William Peden is representative of the rare literary mind that can successfully assume the diverse roles of editor, critic, teacher, and creative writer. In addition to distinguishing himself as a professor of literature and director of university writing programs, he wrote histories and short stories, compiled anthologies and critical surveys, and served as editor of magazines, presses, and reviews. Through all of these endeavors Peden remained particularly devoted to the genre of the short story, always working to secure for short fiction a well-respected place in the world of literary studies. At a time when short fiction was perhaps read but little taught or studied by teachers of American literature, he published a critical survey of the genre, The American Short Story: Front Line in the National Defense of Literature (1964). In this highly influential work, Peden examines the history, form, and contemporary practice of short-story writing, attending to...