Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer- the NetGalley copy I read was difficult to decipher because the formatting was off.

I have never been a fan of short stories. This book has changed that. I love how complete each one felt despite their size. I can't wait to read more of Archer's story collections.

A collection of lives simple and complicated filled with characters to cheer . A must to teachers of American History who wish to give that simple slice of life to their students to dissect and explore. A gem of a compilation. You cannot put it down.

Book Review: The Short, the Long and the Tall: Short Stories by Jeffrey Archer
(Published by St. Martin's Press, November 17, 2020)

5.0 Stars.

Wickedly delicious!

Curated with water color illustrations by Paul Cox, Author Jeffrey Archer presents twenty of the best of the best and everyone's favorites of his short stories over the years, pulled from his various short story collections including Twelve Red Herrings (1994), Tell Tale (2017), Cat O'Nine Tales (2007), To Cut a Long Story Short (2000), A Twist in the Tale (1998) and A Quiver full of Arrows (1980)

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"Never Stop on the Motorway". Diana heeds her father's advice for good measure. And, as it turns out, for quite different reasons.

"Cheap At Half the Price". Socialite Consuela Rosenheim figures out a way to purchase the most exquisite jewelry - at half the price.

"Who Killed the Mayor?". A picturesque town in Naples does its collective "I, Spartacus.".

"It Can't Be October Already". Patrick O'Flynn shares his residence between public housing for misdemeanors - and his other preferred place.

"Stuck on You". Journeyman Jeremy meets heiress Arabella Warwick and can't believe his luck. Until he gets himself "stuck" in a visit to De Beers, London.

"The Grass is Always Greener". Comes the day when Sir William, bank chairman, rues his station and wishes he could trade places with a man he regularly meets outside the bank's ornate doors, Bill - an old tramp.

"The Queen's Birthday Telegram". Her Royal Majesty carries on with her tradition of sending a telegram to each of her royal subjects on their 100th birthday. Except, had Buckingham Palace inadvertently missed the one for Elizabeth Webber?

"Clean Sweep Ignatius". Ignatius Agarbi takes his job as Nigeria's Minister of Finance very seriously and promises to end rampant graft and corruption in his country. He carries his civic and family responsibilities to the fullest - and then some.

"The First Miracle". A Roman boy named Pontius is sent on an errand to buy food - and hands over his purchases to a poor couple with a newborn in a muddy, squalid stable - in Bethlehem. And then gets paid back for his deed, to his mother's great astonishment.

"Caste Off". Jamwal, son of the Maharaja wants to marry a young woman he'd met in a traffic light in Delhi. Nisha Chowdhury is the daughter of wealthy industrialist Shyam Chowdhury. But alas, she is not of the Rajput caste...

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"A Wasted Hour". Stanford student Kelley hitchhikes her way back to school in Palo Alto, and gets into a lively discussion with the driver, who himself attended Stanford. In an exchange at one point, Kelley relates that her favorite book when she was twelve was "The Grapes of Wrath" which she considers to be one of the great novels of the twentieth century, said she to the man behind the wheel, an elderly guy named John.

"Just Good Friends". First person narrative of one loving Roger the playboy, but plaintively wishing to be "just good friends" with him. Dispelling a common myth in the process.

"Christina Rosenthal". An old rabbi reads a letter from his estranged son, one he's ruefully read every day for the last ten years.

"A Gentleman and a Scholar". Margaret Alice Burgage, professor at Yale, preaches the canon of the Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon for the final time before retirement, and gets into a lively discussion one last time with a former student, Robert Lowell, the grandson of a former president of Yale, who'd been the leader of rebels and one of the proponents of widespread skepticism amongst Elis that a woman could ever succeed at that level of higher education.

. "When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him." (Or her.) - Jonathan Swift.

It was coup de grâce in their private battle of wits. In a rather genteel sort of manner.

"The Road To Damascus". Mark Bairstow, scion of Bairstow & Son, the biggest iron foundry in Yorkshire, elects to be a man of the cloth and forego succession in his family's business, after a school visit by the young Bairstow to the ruins of a wartime concentration camp in Germany.

"Old Love". 'The Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng'. English literature scholars William Hatchard and Philippa Jameson hate each other from the moment they meet. Yet, legend has it that they were never apart for more than a few hours.

"A Good Toss To Lose". No Man's Land, 1916. Over the trenches, Captain Oliver Jackson of the Lancashire Fusiliers encounters a German soldier. Both are ready to fight, though hesitant, with cocked rifles and fixed bayonets. Then, Jackson recognizes the soldier as Herr Ernst Gruber, his old schoolmaster, and the old teacher in turn his former pupil. In a quandary of which of whom should peacefully surrender to the other, they toss a coin - and leave their fates to providence.

