Toward the end of her life, groundbreaking science fiction and fantasy author Ursula Le Guin selected the best of her short fiction for this two-volume collection, which includes numerous award winners and stories connected with her most popular series, the books of Earthsea and the Hainish cycle.

This volume focuses on the author's interest in realism and magical realism with eighteen of her satirical, political, and experimental stories set on earth, including the World Fantasy and Hugo Award winner "Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight"; the rarely reprinted satirical short, "The Lost Children"; the Jupiter Award winner "The Diary of the Rose"; and the title story of her Pulitzer Prize finalist collection "Unlocking the Air."