By EDNA FERBER, IRVIN S. COBB, PETER B. KYNE, JAMES OLIVER CURWOOD, MEREDITH NICHOLSON, and H. C. WITWER. Edited by RAY LONG. Preface by Colin Heston.

In this book, you will find a rare and intimate glimpse into the minds of some of America’s most celebrated storytellers of the early twentieth century. Edna Ferber, Irvin S. Cobb, Peter B. Kyne, James Oliver Curwood, Meredith Nicholson, and H. C. Witwer—names that graced the covers of magazines and the shelves of countless homes—come together in this unique collection to share the stories they themselves hold dearest.

Unlike anthologies chosen by editors or critics, this volume is deeply personal. Each author was invited to select the work that, in their own judgment, best represents their craft, their ideals, and their voice. These are not merely stories—they are reflections of character, ambition, and artistry, chosen by the creators themselves.

The idea behind this book is simple yet profound: who better to decide what is “best” than the writer who gave the story life? Here, you will encounter tales that stirred their authors’ hearts, stories that perhaps marked turning points in their careers, or pieces that captured the essence of their creative spirit.

As Ray Long, the distinguished editor of Cosmopolitan, notes in his introduction, this collection is more than entertainment—it is a testament to the enduring power of storytelling and the pride of authorship. It invites readers not only to enjoy these narratives but to appreciate the personal significance they hold for their creators.

So turn the page and step into a world where the voices of six remarkable writers speak directly to you, offering the stories they love best. In doing so, they reveal something more than plot and character—they reveal themselves.

NY. International Magazine Company. 1925. Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 157p.

By David Freedman. Introduction by Colin Heston.

David Freedman (1898–1936) was a central figure in the literary and entertainment world of the early 20th century. While Mendel Marantz remains his most enduring prose creation, his career spanned a vast range of media, from short stories to Broadway stages and the burgeoning world of radio

Freedman began his rise to prominence in the early 1920s. Mendel Marantz first appeared as a series of popular short stories in The Pictorial Review Company between 1922 and 1924. These stories were so well-received that they were compiled into the 1926 novel. The book’s dedication to Arthur Turner Vance expresses Freedman's gratitude for "bringing humble Mendel Marantz into the salons of literature," highlighting the character's journey from a folk figure to a literary icon.

Freedman's talent for sharp, rhythmic dialogue and philosophical wit—perfected in Mendel’s "What is...?" proverbs—led him naturally toward the performing arts.

Stage Success: In the mid-1920s, he transitioned to Broadway, writing for the legendary Ziegfeld Follies. He became a lead writer for comedy icons, most notably Eddie Cantor.

The Radio King: By the 1930s, Freedman was known as the "King of Radio Writers." At the height of his career, he was reportedly writing scripts for several of the most popular shows on the air simultaneously, earning a then-staggering salary for his creative output.

Freedman's work is characterized by a unique blend of immigrant humor and universal human truth. In Mendel Marantz, he explores the tension between the "fish market" of Pitt Street and the "Fifth Avenue" of high society. The novel captures the evolution of the Marantz family over several years, following their growth from a small apartment where "seven people in three rooms" lived like "cats on a roof" to the invention of the "Pitt Street Studio Apartments de Luxe. Mendel Marantz (1926), the full novel that solidified his reputationThe story was later adapted for both the stage and the 1926 silent film The Family Upstairs.

Freedman's career was cut short by his early death in 1936, but his "What is...?" philosophy continues to offer a window into the resilient, dreaming spirit of the era.

About the novel: Meet Mendel Marantz: the philosopher of the Fifth Avenue mind living in a fifth-floor walk-up. In David Freedman’s timeless classic, we step into the bustling, heart-filled world of the Marantz family, where the rent is high, the tea is hot, and the jokes are always free At the center of it all is Mendel—a man who views work as "poison" but sees life as a "see-saw" of endless possibilities While his wife, Zelde, scrubs away the "ocean of troubles" on a washboard, Mendel is busy dreaming up the next big thing, like his revolutionary Refillable Can Company. He’s the original "idea man," a dreamer who believes that while "fools can make money," only brains can create a future.

