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The Best American Essays 2003

by Robert Atwan and Anne Fadiman

The Best American Essays 2003 Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Since 1986, The Best American Essays has gathered the most interesting and provocative writing of the year, establishing a firm place as the leading annual of its kind. The volume is edited each year by an esteemed writer who brings a fresh eye to the selections. Previous editors have included Elizabeth Hardwick, Susan Sontag, Geoffrey C. Ward, Cynthia Ozick, and Stephen Jay Gould. This year's volume is terrifically diverse, with subjects ranging from driving lessons to animal rights to citizenship in times of emergency.

Review:

"While the anthology ignores the younger crop of essayists appearing in less established publications, many of the selections are engaging and thoughtful, restrained but occasionally transcendent." Publishers Weekly

Review:

"[E]ssentially, a bound edition of The New Yorker....Maybe Dave Eggers is skimming off all the out-there material for Best American Nonrequired Reading; at any rate, this year's model could use a little more variety and excitement." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"It's always worth checking in with Atwan....[A] splendid array of unpredictable and delectable essays....The death of loved ones, the reading habit, and 9/11 are also broached in this superb literary showcase." Donna Seaman, Booklist

Review:

"Consistent in clarity as well as quality, this diverse collection of some of the year's best short nonfiction is recommended for academic and public libraries." Library Journal

Synopsis:

From The New Yorker to the Georgia Review, from DoubleTake to Harper's Magazine, the editors of The Best American Essays have scoured the country's best magazines in search of the most artful and powerful writing around. This thoughtful, provocative collection is the result of their search.

Synopsis:

Since 1986, "The Best American Essays" has gathered the most interesting and provocative writing of the year. This year's volume is terrifically diverse, with subjects ranging from driving lessons to animal rights to citizenship in times of emergency.

Synopsis:

Includes bibliographical references (p. [334]-339).

About the Author

Anne Fadiman is the editor of The American Scholar and the author of two books of nonfiction, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down and Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader. Her essays and articles have appeared in Harper's Magazine, The New Yorker, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, among other publications.

Since the inception of The Best American Essays in 1986 as a trade book title, Robert Atwan has been series editor. He has published reviews and essays in a range of periodicals and edited a number of other literature anthologies. Atwan most recently edited two collections of poetry with a Biblical theme, Chapters into Verse by Oxford University Press and Divine Inspiration by Oxford University Press.

Table of Contents

Contents

Foreword by Robert Atwan ix Introduction by Anne Fadiman xiv

André Aciman. Lavender 1 from Harvard Review

Donald Antrim. I Bought a Bed 17 from The New Yorker

Rachel Cohen. Lost Cities 38 from The Threepenny Review

Brian Doyle. Yes 48 from The Georgia Review

Joseph Epstein. In a Snob-Free Zone 53 from The Washington Monthly

Marshall Jon Fisher. Memoria ex Machina 61 from DoubleTake

Caitlin Flanagan. Home Alone 67 from The Atlantic Monthly

Ian Frazier. Researchers Say 79 from The New Yorker

Atul Gawande. The Learning Curve 83 from The New Yorker

Adam Gopnik. Bumping Into Mr. Ravioli 103 from The New Yorker

Francine du Plessix Gray. The Debacle 112 from The American Scholar

Edward Hoagland. Circus Music 125 from Harpers Magazine

Myra Jehlen. F. P. 136 from Raritan

Jane Kramer. The Reporters Kitchen 146 from The New Yorker

Ben Metcalf. Wooden Dollar 160 from Harpers Magazine

Frederic Morton. A Delivery for Fred Astaire 174 from Harpers Magazine

Michael Pollan. An Animals Place 190 from The New York Times Magazine

Katha Pollitt. Learning to Drive 212 from The New Yorker

Elaine Scarry. Citizenship in Emergency 223 from Boston Review

Susan Sontag. Looking at War 243 from The New Yorker

Francis Spufford. The Habit 274 from Granta

Cheryl Strayed. The Love of My Life 291 from The Sun

Judith Thurman. Swann Song 308 from The New Yorker

John Edgar Wideman. Whose War 320 from Harpers Magazine

Biographical Notes 329 Notable Essays of 2002 334

Product Details

ISBN:
9780618341610
Series Editor:
Fadiman, Anne
Guest Editor:
Atwan, Robert
Editor:
Fadiman, Anne; Atwan, Robert
Editor:
Fadiman, Anne
Editor:
Atwan, Robert
Author:
Robert
Author:
Atwan
Author:
Fadiman, Anne
Author:
Atwan, Robert
Publisher:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH)
Location:
Boston
Subject:
Essays
Subject:
American - General
Subject:
20th century
Subject:
American essays
Subject:
American essays - 21st century
Copyright:
Edition Number:
2003
Edition Description:
2003 Paperback
Series:
Best American Essays
Series Volume:
1547
Publication Date:
October 2003
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
339
Dimensions:
825x549x98 91

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