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The Collected Stories of Isaac Babel is the most authoritative and complete edition of Isaac Babel's fiction ever published in paperback. Best known for his mastery of the short story form, Babel is now considered a peer of Chekhov, Kafka, and Hemingway. His talents are marvelously displayed in this volume, which includes his early stories; the stunning Red Cavalry stories, drawn from his personal experiences with the Cossack cavalry during the 1920 Russian-Polish war; the Odessa stories, featuring a cast of characters from Babel's hometown, including the legendary gangster Benya Krik; and the tragic later stories, which reflect the sorrowful travails of a modern nation that remained a prisoner of its brutal past. To read Babel is to experience the wild and often terrifying swings of Russian history.