This is maybe the best all-around taste of Runyon out there. A little poetry, a lot of stories, a bit of the Turps, a little reporting, My Old Home Town, and a few of the last stories. ( )

I've been looking at some of our classic American humorists, and I think he may be the best. Recent review of latest collection in the New Yorker (sorry, can't remember issue) says it all, is worth looking up. ( )