As a devoted admirer of the form, I can tell you that this book has more gems in it, POUND FOR POUND that virtually any other book of it's type.

Do you enjoy the poetry of Keats and the other Romantic poets? Do you enjoy Shakespeare's sonnets? Then you'll LOVE this book. It BREATHES, it shivvers with vitality and lyricism. I've read the entire book twice, and individual stories like "Rich Boy", "Babylon Revisited", "Absolution"; which many consider as a trial for the "Great Gatsby", "Jacob's Ladder", "Winter Dreams", etc., too many times to recount. THERE IS BEAUTY AND POETRY IN THE WRITING! Does the plot always nail us to our chairs? No, not even in Gatsby; but the writing does. That is why I agree with Gertrude Stein's assesment of Fitzgerald vis-a-vis Hemingway: That his flame burns a little brighter. She was so enraptured by "Gatsby", that she drew a line on her wall, with the request to "please, next time, write one THIS thick".

Are they all great? Well, to a degree, greatness is in the eye of the beholder. SOME individual stories which are raved over by critics and readers alike leave me relatively cold. "Benjamin Button"; the case of a person born elderly and "aging" in reverse, to me reads like bad science fiction. "Diamond as Big as the Ritz", is interesting only in several short sections in which Fitzgerald is trying to describe the most opulent scene which his fertile imagination can create. The rest of if to me is more farce than satire; and what precious little satire is available, seems a bit threadbare.

BUT IF YOU HAVE A SENSITIVITY FOR PURE POETRY, you can not help but be moved by this book. Look at it this way, Hemingway wrote "Moveable Feast", BECAUSE HE WAS INTIMIDATED BY FITZGERALD. Did Fitzgerald drink too much? Sure he did, but so did Joyce, Faulkner, Lardner, and Hemingway himself. It's nothing but lamentable, but we can't start disregarding writers because of their personal habits, or we're all going to be reading O Henry and James Whitcomb Riley.

Did Fitzgerald flunk out of college? Yes, that is true also, but Hemingway didn't even GO TO COLLEGE, and has a memorable quote in a short story that "education is an opiate of the people". Edmund Wilson was a fantastic scholar--and a boring writer. Don't judge the EXTRANEOUS, judge the writing itself. Don't confuse brilliance with being an academic. Einstein himself was a "C" student.

Too much is made about Fitzgerald's own negative assessment regarding his short stories. Scott could never handle pressure. He attributed this facility for "wavering at the critical moment" as a bequeathal from his father. It may have made him feel better to belittle the work he did everyday to earn his bread--so at least he could not be held to his own impossibly high standards for something so mercenary, or so goes the logic. But he was craving desperatly for money during much of his life, so doesn't logic also imply that if he could earn more money for ONE story than the years of labor that went into "Tender is the Night" , that he would put forth something VERY CLOSE TO HIS BEST? When he was flat broke and his daughter and wife needing support and if his story wasn't accepted by a major magazine of the time, they would suffer terrible consequences? I can guarantee you that he tried and very hard. The proof as they say is in the pudding.

This book deserves a PROMINENT PLACE in any library where the premium is paid to writing for its own beauty and elegance. You too will wish this book of short stories was a little "thicker" by the time you finish it.

For God's sake, you should by this book if for no other reason than to honor the man's life. The fact that it IS so good, is more of a break than we typically get in life.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote tons of stories during his lifetime--something around 134, total. This book, however, contains the most elite chunk of those writings. To start, "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" is one of Fitzgerald's most-read stories. I have read it myself, but have found better ones. "The Ice Palace", for instance, has a remarkable ability to make its readers walk away saying "I relate to this!". "May Day", my personal favorite, is about people on top sinking to the bottom, and people on the bottom sinking lower. At least, that's the abridged summary, there's alot more to it then that. "Winter Dreams" is another winner, but I liked "May Day" better. All of his stories generally pertain to Fitzgerald's masterpiece, "The Great Gatsby". In other words, they all contain that one character desperately searching for the missing piece of the puzzle. That can be either the one element that would make his/her life complete, or launch it in a different direction. Why does he do this so well? Because this theme is partially autobiographical. Fitzgerald started off at Princeton where he made hardly any friends. Then he moved on to the Southern US when he joined the army. This is where he met Zelda. But Zelda did not want to marry him due to his lack of money. So Fitzgerald began writing in persuit of the dollar to support Zelda. His plan worked and he was a big success...for a while. Then he moved, in despiration, to Europe in order to gain a better status. This didn't work either and he ended up dying in Hollywood at age 40. His wife, Zelda, went mad and was institutionalized a few years prior. This should be kept in mind as you read his short stories, there are definate parallels!

