Book Details

Edited by New York Times columnist and best-selling author David Brooks, this classic collection of the year’s best includes thought-provoking essays from Marcia Angell, Miah Arnold, Mark Doty, Joseph Epstein, Jonathan Franzen, Malcolm Gladwell, Francine Prose, Lauren Slater, Sandra Tsing Loh, Jose Antonio Vargas, and others.

 

Contents

Foreword: Of Topics by Robert Atwan

Introduction by David Brooks

 

BENJAMIN ANASTAS. The Foul Reign of “Self-Reliance”
from The New York Times Magazine

MARCIA ANGELL. The Crazy State of Psychiatry
from The New York Review of Books

MIAH ARNOLD. You Owe Me
from Michigan Quarterly Review

GEOFFREY BENT. Edward Hopper and the Geometry of Despair
from Boulevard

ROBERT BOYERS. A Beauty
from Agni

DUDLEY CLENDINEN. The Good Short Life
from The New York Times Sunday Review

PAUL COLLINS. Vanishing Act
from Lapham’s Quarterly

MARK DOTY. Insatiable
from Granta

MARK EDMUNDSON. Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here?
from The Oxford American

JOSEPH EPSTEIN. Duh, Bor-ing
from Commentary

JONATHAN FRANZEN. Farther Away
from The New Yorker

MALCOLM GLADWELL. Creation Myth
from The New Yorker

PETER HESSLER. Dr. Don
from The New Yorker

EWA HRYNIEWICZ-YARBROUGH. Objects of Affection
from Ploughshares

GARRET KEIZER. Getting Schooled
from Harper’s Magazine

DAVID J. LAWLESS. My Father/My Husband
from Prism

ALAN LIGHTMAN. The Accidental Universe
from Harper’s Magazine

SANDRA TSING LOH. The Bitch Is Back
from The Atlantic

KEN MURRAY. How Doctors Die
from Zocalo Public Square

FRANCINE PROSE. Other Women
from Granta

RICHARD SENNETT. Humanism
from The Hedgehog Review

LAUREN SLATER. Killing My Body to Save My Mind
from Elle

JOSE ANTONIO VARGAS. Outlaw
from The New York Times Magazine

WESLEY YANG. Paper Tigers
from New York Magazine

 

Contributors’ Notes

Notable Essays of 2011

Other distinguished essays, selected by series editor Robert Atwan.