But when the family hits a breaking point, Zelde stages a revolt that flips their world upside down. In a modern twist on roles, Mendel finds himself trading his inventions for the "charms" of 1920s housekeeping—battling flying pillows, greasy garbage, and the relentless energy of six children. It’s a hilarious and poignant look at family dynamics that feels surprisingly fresh today.

Whether he’s turning a crumbling Pitt Street tenement into a "Studio Apartment de Luxe" or navigating the high-society dreams of his daughter Sarah, Mendel meets every challenge with a sharp wit and a signature "What is...?" proverb.

Mendel Marantz isn't just a book about the old days; it’s a celebration of the dreamer in all of us, proving that no matter how tough the "journey" gets, it's always better with a joke and a cup of tea.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. p.212.

By Joseph Crosby Lincoln . Designed and Edited with an Introduction by Colin Heston

Joseph C. Lincoln's 1920 novel The Portygee holds a unique place in his body of work. Known for his warm-hearted Cape Cod tales celebrating small-town life, moral decency, and New England character, Lincoln here expands his focus to address questions of heritage, identity, and belonging in a changing America. While retaining the gentle humor and richly textured settings that made him popular with early 20th-century readers, The Portygee engages more directly with themes of cultural difference and assimilation—offering a nuanced portrayal of prejudice, generational misunderstanding, and the search for personal integrity.

The novel’s title refers to the derogatory local slang for “Portuguese,” used to identify individuals of Portuguese descent who had settled along the Massachusetts coast in significant numbers by the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through this lens, Lincoln examines not only the resilience of the American immigrant but also the sometimes unspoken tensions that lie beneath the surface of even the most tight-knit communities. It is a story of collision—between old and new, native and newcomer, tradition and ambition.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2025. 262p.

By Andre Malraux

Both as an artist and as a man, Andre Malraux has iden- tified himself with the revolutionary forces of our time. His novels, now internationally famous, are integrated in a deliberate pattern—the epic of revolution. The ever- recurring motif of his works is that heroism and courage ennoble man and are the means by which he will ulti- mately conquer hatred and achieve beauty and peace. Born in Paris on November 3, 1901, Malraux went to Indo-China in 1921 and from there made an archeological expedition to Cambodia and Siam. In the 1925-1927 upris- ing in China he became Commissioner of Propaganda for the revolutionary government of the South. A member of the Committee of Twelve, he was active in the Canton insurrection and participated in hand-to-hand fighting. His novel of revolutionary China, Man's Fate, won the Goncourt Prize. In t933, he flew across the Great Arabian Desert and announced the discovery of the legendary city of Sheba. Since his return to France, Malraux has allied himself with the cause of the extreme Left. His last novel, Days of Wrath, turns to the European scene and deals with the terror in Nazi Germany.

Random House, 1934, 357p.

By Sharon Stockton.

In The Economics of Fantasy: Rape in Twentieth-Century Literature, Sharon Stockton examines the persistence and the evolution of the rape narrative in twentieth-century literature—the old story of male power and violence; female passivity and penetrability. What accounts for its persistence? How has the story changed over the course of the twentieth century? In this provocative book, Stockton investigates the manner in which the female body—or to be more precise, the violation of the female body—serves as a metaphor for a complex synthesis of masculinity and political economy. From high modernism to cyberpunk, Pound to Pynchon, Stockton argues that the compulsive return to the rape story, articulates—among other things—the gradual and relentless removal of Western man from the fantastical capitalist role of venturesome, industrious agency. The metamorphosis of the twentieth-century rape narrative registers a desperate attempt to preserve traditional patterns of robust, entrepreneurial masculinity in the face of economic forms that increasingly disallow illusions of individual authority. It is important to make clear that the genre of rape story studied here presumes a white masculine subject and a white feminine object. Stockton makes the case that the aestheticized rape narrative reveals particular things about the way white masculinity represents itself. Plotting violent sexual fantasy on the grid of economic concerns locates masculine agency in relation to an explicitly contingent material system of power, value, and order. It is in this way that The Economics of Fantasy discloses the increased desperation with which the body has been made to carry ideology under systems of advanced capitalism.

Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 2006. 235p.