Federations is a collection of short stories by various contemporary science fiction writers. Overall, I found it greatly enjoyable. While I was tempted to leave things at that, I guess a little more information would be helpful. Its twenty-odd stories about various aspects of large galactic federations explore many interesting ideas, worlds, characters and cultures. Not the hardest of Sci-fi, but a sweet spot between space opera and work that takes itself more seriously.
One Hundred Feet of Ryan 