No writer portrayed America's Jazz Age as vividly as F. Scott Fitzgerald. In his effervescent tales of ingenues on the prowl for husbands, Ivy League heirs en route to futures of idle entitlement, and endless alcohol-fueled dance parties at ritzy country clubs, he limned a culture giddy with excess and as reckless as it was refined. Gifted with remarkable powers of observation and a witty way with words, Fitzgerald wrote stories that seem as fresh and modern today as they did when published a century ago.    This Great Gatsby and Other Classic Works features Fitzgerald’s first two published novels—This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and Damned—and 19 short stories, including the classics "Bernice Bobs Her Hair," "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."   The volume also includes Fitzgerald’s landmark short novel The Great Gatsby. First published in 1925, this tale of the enigmatic Jay Gatsby and his unrequited love for Daisy Buchanan has been read for decades as a parable about the American Dream. It is regarded as one of the greatest American novels of the twentieth century.   This Great Gatsby and Other Classic Works is one of Barnes & Noble's Collectible Editions classics. Each volume features authoritative texts by the world's greatest authors in an exquisitely designed bonded-leather binding, with distinctive gilt edging and a ribbon bookmark. Decorative, durable, and collectible, these books offer hours of pleasure to readers young and old and are an indispensable cornerstone for every home library.