Since its publication in 1996, George Saunders’s debut collection has grown in esteem from a cherished cult classic to a masterpiece of the form, inspiring an entire generation of writers along the way. In six stories and a novella, Saunders hatches an unforgettable cast of characters, each struggling to survive in an increasingly haywire world. With a new introduction by Joshua Ferris and a new author’s note by Saunders himself, this edition is essential reading for those seeking to discover or revisit a virtuosic, disturbingly prescient voice.

Praise for George Saunders and CivilWarLand in Bad Decline

It’s no exaggeration to say that short story master George Saunders helped change the trajectory of American fiction. -The Wall Street Journal

Saunders’s satiric vision of America is dark and demented; it’s also ferocious and very funny. -Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

George Saunders is a writer of arresting brilliance and originality, with a sure sense of his material and apparently inexhaustible resources of voice. [CivilWarLand in Bad Decline] is scary, hilarious, and unforgettable. -Tobias Wolff

Saunders makes the all-but-impossible look effortless. -Jonathan Franzen

Not since Twain has America produced a satirist this funny. -Zadie Smith

An astoundingly tuned voice-graceful, dark, authentic, and funny-telling just the kinds of stories we need to get us through these times. -Thomas Pynchon