Ricardo Güiraldes (1886-1927) the Argentine poet and novelist, is widely known due to his most famous novel Don Segundo Sombra, written in 1926. Born in Buenos Aires, within a wealthy Argentinian rural family, he experienced the contrasting life of the Parisian literary circles as well as the home camp. Friend of Jorge Luis Borges, they both founded the legendary magazine Proa, Güiraldes managed to develop a simple and modern language, a high quality mixture of literacy and colourful local camp expressions that earned him a major standing among the best representatives of "criollismo". These "Stories of death and blood" are his first formal attempt at storytelling, and though written as early as 1915 (11 years before Don Segundo ) they show an exceptional artistic quality that places them among the best short stories ever written in Spanish. If you enjoyed Don Segundo Sombra this is a book not to miss.