Book Description
In his introduction to The Best American Science Writing 2003, Dr. Oliver Sacks, whom the New York Times has called "the poet laureate of medicine," writes that "the best science writing ... cannot be completely 'objective' -- how can it be when science itself is so human an activity? -- but it is never self-indulgently subjective either. It is, at best, a wonderful fusion, as factual as a news report, as imaginative as a novel." It is with this definition of "good" science writing in mind that Dr. Sacks has selected the twenty-five extraordinary pieces that make up the latest installment of this acclaimed annual.
This year, Peter Canby travels into the heart of remote Africa to track a remarkable population of elephants; Atul Gawande shows us the way doctors learn their skills by performing supposedly routine procedures on unsuspecting patients. With candor and tenderness, Floyd Sklootobserves the toll Alzheimer's disease is taking on his ninety-one-year-old mother, and is fascinated by the memories she retains. Marcelo Gleiser asks: If we are the universe's sole intelligent species, then what must we do to be good citizens of the cosmos? Natalie Angier writes about the challenge of traveling to distant stars. Gunjan Sinha explores the mating behavior of the common prairie vole and what it reveals about the human pattern of monogamy. Michael Klesius attempts to solve what Darwin called "an abominable mystery": How did flowers originate? Lawrence Osborne tours a farm where a genetically modified goat produces the silk of spiders in its milk. Joseph D'Agnese visits a home for retired medical research chimps. And in the collection's final piece, Richard C. Lewontin and Richard Levins reflect on how the work of Stephen Jay Gould demonstrated the value of taking a radical approach to science.
As this series firmly attests, science writing has achieved a central place in our culture, and one can posit that the reason why has to do with the special thrill of discovery that a cogent piece of science writing can elicit. As Dr. Sacks writes of Stephen Jay Gould -- to whose memory this year's anthology is dedicated -- an article of his "was never predictable, never dry, could not be imitated or mistaken for anybody else's." The same can be said of all of the writing contained in contributions to this diverse collection "that can be enjoyed by laymen, scientists, and writers alike" (Nature).
Customer Reviews:
Great for browsing........2005-01-14
I have been on a bit of a binge reading science writing lately, and I really enjoyed this collection of essays. You can pick and choose the topics that most interest you--my favorite was the essay about crackpot amateurs who dedicate themselves to promoting their own theories. I kept the book by my bed and read a new essay more or less every night.
Delightful Range of Essays on Current Topics.......2004-09-09
This is a great collection of issues and debates in science that those of us out of the field -- or even involved in other research fields -- will find interesting. They're as clearly written as editor Oliver Sacks' works and each has at least one topical issue to catch the reader's interest. Some have several.
Each story has something fascinating about it:
* "The Forest Primeval" tells about an area of the Congo which humans hadn't penetrated -- and the impact of the wildlife on the ecology. There are some surprising elements to it, including that it might once have been populated by humans.
* Mann's article from Atlantic Monthly goes through what the New World might have been like prior to Columbus -- and highlights a debate between new historians and traditionalists over whether the continent was empty -- or whether Old World diseases killed up to 90% of the population before colonists began arriving.
* "The Learning Curve" deals with the practical skills of learning to be a doctor. Don't let me in the hospital any time soon . . .
* "Notes from a Parallel Universe" deals with the people who try to convince scientists of bizarre theories. At Berkeley they even keep the crackpots papers.
* Learn about Seattle's Yuckies in "Shadow Creatures."
* Gunjan Sinha's article on voles indicates that what you might be experiencing isn't love but a hormone called oxytocin.
* The article from New Republic titled "Fighting Chance" is a great story of research -- and how a scientist's career decision got made.
* "Why Turn Red?" unravels part of a mystery for why leaves turn red, an energy-consuming activity that often occurs when the leaves are at the end of the photosynthetic life.
* If you want a GREAT theme for a scary kids story for a fiction class, the stuff in "Got Silk" has the raw material for good science fiction.
* The essay on Hawking is interesting, if only because the bet that it refers to from 1997 was just settled about a month ago -- with Hawking admitting that he was wrong.
* Cassuto's essay from "Salon" portrays the impact of a scandal on the science world, where the collateral damage can be as broad as in the financial world.
* And finally, the last essay does justice to the career of Stephen Jay Gould, as a biologist, essayist and ardent enemy of creationist influence on public policy.
* Plus, you can even learn which TV show retired lab chimpanzees prefer.
I'm a sucker for the "Best American Short Stories" collections issued each year, but this collection of science essays exceeded my expectations. So much so that I sent it to my daughter at college.
Not quite blue ribbon.......2004-01-07
It would have been interesting to follow Oliver Sacks' selection process in assembling this collection. Today's "science writing" covers a multitude of topics and a spectrum of writing styles. This book provides a mixed bag of both, with some vivid winners and less captivating also-rans. While that can only be expected in such a diverse collection, it would have been enlightening to know what was set aside in the selection process.
The twenty-five essays collected here cover most fields of science. With Sacks' background, medicine is given slots, but the articles reflect more personal considerations than either research breakthroughs or even public health issues. It's evident that doctors must train, but reading confessions of ineptness in the apprenticeship don't inspire confidence. One essay, which must have caused an uproar when published, describes the life of two deaf women who decide to bear children - preferably deaf children. It's a vivid description of a sub-culture that must be recognised and understood.
