Ring Lardner first burst upon the literary scene with his greatest popular success, “You Know Me Al”. A sportswriter by trade, Lardner had a superb ear for regional peculiarities in speech and was loved for his sense of humor. Funny, sarcastic, sometimes bitter but always ironic, Lardner understood Americans— their desires, their dreams, and their disappointments. Contained in “Haircut and Other Stories” are some of Lardner's best-known pieces: “Haircut”, “Alibi Ike”, “The Love Nest”, “Zone of Quiet”, and “Champion”. Through these pages pass con men; an opinionated small-town barber; a nurse who chatters on and on, much to the chagrin of her charges; baseball players who have excuses for everything; and boxers who try to make it in the fight game. Published in “The Saturday Evening Post”, "Collier's“ and ”Vanity Fair“, Lardner enjoyed great success and was heralded as a singular talent by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, H. L. Mencken, and Virginia Woolf. ”Haircut and Other Stories" is a celebration of people and of America, and is a must for anyone interested in classic American fiction.

RING LARDNER is considered the greatest writer of all time on the sport of baseball. His works include “You Know Me, Al, Gullible's Travels, Treat 'Em Rough, The Real Dope, Own Your Own Home, The Big Town,” and many others. He died in 1933, at the age of forty-eight.
JEFF SILVERMAN, a former columnist for the“ Los Angeles Herald Examiner,” has written for“ The New York Times, ”the“ Los Angeles Times,” and several national magazines. He is also editor of “The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told” (page 206), “Classic Baseball Stories” (page 14), “The Greatest Golf Stories Ever Told ”(page 16