The stories in "Winner Take Nothing, " written when Hemingway was at the height of his creative abilities, gleam with the mark of his singular ability. Hunters, wives, wise old men, waiters, fighters, loved and lost women: they're all here, living on the edge, making love, and facing death's unavoidable truth. Characters, language, situations, and the extraordinary insight could only have come from Hemingway's mind. It is a spectacularly successful compilation as an introduction to his work or as an overview of the issues he explores in greater depth in his novels.