Story series chooses what seem to be the best short stories of the past year. A Century gives a person a better perspective, the opportunity to weed out the trendy, timely, Monica Lewinsky-esque pieces of their time. But since Updike could only choose from stories that had already been chosen in the heat of the moment, under the influence of the trends of the very year in which they were published, his opportunity to isolate those stories written this century that remain truly universal was taken from him before he began. THAT'S the fundamental problem with this collection. It's half-baked owing to the manner in which it was created.
Rating: 
Summary: a lamentable absence
Review: The failure of the editors to include in this collection a story by the incomparable Peter Taylor is an omission of such serious proportions as to render the whole enterprise laughable.
Rating: 
Summary: Fair colection, NOT GREAT
Review: The proablem with this colection is that it is limited to variety in earlier anthologies. Many of the best are missing!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Just a great book
Review: The stories are engrossing, and very interesting, This is a must buy for all avid readers, and younger ones!
Rating:
Summary: Where's the current Pulitzer winner?
Review: The stories in this series are rich and evocative, especially the stories from the first half of the century. Most of the modern stories are very good too - Ann Beatie, Annie Proux, Lorrie Moore, Alice Munroe are all masters of their craft, though I was disappointed in the 1999 selection. Too bad Jhumpa Lahiri, the recent Pulitzer Prize winner, wasn't included, especially since I can't remember the last time a short story collection won such a prestigious honor. This seems like an unfortunate, yet serious, omission to an otherwise colorful collection.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing but the best in this collection
Review: This classic series first made its appearance around 1915 and has been a staple of the classroom and Americana ever since. While it has launched the careers of some writers, others have fallen by the wayside. Nevertheless it is a remarkable achievement and collection. Granted "the best" is a term that can be bantered out and each person will have those he like and others he skips over, but all-in-all this collection is very even-handed and well paced. The writing for the most part is rich and warm, and we can only hope that things like the short story and what Americans are truly remembered for, and not some others. The only other collection that I've read that even comes close to this was McCrae's "The Children's Corner" which, though not many different authors, nevertheless manages to put across a wide range of human emotions and writing styles. Whatever you do, first of all buy this book edited by one of the best writers we have--John Updike. Also recommended: THE CHILDREN'S CORNER by Jackson McCrae
Rating:
Summary: Some highlights, but the set doesn't really "read" that well
Review: This is a nice collection with many great writers, but they are selected, I believe, not because they are particuraly powerful or flow well, but because they illustrate some subtlety of writing that Updike and Kenison want to illustrate. If it's the latter they're trying to do, they succeed. If you really want a set of short stories you can take with you on the train, bus or plane and enjoy, you might want to look elsewhere.
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