It's not all sugarplums and ho-ho-hos, but what American Christmas Stories does offer could be the most diverse and expansive collection of holiday-themed literature by US authors ever. Compiled for the Library of America to celebrate our nation's cultural heritage, these literary gems span from 1872 to 2004, with settings from New York to Texas to outer space, and include ghostly tales, crime stories, science-fiction, westerns, humor pieces, and horror stories. Among the sixty featured writers are Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain, Dorothy Parker, Langston Hughes, Ray Bradbury, Shirley Jackson, John Updike, Amy Tan, and Sandra Cisneros. Merry literary Christmas!