An irresistible gathering of shorts by some of the world's most imaginative word artists. Short spans genres, languages, and centuries, to offer the tradition - and glorious present - of this popular form. Coverage includes: Precursors : sixteenth to eighteenth centuries ; Girolamo Gardano ; Michel de Montaigne ; Baltasar Gracian ; Francois de la Rochefoucauld ; John Aubrey ; Jean de la Bruyere ; Louis-Sebastien Mercier ; Chamfort ; Joseph Joubert...