The Best American Essays 2005

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.

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