Zadie Smith introduces eighteen stories by the very best young American writers. Step forward Dave Eggers, David Foster Wallace, Jonathan Lethem, Matthew Klam, Myla Goldberg, Jonathan Safran Foer, Rick Moody, Arthur Bradford and others. With a penchant for writing about such slippery subjects as snakes, letter-writing dogs, chicken livers and indoor shopping malls, this is the new generation of American writers to watch. As Zadie Smith says, "You knew about these people before anybody elseand one day the world and their dog will applaud you for it."