A-B
Aldrich, Marcia Of Pumps and Death Normal School, Spring
Allison, Sue Made to Measure Antioch Review, Winter
Appel, Jacob M. An Absence of Jello Southwest Review, vol. 96, no. 2
Arthur, Chris Reading Life Southwest Review, vol. 96, no. 4
Babcock, Matthew James The Handicap Bug Fiddleback, vol. 1, no. 6b
Bachelder, Chris The Dead Chipmunk Believer, February
Baker, Nicholson Why I’m a Pacifist Harper’s Magazine, May
Ballantine, Poe Hope Ecotone, Spring
Banicki, Elizabeth Wrong Side of the Trackx Slake, no. 2
Barolini, Helen My Bernini Box Southwest Review, vol. 96, no. 3
Baxter, Charles Hatching Monsters Lapham’s Quarterly, Winter
Berger, John One Message Leading to Another Massachusetts Review, vol. 52, no. 3–4.
Bernard, Emily The Refuge of the Classroom Oxford American, no. 74
Birkets, Sven The Mother of Possibility Lapham’s Quarterly, Spring
Bowden, Charles The Lives of the Saints Aperture, Winter
Boyd, Andrew First Empty Your Cup Sun, December
Branch, Michael P. Freebirds Orion, November/December
C-D
Capossere, Bill Fog Alaska Quarterly Review, Spring/Summer
Capps, Ron Yellow JMWW, Fall
Castillo M.D., Mauricio The Evolution of the Page American Journal of Neuroradiology, July 21
Chee, Alexander Fanboy Morning News, May 11
Chesbro, James M. Night Running Connecticut Review, Spring
Chiavonne, Carol The Book, the Leaf, the Skive of the Cover: Why I Love Damaged Books Pleiades, vol. 31, no. 1
Clark, Robert Scott and Ben Conjunctions, no. 57
Clift, Eleanor Hospice and the “End Game” Health Affairs, August
Cohen, Andrew D. Boys School Colorado Review, Summer
Cohen, Michael A Fountain Pen of Good Repute New England Review, vol. 31, no. 4
Conover, Ted Brown Road (1853–1932) Common, no. 1
Corn, Alfred Shakespeare’s Epitaph Hudson Review, Summer
Creely, Elizabeth Daire Nua: The New Oak Grove New Hibernia Review, Summer
Crews, Harry We Are All of Us Passing Through Georgia Review, Winter
Crowley, John The Next Future Lapham’s Quarterly, Fall
Cusk, Rachel Aftermath Granta, no. 115
Darnton, Robert The Old-Girl Network Raritan, Summer
Davidson, John The Demands of Cold Blood Morning News, November 8
Deming, Allison Hawthorn A New England Childhood Chautauqua, no. 8
Destino, Nicolas Travel of Sound Bellevue Literary Review, Spring
Diaz, Jaquira Baby Lollipops Sun, November
Diaz, Junot Apocalypse: What Disasters Reveal Boston Review, May/June
Dickens, Christopher Resurrections Florida Review, vol. 36, no. 1–2
Didion, Joan In Sable and Dark Glasses Vogue, October
Dodd, Elizabeth Constellation Ascent, February 11
Doyle, Brian The Creature Beyond the Mountains Orion, September/October
Dremousis, Litsa After the Fire Nerve, January
Duncan, Martha Grace Beauty in the Dark of Night: The Pleasures of Form in Criminal Law Emory Law Journal, vol. 59, no. 5.
Dunne, Patrick Into the Deep Notre Dame Magazine, Spring
Dunning, S.J. For(e)closure Creative Nonfiction, Summer
Dyer, Geoff On Being an Only Child Threepenny Review, Spring
E-F
Ehrlich, Gretel Where the Burn Meets the Dead, Orion Orion, July/August
Evans, John W. Elegy and Narrative Missouri Review, Summer
Fadiman, Anne My Old Printer Yale Review, April
Falco, Susan Catcher’s Hang Ploughshares, Fall
Faust, Drew Gilpin Telling War Stories New Republic, June 30
G-H
Garcia, J. Malcolm Now Ye Know Who the Bosses Are Here Now McSweeney’s, no. 37
Gawande, Atul Personal Best The New Yorker, October 3
Gibbs, Thomas Moved On Gettysburg Review, Winter
Gilbert, Sarah Veterans Day Water-Stone Review, no. 14
