International number one bestselling author Jeffrey Archer is a master of the short story form, creating classic tales beloved by his fans and hitting the top of the bestseller lists with his previous collections. The Short the Long and the Tall collects together twenty of Archer's most treasured, previously published short stories.

Find out what happens to the hapless young detective from Naples who travels to an Italian hillside town to solve a murder and ends up falling in love; and the pretentious schoolboy whose discovery of the origins of his father’s wealth changes his life forever. Revel in the stories of the woman who dares to challenge the men at her Ivy League university during the 1930s, and another young woman who thumbs a lift and has an encounter she will never forget. Discover the haunting story about four men whose characters are tested to the point of death. Finally, a short parable about how pointless war is, and how decent people are caught up in the crossfire of their leaders’ ambitions.