Edited by the same team responsible for 2003's popular Tin House fiction anthology Bestial Noise, this selection of dazzling nonfiction encapsulates everything readers love about Tin House: the magazine's lively intelligence, wide-ranging curiosity, and sense of fun. Here is the best of the first twenty issues, including Jeffrey Eugenides on living above a Nazi bunker in Berlin, Jo Ann Beard on the life and death of one of Jack Kevorkian's last patients, Russell Banks on adapting novels to the screen, and Czeslaw Milosz on fellow poet Joseph Brodsky. Celebrating both Tin House's themed issues (Sex, Hollywood, Music, Lies) and the magazine's various regular departments — Readable Feasts, Pilgrimages, Lost and Found books — Cooking and Stealing gathers remarkable essays on diverse subjects from some of today's most compelling writers, confirming why the Village Voice has declared: "Tin House may very well represent the future of literary magazines."

"The literary journal Tin House is distinctive for showcasing work by luminary scribes as well as relative unknowns, and although the result can be uneven, it can also be charming. This second anthology provides a glimpse of what sets Tin House apart from other such journals. Standout essays include riffs by Rick Moody on Brian Eno; Jeffrey Eugenides on a Nazi bunker; Kathryn Harrison on lice; and Sallie Tisdale on writing about her family. The collection's title comes from Amy Bloom's essay about the two activities she enjoyed most with a beloved childhood friend. It's an apt choice to highlight, since Bloom captures Tin House's essence by blending humor, insight and a pinch of heartbreak, all within a few pages. The book's essays aren't grouped according to theme, resulting in a vague feeling of disorganization. However, this randomness highlights the range of topics covered. In Jean Nathan's 'The Lonely Doll,' the writer becomes obsessed with finding a children's book author and discovers a more bizarre and fascinating tale than she'd anticipated. Next comes Elissa Schappell's 'Sex and the Single Squirrel,' about people who find erotic satisfaction while dressed as animals. Subsequent essays address various topics, but nearly all have the same central core of self-reflection, observation and expert articulation. (Sept. 20)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)