Ginsberg, Corey The Other Girl Cream City Review, Spring/Summer
Gladwell, Malcolm The Order of Things The New Yorker, February 14/21
Goldman, Anne Ode to Energy Southwest Review, vol. 96, no. 4
Good, Laura Bramon Into Deep Waters Image, no. 69
Goodheart, Eugene Darwinian Hubris Michigan Quarterly Review, Winter
Gordon, John Steele My Uncle, Oscar Hammerstein Commentary, April
Griffith, L.P. The Auctioneers Cream City Review, Spring/Summer
Grumbach, Doris The View from Ninety American Scholar, Spring
Gubar, Susan In the Chemo Colony Critical Inquiry, Summer
Gullette, Margaret Morganroth Wintry Absence Chicago Tribune, March 13
Gwartney, Debra Drown Oregon Humanities, Spring
Haake, Katherine Diptych: Chrysalis, Prayer Crazyhorse, Fall
Hales, John Helpline Missouri Review, Spring
Hammond, Jeffrey Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackboard Hotel Amerika, Fall
Hanel, Rachael Bello Rostro de la Muerte New Delta Review, June
Hardy, Nicole Single, Female, Mormon, Alone New York Times (Modern Love), January 9
Harvey, Steven Blood Mountain Ascent, March 9.
Haskel, John The Persistence of Muybridge A Public Space, no. 12
Hauser, Susan Carol Measures of Loss Terrain: A Journal of the Built and Natural Environments, Spring/Summer
Hawkins, Ames Optickal Allusion Water-Stone Review, no. 14
Hay, Clarissa Queens of Pain New Letters, vol. 78, no. 1
Hemley, Robert To the Rainforest Room Orion, May/June
Hemon, Aleksandar The Aquarium The New Yorker, June 13/20
Hitchens, Christopher Widow of Opportunity Vanity Fair, December
Hoefling, Jean Remission Relief, 5/2, Winter
Hoffman, Richard Love and Fury River Teeth, Fall
Hogan, Linda Snow Orion, March/April
Holmberg, Karen In the Museum of the Body, Alone Black Warrior Review, Spring/Summer
Holwerda, Amy Family History Sycamore Review, Winter/Spring
Houle, Landon The Plains We Cross Natural Bridge, Fall
Howe, Daniel Walker Classical Education in America Wilson Quarterly, Spring
Hsu, Hua Seeing Jay-Z in Taipei Daedalus, Winter
Hudgins, Andrew Helen Keller Answers the Iron Kenyon Review, Spring
Huhn, William I Know You Rider Jabberwock, Summer
Hummer. T.R. A Length of Hemp Rope Crab Orchard Review, Summer/Fall
Hurd, Barbara Dissonance Sun, May
Hustvedt, Siri The Real Story Salmagundi, Spring/Summer
I-J
Idov, Michael The Movie Set That Ate Itself GQ, November
Iyer, Pico The Terminal Check Granta, no. 116
Jackson, Lawrence Christmas in Baltimore, 2009 n+1, no. 12
Jacobson, Holly On Other Shores Memoir (and), no. 8
Jordan, Pat The Haircut Southern Review, Spring
K-L
Kagen, Donald On Patriotism Yale Review, October
Kelley, Kitty Unauthorized, but Not Untrue American Scholar, Winter
Keyes, Ralph Euphemania: Show Me the Liquidity Antioch Review, Winter
Kitchen, Judith Night Piece Georgia Review, Fall
Kramer, Paul A. The Importance of Being Turbaned Antioch Review, Spring
Krznaric, Roman Empathy with the Enemy Pedestrian, no. 1.
Kupperman, Kim Dana Attraction Next Exit River Teeth, Fall
Labash, Matt Eyewitness to History! Weekly Standard, October 17
Lacy, Robert Four of a Kind Sewanee Review, Spring
Lago, Don Storm Pattern Alaska Quarterly Review, Fall/Winter.
Lancione, Linda The Currency of Love New Letters, vol. 77, no. 2
Lang, Beryl Replenishing the World Michigan Quarterly Review, Winter
Lapham, Lewis Democracy 101 Harper’s Magazine, April (on Mark Twain)
Lathbury, Roger Betraying Salinger New York Magazine, April 4.
Lea, Sydney Now, Look River Teeth, Fall
Leach, Amy The Safari Massachusetts Review, vol. 52, no. 1
Leary, John Patrick Detroitism Guernica, January