Another essay about relationships centres on the prairie vole. This intriguing little animal provides some interesting insights on the concept of "love". Voles select mates, build a nest and settle down. The relationship, seemingly monogamous, may undergo some interesting twists under various conditions. Those conditions produce severe chemical changes in the voles, changes driving unexpected behaviour. Two chemicals, which are present and active in humans, drive voles to violent confrontation or endearing attraction. While little furry creatures may seem to have little to do with human behaviour, further studies indicated just how similar human chemistry is with the rest of the animal kingdom.
On a more practical note, the ongoing disputes over the condition of American fisheries have brought together the fishers and the government rule-maker. Lobsters, unlike cod and other foods harvested from the sea, appear to withstand the growing demand for their meat. When administrators sought to control the take, lobstermen objected. A new programme of lobster "census-taking" brought surprises. Using the latest technology, researchers wandered the ocean bottom in submarines or remote probes to better understand the lobster life cycle. Their studies may help save the fishery and perhaps point to new studies of other commercial fish resulting in fewer idle fishermen.
As a conclusion, a paean to the late paleontologist and science writer Stephen J. Gould is provided by his colleagues. Whatever one may think of Gould's theories, he made an immense mark in educating the American public to science. The heroes and pariahs alike of science came under his scrutiny and were illuminated by his prose. It is a fitting end to this collection. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
A Fine Overview of American Science Writing for 2003.......2003-11-30
Guest editor Oliver Sacks does a fine job assembling an intriguing array of essays pertaining to science and medicine in the latest installment of HarperCollins annual series on the best American science writing. His terse introduction pays homage to his friend Stephen Jay Gould. The first two essays, Peter Canby's "The Forest Primeval" and Charles Mann's "1491", are undoubtedly the best. The former is an engrossing look at a tropical ecologist; the latter is a compelling explanation for the rapid decline of Native Americans on both American continents soon after Columbus' "discovery" of the New World. New York Times science writer Natalie Angier offers a whimsical look at interplanetary exploration in her essay "Scientists Reach Out to Distant Worlds". Nobel Prize-winning Cornell University chemist Roald Hoffmann - a talented man of letters too (Incidentally he is also one of Stuyvesant High School's three Nobel Prize laureates) - examines why simplicity may not be the best reason for "Why Buy That Theory?". On a somber, poignant note, this essay collection closes with "Stephen Jay Gould: What Does It Mean to Be a Radical?", an eloquent eulogy summarizing the late paleobiologist's career by his Harvard University colleagues Richard Lewontin and Richard Levins.
Okay, but you can do better........2003-09-29
To give you the viewpoint from which I'm coming from, I read Scientiic American, Discover, American Scientist, New Scientist and two journals of mathematics, and still enjoy reading a Springer Verlag book. I am a science junky, and so I am always delighted to see a book like `The Best American Science Writing'. Every year I read it, and every year I have mixed feelings about it.
Let me get to the bottom line first:
If you read any of the magazines I've listed and you are looking for the same sort of articles in this book you'll be disappointed. If you however, you read these magazines, but like lighter articles on science, a change of pace, or a different perspective, this book is a decent buy. If you are on a tight budget, I recommend skipping this book, and going for the other `brand': The Best American Science And Nature Writings XXXX' by Houghton Mifflin Publications. If you are literary minded or have but a small interest in science, and want to know a bit more about it. This book is a better value for you.
That is it. But for those wanting a bit more detail, continue reading, at least skip to the section where I list some articles that should have made publication. The general characteristic of most of these articles is not so much science, but how science fits into the larger context of society. So the pattern goes, introduce a small bit of science. Next show how that science impacts a particular individual or group. Then see the economic and social impact that science or the group has. Then talk about relevant worldly demographics. And finally, muse over some vague connections with other parts of science.
You'll notice that any `factual' science comprises maybe a fifth of any article. This may or may not be a good thing. It's up for you to decide. Most of these articles I gave 3 stars, and the average of the whole lot, I would give 2-3 stars. There are some fives, and there are some articles which I am shocked to have made it into publication of a magazine, and then published twice in a book!
I have a few complaints of every generation of this book. One is there is too many articles from literary magazines. The first few publications contain no articles from American Scientist. There are no pictures or graphs which came with the original publication of the article. Mathematics is not represented at all. Too many headline science articles makes the book `feel' the same every year: like a literary version of the five minute science segments found on your local 30 minute news.
I've decided to list some articles that haven't made any of these books but should have (I base it on the same criteria they use, fashionable, and accessible):
-Statistics of Deadly Quarrels by Brian Hayes (American Scientist Vol 90, No 1)
-Health and Human Society by Clyde Hertzman (American Scientist Vol 89, No 6)
-Influenza by Robert G. Webster, and Elizabeth Jane Walker (American Scientist Vol 91, No 2)
The first two articles provide much to think about, and are very informative. In addition, they are freely available on the internet. The last article came out this year and is an excellent summary of the flu, where it comes from, and how it mutates.
