We welcome prolific scholar Don Daiker to help us celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of The Nick Adams Stories. We discuss the volume\u2019s impact and legacy, Philip Young\u2019s controversial editorial decisions, the sequencing, and the characterization of Nick himself, in all of his various phases.
Which stories does Daiker consider underrated? Is Dr. Adams unjustly criticized as cold and unloving? What is the role of \u201cThe Last Good Country,\u201d the longest story in the volume? Is \u201cBig Two-Hearted River\u201d ultimately affirmative or tragic?
We tackle these issues and much, much more as we examine The Nick Adams Stories with its most enthusiastic advocate and its shrewdest analyst.