After a burst of late-teenage enthusiasm for Fitzgerald, I hadn't read anything in more than two decades. Moreover, my earlier reading focused almost exclusively on his novels. After picking up this beautiful edition, I realized I had been missing a world of wonders. Story after story yields fully drawn characters in humorous or heartbreaking situations. Some are realistic, others are fantastic. But all are rendered in that inimitable Fitzgerald prose style: a wonderfully controlled poetic sense informed with a wide range of emotions. I can't remember the last time I reread so many lines, so many paragraphs, so many complete stories in order to fully appreciate the muted beauty of his work. In a century that has produced a host of wonderful American short story writers--F. Scott Fitzgerald now appears to tower above even that host of titans. As he noted to his daughter, at his best--which he's at in all of these stories--he achieved "an epic sort of grandeur." He was right.

This book has a heart so big that it makes you breathe a big sigh and smile and say, "First Novel." The whole kitchen sink is here and the devil in the drain too. The venue shifts often and different parts of the book are hilarious in different ways. I've read this book a few times over several years, and I keep telling people about this part or that part that was called to mind by my current situation. Not perfect, but inspiring for any writer looking at the mountain of a novel to be written.

I read the Great Gatsby for a school paper. I am writing a paper containing my opinion, and other critical reviews on the book. I am having great trouble. I thought the book was good. I found several instances of imagery, and the plot was good. I sometimes found it confusing, however when I read it over again, I understood it more. Also, the movie helps. After reading the book however, I found several questions unanswered. Maybe I just can't pick up on them, but I felt the book was unanswered. I recommend this book to read, just for pleasure. I wouldn't recommend reading it for school. However, I would greatly recommend A Prayer For Owen Meany.

I thought The Great Gatsby was a very interesting book, aside from the ending, which I thought was drab, the book was good.

Anyone who feels lost or unwanted i would definately recomend this book it is wonderful! you will learn everything you ever wanted to learn.

Don't be mislead by the three-star rating. This was clearly going to be a four- or five-star book, except that Fitzgerald died after completing only the first 17 of 30 intended "episodes." The writing is his most economical since Gatsby, and the setting of Hollywood provides good fodder for Fitzgerald's recurring theme of scandal among the wealthy or celebrated. The story is related, for the most part, by a woman, the daughter of a well-known producer, about events that occurred five years ealier, when she was in college and in love with a dynamic young producer named Monroe Stahr. Though she loves him from a distance, her somewhat obsessive interest in the man is a useful way to relate his story. The writing was at times vintage Fitzgerald, sometimes recognizably unfinished, but always worth the experience. The notes, letters and outlines included in the version I read were extremely interesting and worth their inclusion. This is a book that I don't think anyone can read without saying, "I wish he had finished this." This is also a book that I recommend to anyone who appreciates and enjoys the writing of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Writers are endlessly second-guessing their work habits, their ideas and their purpose. As a novelist myself, I found this work-in-progress comforting, because it showed that even the greatest writers struggle with "The Process." Fitzgerald's inherent talent shines through, despite the incomplete nature of the work. The notes and other addenda helped shape the story even further for me, leaving it perhaps more fascinating for the wonder of what Fitzgerald might have done had he not died so young. I have groused in the past about the release of several Hemingway books after his death, and none has come close to the feeling of this unfinished work, but I cannot dispute the value to the reader of seeing these words, these last words, of one of America's greatest novelists. I am happy I got the chance.

Writers are endlessly second-guessing their work habits, their ideas and their purpose. As a novelist myself, I found this work-in-progress comforting, because it showed that even the greatest writers struggle with "The Process." Fitzgerald's inherent talent shines through, despite the incomplete nature of the work. The notes and other addenda helped shape the story even further for me, leaving it perhaps more fascinating for the wonder of what Fitzgerald might have done had he not died so young. I have groused in the past about the release of several Hemingway books after his death, and none has come close to the feeling of this unfinished work, but I cannot dispute the value to the reader of seeing these words, these last words, of one of America's greatest novelists. I am happy I got the chance.

It is interesting to note the evolution of Ernest Hemingway's reaction to "Tender is the Night". When the novel first appeared, Hemingway, while noting some fine passages, dismissed "Tender is the Night" as yet another example of F. Scott Fitzgerald's decline as both a writer and a person. However, as the years passed and Hemingway revisited the novel again and again, he came to regard it as Fitzgerald's best book.

Hemingway's reaction has always interested me. It was also a source of frustration as I tried without success to get through "Tender is the Night". At first I thought my abandonment of the novel was due to the introduction of too many characters too early in the book, but Bruccoli's very fine companion has made me re-evaluate this view. I think my earlier frustration was a direct result of my unfamiliarity with many of the places and people that Fitzgerald alludes to throughout the novel. Bruccoli gives succinct descriptions of people and places that may not be familiar to modern readers, but he also goes further. He points out logical inconsistencies, chronological errors, and outright mistakes that can distract (or confuse) the reader.