Because of the amazon word limitation, I could not place my entire review here, but I deem it wise to at least mention that the first two articles. These articles were by far the best in the book, and some of the facts contained in the book -I believe- deserve a much wider and expert audience! Particularly striking to me is how an Arfican tribe can hunt like child's play using their vocal chords. The implications for human evolution and linguistics can be enormous. Also, the mentioning of terra preta which can have profound impact on agriculture across the world, if is indeed true.
The rest of articles after the first two are so-so. And some abysmally bad.
Book Description
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.
Customer Reviews:
Simply the Best?.......2006-04-19
I enjoy reading essays. Unlike many of my peers, it is a form of writing that I have enjoyed ever since I first learned to read. An essay allows a writer to say something, to deliver a message, to make a point, or tell a story in a very refined and distinct way. If a writer tries to do the same things in a short story, poem, or book, things can become convoluted and readers might not understand what the writer was trying to say.
THE BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS series is a part of the BEST OF series in American writing that collects some of the "best" essays written in a certain year from a variety of sources and places those essays in one volume for all to read. It sounds like a great process, but there is a catch. Those essays are selected by one editor each year under the guidance of the series editor. Therefore, sometimes the volume contains works of writing that might be very well written, but really aren't the best essays from a given year and instead reflect that year's guest editor's style and preferences. Despite an introduction that described the process that Fadiman went through in selecting the 2003 choices and claiming otherwise, after reading through THE BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS 2003, I believe that this is one of those editions.
The volume does include a huge variety of essay written in many different styles and some of these are very good. I particularly enjoyed Brian Doyle's "Yes"-an essay about the word and how it ties to life; Ian Frazier's "Researchers Say" a piece of writing that punctures the research journals and magazines that so many people follow with such devotion sometimes against reason; Adam Gopnik's "Bumping Into Mr. Ravioli" where he tells about his daughter's imaginary friend Mr. Ravioli and how their relationship came to imitate the world at large and an innocence lost; and Edward Hoagland's "Circus Music" that examines life in a circus and the correspondence to our own lives. These essays are completely engaging and are some of the best American essays of 2003.
There are others, however, which aren't as engaging but were probably chosen because of the author's writing style or the topic that the writer was writing about. For example, Andre Aciman's "Lavender". This essay opens with a wonderful opening sentence, however, the author then goes on to "tell" the story of his life (not really) through the variety of smells that he has sniffed in his life and the different bottles of cologne and perfume that he has owned.
Another example is "Swann Song" by Judith Thurman. This is a much shorter essay than "Lavender" but is told in a similar way-Thurman writes about her life through the pieces of fashion that she has owned. Not only that, but the essay really isn't an essay at all but is more like a report and interview about the retirement of a Paris fashion designer that no one in America outside of the fashion industry has ever heard of before. Also, like previous books in the series, BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS 2003 contains a glut of essays from THE NEW YORKER. I like THE NEW YORKER. It is a prestigious piece of literary media and someday I would like to see some of my own writing appear in it. However, when a third of the essays in a series that is supposed to represent the best of America come from the same regional magazine, it smells of snobbery. As she did with some of the lesser quality pieces in the book, the editor attempts to justify her choices in the introduction. That justification might be enough for readers from New York, but for the rest of the country it really doesn't quite cut it.
Still there is a lot of great writing in the book and some of the best American essays of 2003 are included. Readers should just be aware that not everything in the book is as good as the title would imply.
24 servings of rich, satisfying brain food.......2003-12-23
Last year's Best American Essays collection was edited by renowned (now, deceased) biologist Steven Jay Gould. Anne Fadiman, the editor for this year's collection, is by profession an essay editor, and the positive results show in this collection. Fadiman has chosen 24 essays whose common attribute is, as she states, that they are "crammed...the essays in this book... have no extra air. They're all Haagen-Dazs," for the brain, I might add.
My favorite was also Fadiman's, Andre Aciman's "Lavender", which just might revitalize the personal fragrance industry if it becomes read widely enough. Other highlights, in my opinion, were Atul Gawande's "The Learning Curve," a firsthand account of how medical professionals learn through trial and error (and the impact on society which this unavoidable fact causes), Francis Stufford's "The Habit," about growing up as a bookworm, and "Home Alone," in which Caitlin Flanagan skewers Christopher Byron's biography of Martha Stewart (she provides all the evidence needed to back up her arguments, so this is a successful, highly entertaining, vicious intellectual attack from one writer to another). However, I found all the other essays save one to be almost equally as memorable and powerful.
Just one of the 24 essays is fatally, logically flawed, Elaine Scarry's "Citizenship in Emergency". I'm surprised Fadiman chose it, since it clearly violates her prescription that "monumentality can be catastrophic" in an essay. Scarry uses selective evidence from the events of 9/11 to expound upon her obviously deeply held belief that the defense of the U.S. should be returned in some manner to the citizenry (she doesn't say exactly how, other than to cite the founding fathers' reliance on citizen militias). She launches into the typical left-wing tirade against the Bush administration and the war on terrorism, and even states that the fact that the U.S. possesses nuclear weapons means we are a monarchy, not a democracy. This ignores the fact that we elect our Commander in Chief every four years, and that there was a vote of the people's representatives (i.e. Congress) authorizing the Commander in Chief to invade Iraq. To construct her initial argument in favor of citizenry-led self-defense, Scarry brushes aside the fact that the passengers on the flight that crashed into the Pentagon had almost as much time and opportunity to figure out a way to stop the hijackers as did the passengers of United flight 93, and ignores the strong likelihood that the military, which by the time United flight 93 crashed had figured out what was going on that day, would have brought down the flight if the passengers had not (this is not to take anything away from the passengers of United flight 93, who pulled off one of the most heroic acts in recent American history). Furthermore, 9/11 represented not only a failure of the military to protect the Pentagon after the planes were hijacked, but equally prominently a failure of the U.S.'s non-military airline security system. Would Scarry propose that we American citizens invoke our 2nd Amendment right to bear arms on flights to solve this problem as well?
