Now in its twentieth year, this consistently refined and lively series (Booklist) still highlights the best that the form can be (Philadelphia Inquirer). Edited by the best-selling writer Susan Orlean, this years collection highlights lively and provocative writing for these difficult times. Contributors include Roger Angell, Andrea Barrett, David Sedaris, Holly Welker, and others.

"Author and New Yorker staff writer Orlean (The Orchid Thief) says in her introduction that the best essays are not mere records of a subject but are, rather, extraordinary accounts that 'reflect the thinking and emotions of the writer.' While many (perhaps too many) of the 25 essays here come from the New Yorker, small magazines are represented, and the writing is anything but conventional. Each work pulls the reader deep into the author's world; each is a remarkable first-person account of a life. Only one, Mark Greif's sharp rant 'Against Exercise,' deviates from this form. Food is a recurring theme. E.J. Levy remembers his mother by way of the romantic Julia Child meals she prepared while he was growing up. David Foster Wallace details everything the reader could possibly want to know about the lobster. Other topics vary from Cathleen Schine's moving discussion of attempting to save her dangerous and self-destructive dog to David Sedaris's humorous tribute to his boyfriend, 'Old Faithful.' Whatever the topic, this popular series continues to delight and surprise, and per Orlean's definition of an excellent essay, provides a singular glimpse into the authors' lives." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Now in its 20th year, this "consistently refined and lively series" (Booklist) still highlights "the best that the form can be" (Philadelphia Inquirer). This year's collection highlights lively and provocative writing from Roger Angell, Andrea Barrett, David Sedaris, Holly Welker, and others.

The Best American series has been the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction since 1915. Each volume's series editor selects notable works from hundreds of periodicals. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the very best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected--and most popular--of its kind.

The Best American Essays 2005 includes

Roger Angell • Andrea Barrett • Jonathan Franzen • Ian Frazier • Edward Hoagland • Ted Kooser • Jonathan Lethem • Danielle Ofri • Oliver Sacks • Cathleen Schine • David Sedaris • Robert Stone • David Foster Wallace • and others

Susan Orlean, guest editor, is the author of My Kind of Place, The Orchid Thief, The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup, and Saturday Night. A staff writer for The New Yorker since 1982, she has also written for Outside, Esquire, Rolling Stone, and Vogue.

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.

Contents

Foreword by Robert Atwan ix

Introduction by Susan Orlean xv

Roger Angell. La Vie en Rose 1

from The New Yorker

Andrea Barrett. The Sea of Information 9

from The Kenyon Review

Paul Crenshaw. Storm Country 21

from Southern Humanities Review

Brian Doyle. Joyas Voladoras 28

from The American Scholar

Kitty Burns Florey. Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog 31

from Harper's Magazine

Jonathan Franzen. The Comfort Zone 37

from The New Yorker

Ian Frazier. If Memory Doesn't Serve 56

from The Atlantic Monthly

Mark Greif. Against Exercise 62

from n 1

Edward Hoagland. Small Silences 74

from Harper's Magazine

Ted Kooser. Small Rooms in Time 100

from River Teeth

Jonathan Lethem. Speak, Hoyt-Schermerhorn 106

from Harper's Magazine

E. J . Levy. Mastering the Art of French Cooking 121

from Salmagundi

Michael Martone. Contributor's Note 131

from Flyway

David Masello. My Friend Lodovico 135

from The New York Times

Danielle Ofri. Living Will 139

from The Missouri Review

Sam Pickering. Dog Days 151

from River Teeth

Oliver Sacks. Speed 161

from The New Yorker

Cathleen Schine. Dog Trouble 181

from The New Yorker

David Sedaris. Old Faithful 195

from The New Yorker

Paula Speck. Six Seconds 203

from Meridian

Bert O. States. Skill Display in Birding Groups 208

from The North American Review

Robert Stone. The Prince of Possibility 222

from The New Yorker

Ellen Ullman. Dining with Robots 242

from The American Scholar

David Foster Wallace. Consider the Lobster 252

from Gourmet

Holly Welker. Satin Worship 271

from PMS

Biographical Notes 279

Notable Essays of 2004 285