"One Man's Meat". Michael Whitaker sees an absolutely stunning woman enter London's Aldwych Theater and he decides on a whim that he simply has to be with her. He devices a plan to secure a late resale ticket at the booth and manages to join the young lady, Anna Townsend. Then it was time to say goodbye. At this point, the author gives the reader four different endings: Rare, Burnt, Overdone or À point. Or, All of the Above.

"Endgame". Wealthy entrepreneur and chess player Cornelius Barrington decides one day to put to the test how those around him, his potential inheritors, would behave if he were penniless. He divulges his plans to Frank Vincent, his oldest friend and lawyer over a game of chess. He'd declared himself bankrupt, live accordingly, and put all of his valuable worldly possessions on the auction block...

"Confession". World War II, France. The municipal council members of a small French town play poker inside a POW camp where they are held captive by Germans: the town's banker, headmaster, doctor, and mayor, who is also a lawyer. Due to an ambush of German soldiers by partisans, three of the men are ordered to be shot with one of them to be spared. A priest comes in to hear their confessions. And thereby hangs a tale!

No doubt, a collector's item!

Review based on an ARC from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley.

Jeffrey Archer pens a collection of short stories filled with twists and turns. Things are not what they seem and by the end of each tale, readers are in for a shocking surprise. Archer is a master of short stories and keeps readers on the edge of their seats before free falling by the final page.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early read in exchange of an honest review. Most of the tales kept me eagerly paging through to discover the truth. That being said, there were a few stories that in my opinion were a bit long winded. I appreciated the abbreviated versions as those were short, sweet and to the point but packed a powerful punch.

Jeffrey Archer is a true master at writing short stories. I've been a fan of his for years - both for his short stories and his novels.

This is a great collection of previously published short stories that have proved to be favorites through the years. Anyone not familiar with Archer's work is in for a treat; and those of us who are long-time fans will totally enjoy re-visiting these stories.

The Short, the Long and the Tall by Jeffrey Archer is a compilation of short stories: humorous and whimsical, all with simple illustrations by Paul Cox. There were many technical problems wit this book, which required persistence in reading it. This will be rectified by the final release, certainly. Usually an advance readers' copy has minor errors. This one had many.

The stories were entertaining and thoughtful. All had interesting points of view and a message to readers to large. Having never read Jeffrey Archer before, I was prepared to be entertained. I was. I recommend it.

I was invited to read The Short, the Long, and the Tall by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #theshortthelongandthetall

This is a book of Jeffrey Archer’s previously published short stories. Seventeen of these were chosen by a consensus of readers and the other three were chosen by Jeffrey Archer himself.
Jeffrey Archer is a master at writing short stories his twists and endings are sometimes amusing, sometimes, amazing, sometimes moving but always interesting and infrequently discernable.
This is a fine selection of his stories and the reader will be engaged through them all.
Even though I had read many of them I found them to be as interesting on a reread as they were on the first reading.
Mr. Archer has a gift for exploring the depths of the human psyche and he does it well in these stories.
The selection if varied in content and in tone. Some will make you laugh; some will make you feel as if the protagonists got what they deserved, some will make you think that they did not get their just rewards and some will make you feel warm and happy. But none of them will disappoint or bore you.
My very favorite short story by Mr. Archer was not in this collection but I do most assuredly recommend it. Especially if you have not dipped into Mr. Archer’s short stories previously.

There can be no question that Jeffrey Archer is a wonderful writer and that his talent transcends style and form. I believe that I have read everything that he has written, or at least everything I could get my hands on. That includes the epic Clifton Chronicles, his captivating novels and his short story collections.
This latest collection of 20 shorts is especially interesting because it includes some of his best work, meaning that you will smile, laugh, cry, and to steal a fine line, find yourself bewitched, bothered and bewildered. Live it up with the rich, the famous and the infamous and imagine yourself in some of the finest settings in the Continent.
Even if you've read these stories before, which I have, you will once again laugh and cry as you again meet these unforgettable characters in stories that leave you wanting even more.

This is a collection of short stories. Some I thought were really good, some had a bit of a twist in them and some were just a little boring or maybe a bit too long.
I think the author’s fans will enjoy them
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

The short story format is meant to give readers a full reading experience in just a few pages. The author must have the skills to jump straight into the "meat" of a story and take the readers with him. Jeffrey Archer has proven many times over that he has those skills.

20 stories, none new, none long but all excellent tales of people whose actions have unexpected consequences. The illustrations add dimension to the stories, bringing them to life as we read. A good read for everyone in my reading circle, I'd recommend to anyone looking for something a little different or a book that does not require a major time commitment.

Jeffrey Archer is my all time favorite author and I have read every book that he has written, and many a second or third time. This book is short stories that are easy to get into and as usual to his style always has twists and turns. All of these stories have been previously published but the only thing better about reading this authors books is reading them again.
I highly recommend this book for fans of Archer, and thanks for letting me get reacquainted with these.