The other overtly political essay, John Edgar Wideman's "Whose War", which argues that U.S. was wrong to overthrow the Taliban after 9/11 and instead should have negotiated with Osama bin Laden (to quote Wideman: "by speaking to one another we might formulate appropriate responses, even to the unthinkable"), is perfectly counterbalanced by Francine du Plessix Gray's "The Debacle", which shows firsthand what the French policy of appeasement towards (and military underestimation of) Hitler led to: a mass exodus and four years of Nazi occupation of France that was only reversed when the U.S.- and U.K.-led Allies landed at Normandy.
Aside from the issues cited with the two most political essays, this collection is smart, entertaining, thought provoking, well written, and diverse in its subject matter, exactly as one would hope from an essay anthology.
the best year yet.......2003-12-19
This year's edition of The Best American Essays is the best one I've read so far. Almost every essay is worth reading (there are a few that weren't very good), and half of the essays are phenomenal essays. Pick any essay in this collection (go with Spufford's "The Habit") and you can't go wrong. This is what all the various best of volumes should be like. Excellent.
Book Description
Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, the very best pieces are selected by an editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field, making the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind. Dave Eggers, who will be editing The Best American Nonrequired Reading annually, has once again chosen the best and least-expected fiction, nonfiction, satire, investigative reporting, alternative comics, and more from publications large, small, and on-line -- The Onion, The New Yorker, Shout, Time, Zoetrope, Tin House, Nerve.com,and McSweeney's, to name just a few. Read on for "Some of the best literature you haven't been reading . . . And it's fantastic. All of it." (St. Petersburg Times). Lynda Barry Jonathan Safran Foer Lisa Gabriele Andrea Lee J. T. Leroy Nasdijj ZZ Packer David Sedaris
Customer Reviews:
Mostly the stories are about survival.......2004-11-28
Sherman Alexie writes of Sacagawea, the Shoshone who accompanied Lewis and Clark. She died of some mysterious illness when she was only in her twenties. Lynda Barry's entry is in the nature of a graphic short story. She covers the interesting subject of the peculiar scent of each person's house.
Ryan Boudinot writes of having a costume as Hitler for a school harvest carnival. First he created trouble on the school bus. His fourth grade teacher was amused and disturbed. Another student dressed as Anne Frank. The teacher elected to have a discussion about the Second World War. The girl playing Anne Frank saw her popularity soar. Davy, the boy character of the story, decided not to be Hitler that evening. He and his father found a Frankenstein mask.
Mark Bowden writes of the tyrant, Saddam Hussein. In his sixties, he cannot appear to age since his power is based on fear. He swims, he dyes his hair. His desk is immaculate. He reads voraciously which is a good thing since he is fed lies. His passion is Arabic history and military history. People have reported it is plesant to sit and talk to Saddam. As people age, the area of making choices is reduced. A tyrant has the narrowest field of all. Power shuts the tyrant off from the world. Saddam's clan was known to be violent and clever. Saddam committed his crimes publicly, cloaking them in patriotism. Things started with ego and ambition and became a political movement. The conflict in Iraq was a conflict in mentalities, between the city and the village. The backbone of politics is in the city. In the city politics is a matter of law, not blood. Saddam was a man of the village, of tribal loyalty. His favorite movies were THE GODFATHER and THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA. The invasion of Kuwait in 1990 was a military miscalculation. Mark Bowden explains that cruelty is the tyrant's art.
Judy Budnitz in "Visiting Hours," describes visiting her brother Ezra in the hospital after he suffered a concussion causing short term memory loss. She tells her parents she is danger of being suspended from school because she has taken time-off to visit her brother. The family dynamics appear to be conflict-ridden and mysterious. The brother suffers a new injury to remain in the hospital.
David Drury states in a piece that a suburb is a delicate thing. A family whose house burns down inherited the house from an aunt. The blended family did not really fit into the neighborhood. Family members did not tend the lawn, and Christmas decorations were taken from the yards of the other houses. The children did not have the approved kinds of bicycles and they were shunned by the other children.
Tribute bands are a maligned sector of the rock and roll scene claims Chuck Klosterman in "The Pretenders." Being derivative is not simple. Fans already exist for the tribute band. You don't have to beg your friends to come to watch you play.
This selection of material by Dave Eggers and his advisory group of mostly high school students is quite good. The idea of having annual volumes for different kinds of writing is great.
Eclectic assortment..........2004-10-22
I bought this for a plane ride and I loved it. The fact that it mixes so many different genres is great. There are so many pieces in this collection that I never would have been exposed to had I not purchased this book, and I'm thankful I did.