Lefcowitz, Barbara F. Memory and Photography Southwest Review, vol. 96, no. 2
Lehman, David Why I Love You American Scholar, Summer
Leslie, Naton Odd Jobs Florida Review, vol. 36, no. 1–2
Levinson, Leila Cracking Open the Silence War, Literature, and the Arts, no. 23
Levitt, Aimee Little House in the Present Riverfront Times (St. Louis), November 24–30
Levy, E.J. To C’epe, with Love (or, The Alchemy of Longing) Salmagundi, Spring/Summer
Lewis, Charlie Apartment No. 9 Ten Spurs, no. 5
Lewis, Michael The King of Human Error Vanity Fair, December
Liao, K.N. Bodies in Motion Fourth River, Autumn
Liebenow, Mark Hiking over the Edge Chautauqua, no. 8
Livatino, Mel The Perfect Raincoat Under the Sun, no. 20
Lohafer, Susan In the Bullring Iowa Review, Spring
Lopate, Phillip Between Insanity and Fat Dullness: How I Became an Emersonian Harper’s Magazine, January
Lott, Brent Writing with So Great a Cloud of Witnesses Image, no. 69
Lynch, Tracy Inappropriate, Brain Child, Fall
M-N
MacEnulty, Pat Fixing the Deck Apalachee Review, no. 61
Macone, Steve Standup Comity Morning News, November 28
Maher, Jane Raw Material Hudson Review, Winter
Mallon, Thomas Never Happened The New Yorker, November 21
Mann, Ted Magnificent Visions Vanity Fair, December
Mansfield, Harvey The Wisdom of “The Federalist” New Criterion, February
Marsello, David The Empress’s New Clothes Memoir (and), no. 8
Martin, Clancey The Drunk’s Club Harper’s Magazine, January
Mason, Wyatt The Danger Artist GQ, December
Matherly, Desirae Flashbacks and Proliferations Hotel Amerika, Fall
Matrone, Michael Against the Beloved Upstreet, no. 7
McCabe, Nancy Threads Prairie Schooner, Fall
McCabe, Tyler Something Carries Through Ruminate, Autumn
McClelland, Mac Goodbye, Columbus Mother Jones, November/December
McDonald, Heather A. How to Fix Everything Creative Nonfiction, Spring
McKibben, Bill A Little Leeway Orion, July/August
McPhee, John Progression The New Yorker, November 17
Mead, Rebecca Middlemarch and Me The New Yorker, February 14/21
Meads, Kat Neighbor Trim, Also Awake Crab Orchard Review, Summer/Fall
Meilaender, Gilber Transitional Humanity New Atlantis, Spring
Merkin, Daphne Between Love and Madness Elle, July
Meyers, Kent The Makings Georgia Review, Fall
Monroe, Debra The Sex Trade in Northwest Wisconsin Morning News, July 13
Moser, Barry A Bookwright’s Tale Image, no. 71
Moyer, Kermit A Stranger to Himself Washingtonian, August
Naslund, Alan What I Saw in the Country Minnetonka Review, Spring
Nelson, Deborah The Cruelest Show on Earth Mother Jones, November/December
Nelson, Jessica Hendry The Whitest Winter Light Alligator Juniper, 2011
Nelson, John Parting Words Massachusetts Review, vol. 52, no. 1
Nieson, Marc In the Basement Green Mountains Review, vol. 24, no. 1
Nordenson, Nancy J. Metrics Indiana Review, Winter
Norris, Mary It Hurt to Hum Epiphany, Spring/Summer
Novakovich, Josip Shopping for a Better Country Witness, vol. 24, no. 1
O-P
O'Hagan, Jeremiah Essaying Los Angeles Review, Fall
O'Malley, Jen How to Make a Bride Annalemma, no. 8
Packer, George The Broken Contract Foreign Affairs, November/December
Packham, Rachel Apple, Daydream, Memory Under the Sun, no. 20
Patchett The Mercies Granta, no. 114
Peckham, Joel Please Take What You Want Jelly Bucket, no. 2.
Perry, Andre Strange Roots for Talking Water-Stone Review, no. 14
Phillips, Helen Life Care Center Iowa Review, Winter
Pickering, Sam Winter Dreams River Teeth, Spring
Pinckney, Darryl Deep in the Bowl Harper’s Magazine, September