Is this effort worth it? Most definitely. Bruccoli's work pays off handsomely, helping to bring into focus a beautiful, intricate novel.

Just ask Papa.

As the volume's introduction points out, this "is not a critical study: it does not analyze the putative meanings of Tender is the Night." Instead, Bruccoli's purpose is to briefly explore the novel's genesis, creation, publication, and aftermath. The main course of this feast, however, is a lengthy section of explanatory notes on Tender's numerous references. The text is additionally buttressed with photos and illustrations as well as a time scheme and chronology of events. Bruccoli's presentation is thorough without being pedantic, making this quite readable by scholars and students alike. One only hopes that someday this material will be shuffled with Fitzgerald's novel for a long-overdue annotated edition of this greatly underrated work.--Michael Rogers

I thought that the book, Bernice Bobs Her Hair was actually pretty good. The author did a good job of portraying society how it actually is now days. He showed that people try too hard to fit in and feel like they belong with others. They should not worry so much about being popular and feeling cool because that can often blow up in your face too. They may try too hard to fit in and end up with less friend than they had in the first place. The people who are in the "in" crowd in this movie are mean. They laugh at Bernice and they make her believe that she is starting to fit in. Then, once Bernice does one thing wrong, they all ditch her and say that she isn't cool and that she never was cool. Bernice was so naive and innocent in the whole thing until the end and that really surprises you. You don't expect that to come next. Marjorie seems kinda of witchy to Bernice just because she isn't cool and doesn't fit in with her and her friends. I think that the way the author wrote the story made it very real and I think that many people will be able to identify with the story. He did a great job of mixing comedy with some seriousness. If he had any more seriousness it could have become a little boring. The comedy was perfect. Some of the lines you had to really pay attention to but

I thought that this book was pretty good. It was funny and taught a lesson. It really showed me how you should be yourself and not let anyone change you. I liked the irony in it and the surprise ending too. I kind of expected Bernice to end up bobbing her hair, but I really didn't think that she would have the guts to cut Marjorie's hair. In the beginning of the movie, Bernice was so shy, and just kind of kept to herself. I really thought that she changed throughout the book. She became more outgoing and kind of opened her eyes. she realized that the world isn't perfect and that there will be problems that you have to deal with. Her main problem was her mean cousin, and in a way, she did overcome it. She got revenge anyway. That's all that really matters. This book also did a good job at having the characters represt society at large. Marjorie represented the shallow and superficial people of the world, obviously, and Bernice represented the innocent and naive people. I think that what Bernice went through was kind of a good experience for her. It taught her many lessons in life that could only be taught through experience. She may have felt like an outcast, but everyone does at one point or another. At least she got something out of it. I think that these characters did a very good acting job. It really seemed like they were real. This was a good book, and I would recommend it to people. It has all the necessary characteristics of what a good book should have. Like humor, irony, and a learning experience.

This wonderful story known as "Bernice Bobbs Her Hair", was an outstanding editon by S. Scott Fizgerald. This story told me alot about how you really can't trust someone who offers to change your social life and apperance. The caracterization used was good and the author made his points very clear as they came across very good. I am very good at picking those kind of things out but he made them very clear to me. I feel that Bernice took this act of kindness very well as she didn't take the public humiliation badly. She just took all of the attention from Marjorie and took it well. It was nice to see the spotlight switch from carachter to character once in a while. It goes to show who you can trust or not trust in life. This is a copy of our society today and it is actually happening.

The book was boring and had no point exept showing how people back in the 1900's liked to party, drink,and DWI. The only thing good in this novel was when they all killed each other!

I really enjoyed how this book showed the other side to F. Scott Fitzgerald. I thought the view was a bit biased because of the fact that Sheilah Graham had been so close to Fitzgerald. Some of the stories may have been tainted because the perspective came from her. But overall, it was an interesting book that I enjoyed.

While I am not really a Fitzgerald fan I am not sure how relyable this review is, but I had to read the book for a class. I think if you like his style the book is good, and many say that it would have been his best work had he been able to finish it. Because there is no ending, and the plot is not that enticing you really must read the book for readings sake and not to get a great adventure from it. If you have the time check it out and hopefuly it will do more for you then me, but otherwise this would not be my first choice of books.

I must say, I agree with previous reviews. This book was awful. The author's prose is overblown and extremely hard to read. I do NOT recommend this book.

I looked at Zhang's book for an article that I was writing on Fitzgerald (I am a professor of English). The book is basically unreadable; Zhang doe not write particularly well--nor does he have any noteworthy things to say. Skip.

As deep and penetrating as Cliffs or Monarch Notes.