Without getting into specific essays, I enjoyed almost everything featured in this book. It is a diverse group of readings, and I'd recommend it to anyone that wants to broaden his or her horizons but doesn't know how to do it. You'll feel enriched after reading this.
Very fun read.......2004-10-03
This eclectic collection of writing was loaned to me by a friend who thought it would be right up my alley. She was right! I had never heard of the series and am now seeking out the other years of "Nonrequired Reading." Every selection is different, so you are bound to love something in here. Several entries had me giggling delightedly. Others had me crying. Most I just enjoyed without any sloppy emotionalism. Definitely recommended.
Unmitigated Failure.......2004-04-27
They should retitle this volume: "Nonrequired Reading, Where Literature Comes To Die" Why anyone would want to waste their time with pretentious drivel like this is beyond me. This is the most needless collection of mish-mash I have ever seen put together.
Must Miss.......2004-03-31
This anthology is dull, dull, dull, full of mediocre writers who couldn't achieve recognition if it wasn't for the keen perceptive eyes of Dave Eggers and Zadie Smith, two "literary powerhouses"--yeah, I even have to laugh at that one. If you hate Smith and Eggers, you'll hate this anthology even more. This volume is titled Nonrequired Reading for a reason. It's somewhat amusing to skim through while you're on the toilet, but I can't say that it merits anything more than a cynical chuckle, before being tossed into the garbage bin with last month's Cosmo.
Book Description
Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundred of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to the twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2003, edited by Richard Dawkins, is another "eloquent, accessible, and even illuminating" collection (Publishers Weekly). Here are the best and brightest writers on science and nature, writing on such wide-ranging subjects as astronomy's new stars, archaeology, the Bible, "terminal" ice, and memory faults. Natalie Angier Timothy Ferris Ian Frazier Elizabeth F. Loftus Steven Pinker Oliver Sacks Steven Weinberg Edward O. Wilson
Customer Reviews:
Brief yet thorough..........2004-09-27
Part of what makes this collection so interesting and of lasting value is the wide range of topics addressed. Each of the selections honestly and expertly examines the issues at hand, many of which most people would not even think about if left to themselves. The political and religious articles were of particular importance and relevence. A superb and absorbing collection from some of the finest minds writing today.
Mixed bag ý exactly as it should be.......2004-05-30
The best thing about a collection of essays like this is that you get to read articles by writers you've never heard of, on topics you never realized could be at least interesting and sometimes even compelling. The writing ranges from dry and technical to almost purely emotional. I can't think of a single dud, which is little surprise, given the editor.
So, read it for elucidation or inspiration. You will come away with a few previously-unfamiliar names firmly lodged in your head for future reference, like Ian Frazier. The end of his (quite literally sensual) ode to icebergs is so beautiful it almost hurts. Here it is in full:
"A lot of what is exciting about being alive can't be felt, because it's beyond the power of the senses. Just being on the planet, we are moving around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour; it would be great if somehow we could climb up to an impossible vantage point and actually feel that speed.
"All this data we've got piling up is interesting, but short on thrills. Time, which we have only so much of, runs out on us, and as we get older we learn that anything and everything will go by. And since it all go by anyway, why doesn't it all go right now, in a flash, and get it over with? For mysterious reasons, it doesn't, and the pace at which it proceeds instead reveals itself in icebergs.
"In the passing of the seconds, in the one-thing-after-another, I take comfort in icebergs. They are time solidified and time erased again. They pass by and vanish, quickly or slowly, regular inhabitants of a world we just happened to end up on. The glow that comes from them is the glow of more truth than we can stand."
Hoping for the Best.......2004-05-05
Early in the forward, renown autthor/scientist Richard Dawkins writes " In a single glimpse of Andromeda, then, your eyes capture light that encompasses a span of 150,000 years, which is roughly equal to the length of time that humans have walked the earth. What holy book, what myth, can match the grandeur of that reality? In the face of such sublimity, why would any of us want to cling ot the old tales...the ones with the answers but not many questions?
That phrase captures what is best and least about this book. The grandeur of science opening up an infinite series of new questions on the one hand, and on the other, being challenged by the mundane world of people who would prefer to read "self-help" and "new age" books, a phenomena that scientists cannot fathom.
In the best sense, there are articles about science and scientists that stretch you mind by light years. "Ice Memory", tells of studies of cores of Greenland ice showing that earth has undergone dramatic changes in temperature in decades which dwarf the current exterpolations of global warming.
But the least of the book are the essays on science fighting entrenched interests or wayward passions. Some writers seem to miss the point or are fighting straw dogs. The problems of "recovered memories" in not really abused childern and lack of historical basis for the Bible are not so new to me. As Dawkins is an important writer on evolution, he probably has to deal with the conflicts between the science and peoples attitudes and beliefs more often than I do.
But I enjoyed almost every essay, learning that a sperm whale's head acts as a punching bag, and that new telescopes have returned the amatuer to an important role in astronomy. I even enjoyed some of the science vs politics stuff such as Gary Taubes exploration of the idea that poorly researched nutritional guidance from the government may have even triggered the fat epidemic.