Pinsky, Ellen Dress Salmagundi, Spring/Summer
Prifogle, Lisbeth Pretty PMS, no. 8
Purpura, Lia Jump Iowa Review, Fall
Q-R
Raban, Jonathan The Getaway Car New York Times Magazine, June 12
Rabe, David They Steal Your Sweat Massachusetts Review, vol. 52, no. 3–4
Radic, Theo La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin Epiphany, Fall/Winter
Raffel, Dawn The Florsheim Dog Willow Springs, Spring
Rahmin, Iraj Isaac Dancing for the Bomb Missouri Review, Fall
Reinhold, Craig The Many Ways to Die Guernica, October
Rhett, Kathryn Wayward Harvard Review, no. 41
Rieff, David After 9/11 Harper’s Magazine, August
Robinson, Marilynne On “Beauty" Tin House, no. 50
Rose, Molly Jo How We Pain Fifth Wednesday, Fall
Rosenbluth, Frances McCall The Two Faces of Feminism Yale Review, October
Russell, Kent Ryan Went to Afghanistan n+1, no. 11
S-T
Saalman, Scott A History of the Kiss Southern Indiana Review, Spring
Sanders, Scott Russell Breaking the Spell of Money Orion, July/August
Schaitkin, Alexis The American Art of Authenticity Southern Review, Spring
Schulman, Ari N. GPS and the End of the Road New Atlantis, Spring
Schultz, Molly Litany of my Mother Black Warrior Review, Spring/Summer
Sedaris, David Easy, Tiger The New Yorker, July 11/18
Self, Will False Blood Granta, no. 117
Sen, Amartya The Boundaries of Justice New Republic, December 29
Shadid, Anthony The American Age Iraq, Summer
Shinner, Peggy Berenice’s Hair Southern Review, Summer
Sinclair, Emily Inclusion/Exclusion: A Story of Sex, Death, and Real Estate Normal School, Fall
Skjolsvik, Pamela Surrender Ten Spurs, no. 5
Skloot, Flotd Revertigo Boulevard, no. 78
Smith, Janna Malamud The Unmurdered Ecotone, no. 11
Smith, Janna Malamud Is Death Dying? Salmagundi, Fall/Winter
Stewart-Nunez, Christine An Archeology of Secret Briar Cliff Review, no. 23
Stillman, Deanne 9/11 and the Damage Done Truthdig, September 7
Stone, Laurie Sex at 58 (Marco’s Jew) Anderbo.com, October
Strayed, Cheryl When the Farmer Clutches the Rake; Writing the Real Post Road, no. 22
Stuckey-French, Ned Nightmares New South, Summer
Stusser, Michael A. Speak No Evil, Tweet No Evil Seattle Weekly, June 22–28
Sullivan, John Jeremiah You Blow My Mind. Hey, Mickey! New York Times Magazine, June 12
Swift, Daniel Conjectural Damage Harper’s Magazine, November
Temple, Kerry A Summer Night Notre Dame Magazine, Summer
Thakkar, Jonny Hail Mary Time? The Point, Spring
Theroux, Paul The Trouble with Autobiography Smithsonian, January
Trillin, Calvin Back on the Bus The New Yorker, July 25
U-V
Vallese, Joe Blood, Brothers Southeast Review, vol. 29, no. 2
Van Meter, Ryan Look at Me Ninth Letter, Spring/Summer
Vollmann, William T. Homelessness in Sacramento Harper’s Magazine, March
W-X
Walker, Jared Inauguration Normal School, Spring
Walzer, Michael On Humanitarianism Foreign Affairs, March/April
Warner, Marina Freud’s Couch: A Case History Raritan, Fall
Watts, David The Healing Art of Writing Examined Life, Spring
Welker, Holly Keeping Abreast of Beauty Bayou, no. 54
Wells, Sarah Those Summers, These Days Ascent, December 11
Wilentz, Sean The Mirage New Republic, November 17
Williams, Chrystal Mirror, Mirror: A Guide to Pathos Tin House, no. 50
Wolfe, Melora Hearing Voices Gettysburg Review, Autumn
Wolfson, Laura Esther Haunting Synagogues Bellingham Review, Spring
Wood, James Shelf Life The New Yorker, November 7
Wood, Saint James Harris The Wild Courtroom Speech Inkwell, Fall
Y-Z
Zaretsky, Robert Plunging to Earth American Scholar, Summer