Ignore this note! (by not commenting, of course, after reading)

This isn't about LOA books, but since we're all bibliophiles here -- and since we enjoy tomes published by others (even DCLOYCESMITH is buying the illustrated Earthsea book later this year) -- thought I'd point this out, in case you might have missed it.

One of the other low-cost/prestige publishers (which would be Everyman's and Modern) has published three VERY interesting anthologies:

THE 40s: the Story of a Decade
THE 50s: the Story of a Decade
THE 60s: the Story of a Decade

The contents include only eight or so pieces of fiction each time -- which is groovy, since those decades have been covered well (by LOA, if no one else) -- but the bonanza comes with articles about the social scene, politics, etc., as well as theatre, fashion (!), books, films and (for the 50s and 60s) TV shows of the time.

Nabakov, Rachel Carson, and more fill up the contents. For rabid fans, there's even an Updike article on "The Quiz Show Scandal". And there are contributions from writers of later eras (intros and notes) like Jonathan Franzen, Zadie Smith and Paul Muldoon (Pulitzer-winning poet from Ireland).

The New Yorker anthologies? Yep - these are great :)

All of the pieces were published in the New Yorker magazine in the decade the volume is about and the magazine had published a lot of good content anyway so it does serve as a good mirror...