There is food for thought in this smorgasbord, even if it is not a feast. As another reviewer said, the level of the science is at the more popular end of science reading -- but it is there. A good book to nibble at on many short commutes.
solid collection.......2003-12-19
There's little I can add to the reviews that the other reviewers haven't already said, and said well. I'll just chime in with my opinion: it's a solid collection of essays and I'd recommend it.
Not as good as 2002, but still very good.......2003-12-05
This is a great series. This year the selection seemed to have more of an anti-religious and political tone, but most of the selections are still well-written, educational and thoughtful.
Book Description
In the magazine world, no recognition is more highly coveted than an "Ellie," presented by the American Society of Magazine Editors. The finalists and winners are chosen from more than a thousand submissions, and the stories in this anthology represent the very best of those outstanding works by some of the most eminent writers in the country. Among them are:
"The Most Dangerous Beauty"
Michael Paterniti, GQ
"A Piece of Cotton"
Anne Fadiman, The American Scholar
"Lying in Wait"
Gary Smith, Sports Illustrated
"Horseman, Pass By"
John Jeremiah Sullivan, Harper's
"In the Party of God"
Jeffrey Goldberg, The New Yorker
"Jewish Power, Jewish Peril"
Christopher Hitchens, Vanity Fair
"The Fifty-first State?"
James Fallows, The Atlantic Monthly
"Terminal Ice"
Ian Frazier, Outside
The American Society of Magazine Editors is the professional organization for editors of consumer magazines that are edited, published, and sold in the United States. It sponsors the National Magazine Awards in association with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Customer Reviews:
Quality Writing From Every Corner.......2004-02-12
I'm a big fan of the "Best American" series of books. Nowhere can the reader find such great collections of stories and articles in the fields of Sports, Travel, Crime, Mysteries, Short Stories, and so on. "Best American Magazine Writing 2003" was my first experience with this particular catagory, and I immediately noted that it contains entries from both the 2003 Sports and Crime volumes.
Fantastic prose and exemplary storytelling are key features to the Best American books, and this one is no exception. The highlights from this collection include a discussion of Icebergs and Global Warming called "Terminal Ice," a retelling of football coach George O'Leary's downfall called "Lying in Wait," a chilling account of Holocaust victims used to create an anatmy guide in "The Most Dangerous Beauty," and reportage on the Hezbollah terrorist movement called "In the Party of God."
The only drawback to this collection is that the articles and stories vary so widely in subject matter that some will likely be of much more interest to any individual reader than others. Nevertheless, it's a keeper.
Book Description
Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundred of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to the twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind. More and more readers are discovering the pleasures of armchair travel through the hugely successful Best American Travel Writing, now in its fourth adventurous year. Journey through the 2003 volume from Route 66 to the Arctic; go deep into Poland's Tatra Mountains and through the wildest jungle in Congo. Selections this year are from equally far-flung sources, including Outside, Food and Wine, National Geographic Adventure, Potpourri, and The New Yorker. Rebecca Barry Peter Canby Christopher Hitchens Kira Salak Andrew Solomon William T. Vollmann
Customer Reviews:
Tedious.......2004-06-07
This book is filled largely with the type of article you'd read part of while waiting in the doctor's office, and never lament not being able to finish it (or even recall you had started it). Though there are certainly a few gems, I found so many of the stories boring, meandering, droll. The couple that are meant to be humorous are altogether unfunny. And almost NONE of them is actually about travel.
Skip this book. If you want a collection of stories resplendent with what it is that calles to a traveller's soul, try Wanderlust from the editors of Salon.com.
Broaden your horizons..........2004-04-20
This is one of the best books I've read in years. Every night I would randomly open to a different story and be transported.
I think the title is a bit misleading, though. This is not full of tourist stories. They are just very well-written articles that happen to take place in a land foreign to the author. For instance, a Jewish woman's journey to the Ukraine to uncover the story of relatives that were killed by the Nazi's. Not all the stories are quite so serious, in fact there is one by Jack Handey (Saturday Night Live writer) about a men's camping trip that was absolutely hysterical.
For anyone who values great writing and well-told story, you will definitely appreciate this book and the others in the series.
Not Travel -- Social Activism!.......2004-01-14
I get the "Best American" series to stay current with what some of our best writers are saying, but this year's editor has led me down the garden path.
At least 50% of the articles dwell on environmental or social causes. Yes, I suppose the writers had to travel somewhere to get their data, but their essays are not about travel; rather, they are about causes.
I will hope that, for 2004, the series publishers get a handle on things and place social essays in the "Best American Essays..." collection and reserve the Travel volume for just that.
Travel on the edge.......2003-12-22
Though there are a few funny pieces in this year's travel anthology, Frazier's ("On the Rez") bent is for serious things happening in unhappy and often unlovely places. Tom Bissell's "Eternal Winter" explores the death of the Aral Sea, a hopeless Soviet-made ecological disaster with endless ghastly repercussions in a surreal landscape. Peter Chilson writes about the Tuareg rebellion at the edge of the Sahara, in Niger, which perpetually resumes with the harmattan, the dust and sand storms that cripple visibility, allowing swooping raids on merchant caravans through the desert.
Scott Carrier witnesses the Afghan view of war and life in Mazar-e-Sharif and makes a harrowing road trip to bombed-out Kabul, while Andrew Solomon, there for much the same purpose, discovers the wonders of Afghan food and hospitality.
