Exquisite fiction from timeless writers. I'll avoid the readily available and concentrate on a few hidden treasures. If you have something you think should be here, or a text copy of a personal favorite, please let me know. The same things seem to be everywhere.

• The Chaser John Collier's bitter little tale of love. Welcome if this is what brought you here....my most popular search. But try Collier's other gems as well.
• Thus I Refute Beelzy No traditional love in this Collier tale: does evil exist, even if we proclaim it doesn't in these modern times? Interesting question in a world of excuses.
• Bottle Party Another John Collier tale of love, this time confused with lust. Contains the greatest sentence in the English language:

  Some weeks went by, entirely filled with these agreeable pastimes, till Frank, in obedience to a law which not even the most efficient of jinns can set aside, found himself growing a little over-particular, a little blasé, a little inclined to criticize and find fault.

• It's A Good Life Long before political correctness became a buzzword, Jerome Bixby got it right. What happens when the thought police have free rein. Filmed for The Twilight Zone, but hard to imagine how it could have been this good, as it is all inference and suggestion.
• Man From The South Fun. Weird. Quirky. Roald Dahl always was at least one of those three. In this story, he hits all three.
• The Slave Who Was A Man A chilling story that forces a serious analysis of sacrifice and self-preservation. Eugene Burdick wrote it in 1954, when war was full of death.
• The Cab Ride A poignant tale of serving in a Christ-like manner.
• No Time For Sergeants An excerpt from the amazing story. Out of print and not available anywhere on the Internet that I can find. A shame.

Non-fiction, though I wish that weren't true. Richard Mitchell is far more articulate than I can hope to be on the decay of education and the resulting decay of thought. For a taste of his prose, try:

• Chapter 3 of Less Than Words Can Say

  And then try something else; I've yet to read a boring paragraph. Or look at my Richard Mitchell Quotes.

• Preface to Joan of Arc Mark Twains' stunningly understated scathing view of this lost yet oh-so-found soul.