Ecological warriors are the focus of Patrick Symmes' "Blood Wood," and Tom Clynes' "They Shoot Poachers, Don't They?" Symmes journeys along the Brazilian Amazon meeting fierce and endangered activists striving to stem the lucrative, illegal, and often deadly mahogany trade. Clynes reports on American conservationists in the Central African Republic. "Their mission was to drive out the marauding gangs of Sudanese poachers who were rapidly wiping out the region's elephants and other animals. Their authority: shoot on sight."
There are pieces on journeys made for their own sake, but these are no vacations. Lawrence Millman has a funny, scary piece on being stranded on an uncharted, uninhabited desert island - in the arctic. And Kira Salak follows the trail of doomed early-19th century explorer Mungo Park, paddling 600 miles down the sometimes very hostile Niger River in an inflatable kayak.
For lighthearted contrast there's Michael Specter's profile of rapper Puff Daddy, now a fashion designer, in Paris for Fashion Week, and Lisa Anne Auerback's "Pope on a Tow Rope," exploring Pope John Paul II's Polish skiing days.
Off the beaten track and often intense, from Wilmington, Delaware to Timbuktu, this all-around fine compilation has all-around appeal.
Book Description
Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to the twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind. Buzz Bissinger selects the very best writing on a vast variety of competitive endeavors, from baseball to weightlifting, skating to demolition derby. Herein today's foremost journalists -- among them Gary Smith, Elizabeth Gilbert, Bill Plaschke, and Rebecca Mead -- throw revealing light on a pantheon of stars: Shaquille O'Neal, Bobby Fischer, Mike Tyson, the San Diego Chicken, and more.
Customer Reviews:
If you want to grow to hate sports just read this book.......2004-03-30
This book presents an incredibly grim view of sports. Is there no good sports writing that actually deals with sport or do writers today only deal with the personalities and the pains of sports? If you want to kill any joy left of sports in your life then open up this book and let these writers open your eyes to everything negative they can find in sports. Even the "uplifting" stories present a world crashing down around people who have only 1 positive outlet in life, the sport they play.
2003 Collection Might Be the Best Yet.......2003-11-23
I've read most of the "Best American Sportswriting" annual collections since the series began back in 1991. The 2003 edition might just be the strongest yet. Guest editor Buzz Bissinger has put together a strong collection of stories that probe beyond the headlines to focus on the place of sports in our society. The book starts out with the awful tale of a former triathlete turned quadroplegic ("Lucky Jim") and rarely loses intesity from there. Other highlights include a profile of the man behind The Chicken ("Fowled Away"), the Washington comeback of Michael Jordan ("Gambling Man), a profile of demolition derby racers ("Appetite for Destruction"), a recount of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre ("When the Terror Began"), and a sad biographical story ("Bobby Fisher's Pathetic Endgame). All told, there is not a clunker in the mix.
Overall, this is a great collection for anyone who loves sports or who simply loves a good story.
Book Description
The fourth edition of publishing's only adventure annual offers another exhilarating collection of the year's most gripping and entertaining adventure stories—from the world's coldest waters to its scariest wildfire. Drawn from the year's most memorable adventure book titles, magazine pieces, and websites, these stories focus on men and women pushing beyond their limits—from the woman who swam to Antarctica to the seven snowboarders who tried to ride out an avalanche in British Columbia's untracked Selkirk Mountains, to the biologist trying to survive his search for a new species of bear. Including new work by David Roberts, Sy Montgomery, Peter Leschak, and Tim Cahill, these selections prove once again that today's best adventure literature ranks among the best writing anywhere.
Customer Reviews:
Good stuff, but you may have seen some of it........2003-10-20
The book is 294 pages and has 16 selections. For the most part they are all good adventure/survival tales but if you really enjoy this genre then you probably already read Outside, Men's Journal and Nat'l Geographic Adventure. So there's the catch. Four of the pieces appeared in Men's Journal over the past year, three in Adventure, and two in Outside - over half the book. Of the remaining seven selections, three are from magazines and four are book excerpts. (In last year's annual nine of 14 were book excerpts and only one magazine was used twice.) Anyway, it is good stuff, and worth reading again. Four selections deal with mountaineering or avalanches. There are profiles of bull riders and stunt flyers. You'll read about killer lions, trekking central Africa, torture in Burma and being taken hostage in Columbia. Several selections are a chronicle of the times we live in: the World Trade Center, bombings in Bali, and the murder of Daniel Pearl. I'm thinking this would be a good holiday present for a a guy, especially a teenage boy who likes adventure and/or the outdoors. (I say 'guy' only because all the stories focus on men or the male point of view in the adventure, though several do involve women.) It is fast, enjoyable reading that hits a pretty wide variety of activity. It makes a good introduction to the Adrenaline Series or the books that provided the excerpts, a couple of which I will now be looking for.
Book Description
The Best American Political Writing 2003 preserves the most incisive, controversial, and entertaining writing about the notable events and people of 2002. In a year engulfed in political controversy, from President Bush’s plans for a preemptive war on Iraq to the Enron and Adelphia scandals, American politics provided no shortage of fodder for debate. Gathering from the nation’s leading publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, the New Yorker, the Nation, the Atlantic Monthly, the Weekly Standard, Foreign Affairs, Vanity Fair, and Salon.com, as well as writing from such think tanks as the Heritage Foundation and the Brookings Institution, Royce Flippin culls the best writing on the year’s most talked-about topics. In a year that saw Karl Rove stealthily engineer the decisive drubbing of the Democrats in the 2002 midterm elections, as well as continuing debate over the controversial U.S.A. Patriot Act and the creation of a new Department of Homeland Security, America's finest political reporters — including Joe Klein, Jeff Greenfield, Robert Kagan, Christopher Hitchens, Paul Krugman, Ron Suskind, Elizabeth Kolbert, Michael Ignatieff, Sir John Keegan, Meryl Gordon, Senator Robert Byrd, and Jeffrey Toobin — produced some of the most passionate, disparate, and controversial writing in decades.
Customer Reviews:
Not what I had hoped........2005-02-09
Be aware that this book is not from the same publisher as the well regarded "The Best American Series" by Houghton Mifflin. I had hoped for equal, in-depth and fair analysis of political issues that would increase my political IQ. Instead I felt that each essay was based more on opinion than facts, although selective facts can be used to support just about any opinion. And I don't think they were chosen with balance in mind. There is only one article which is negative about the Bush tax cuts but not a corresponding positive article. There are 6 articles on Gay Marriage however.
If possible, look closely at the sources of the articles (listed in the table of contents) and read the brief descriptions by the editor at the beginning of each article before buying this book.
Nice to know some still care.......2003-10-12
This book is filled with topics that should be at the forefront of the national conversation but are falling on the deaf ears of an apathetic populace. Doesn't anyone care anymore? This is the important stuff, folks. Hard facts and important ideas on the issues that are vital to our future are being drowned out by the legions of bickering, partisan loudmouths with an axe to grind. This book is one of the dying breed that is not for only conservatives or only liberals but for AMERICANS, lest we forget we're all in this together. Highlights for me included the essays, such as Paul Kruger's "For Richer," that reveal how the interests of the wealthy have hijacked our government to a degree never seen before and why our politicians play along, despite overwhelming public opinion against it and the damage it does to our country. Also recommended is Robert Kuttner's reminder of all the promises George W. Bush made to us during his campaign opposed to what he's actually delivered. There could hardly be more distance between the two. Since it helps to know something about your reviewer, I'll tell you that I'm a Democrat, but you'll find a mix of serious conservative, liberal and independent voices here, though not from the extreme fringes. There's no shortage of other books you can look to if that's your thing. Left, right or center, you will find that the writers whose essays make up this book care deeply about which they write and that's what we could all use a lot more of; more caring and less squawking. If you care about your country but are tired of the shrill war of words and conspiracy theories that pass for political writing these days, this book is a beacon in the dark night.
Something for everyone.......2002-12-24
I know what they say about yesterday's newspaper, but these pieces from 2001, beginning with that mind-bending election and with a special section on September 11, are a slice of history such as we hope not to see again. And besides, many are think pieces from magazines like "The New Yorker" and "The Nation," "Vanity Fair," "salon.com" and "The Atlantic Monthly."
The book is divided into six parts, each followed by a "National Conversation," with column-length opinion pieces. Election 2000 includes five pieces from the likes of Vincent Bugliosi (liberal) and Charles Krauthammer (conservative); Politics in the Bush Era features Margaret Carlson and Nicholas Lemann, with columns from Molly Ivins and Paul Krugman. Lani Guinier and Frank Rich sound off on (Not) Politics As Usual, then Barbara Ehrenreich and David Brooks give their View from Main Street. The second half of the book concentrates on September 11 and the War on Terror and we hear from Richard Perle, Fouad Ajami, Richard Rodriguez, Jeane Kirkpatrick and Henry Kissinger. Among others. The writing is lively and forceful, of course, and if the predictions are sometimes wrong, it's nice to know such opinionated people aren't right about everything. For political junkies of all persuasions.
Books:
- The Canterbury Tales: (original-spelling edition) (Penguin Classics)
- The Clinton Crack-Up: The Boy President's Life After the White House
- The Complete Anne of Green Gables Boxed Set (Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, ... Rainbow Valley, Rilla of Ingleside)
- The Complete Works (Everyman's Library)
- The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror
- The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss
- The Divine Comedy: Inferno - Purgatory - Paradise (Naxos AudioBooks)
- The Divine Comedy: Inferno - Purgatory - Paradise (Naxos AudioBooks)
- The Food of France
- The Grapes of Wrath (Centennial Edition)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Origins of the Cold War, 1941 - 1949, Third Edition
- Oriental Carpets: A Complete Guide - The Classic Reference
- Leading from the Maze: A Personal Pathway to Leadership
- Our Common Future
- R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz, & Country
- The Brothers Karamazov
- Molecular Genetics of Bacteria
- Tourism Market Trends South Asia 2000
- Master VISUALLY) Project 2003
- Kelly's 2002: Kelly's Industrial Directory
General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
The Best American Science Writing 2004 (Best American Science Writing)
The Best American Science Writing 2002 (Best American Science Writing)
The Best American Science Writing 2005 (Best American Science Writing)
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2003 (The Best American Series)
The Best American Science & Nature Writing 2005 (Best American)
