This singular collection is nothing less than a political, spiritual, and intensely personal record of America Among those whose work is include...
read full description
reviews
Jul 13, 2010
Megan
rated it: 
This is the kind of book you pick up every once in a while to read an essay here, an essay there. What I have read so far has been thrilling.
Mark Twain's "Corn-Pone Opinions" is a sardonic and hilarious look at what following sheep we humans are, and how impossible it is to form a unique opinion. The genius lies in his own inability to discern why this is; after all, Twain is human too, and he humbly confines himself to the masses.
John Muir's "Stickeen" More...
Mark Twain's "Corn-Pone Opinions" is a sardonic and hilarious look at what following sheep we humans are, and how impossible it is to form a unique opinion. The genius lies in his own inability to discern why this is; after all, Twain is human too, and he humbly confines himself to the masses.
John Muir's "Stickeen" More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Dec 04, 2008
Daniel
rated it: 
Joyce Carol Oates and Robert Atwan, the editors of "The Best American Essays of the Century," made many wonderful selections for this anthology. My personal favorites include Joan Didion's "The White Album," H.L. Mencken's "The Hills of Zion," and W.E.B. Du Bois's "Of the Coming of John." There also are fine pieces by John McPhee, Mark Twain, Rachel Carson, Richard Rodriguez and other writers, some of them journalists, some essayists, and some better known
More...
Aug 10, 2009
Karen
rated it:
I took a year to read this anthology of essays ranging from Mark Twain's "Corn-pone Opinions" to Saul Bellow's "Graven Images." In it, Joyce Carol Oats presents a collection of essays published throughout the century on topics both personal and public. Some are reflections on childhood, some ruminate on public events such as wars, civil rights events, and headline-grabbing crimes. The collection offers diversity of race and region, but it's shifted to represent writing by t
More...
Oct 02, 2011
Kenny
rated it:
This book is filled with great Essays. I just re-read Loren Eiseley's - The Brown Wasps. Man what an incredible essay writer he is! This particular essay is also the final essay in his book The Night Country
Jun 04, 2009
Alissa
rated it:
So I started bloggin again, and what is a blog if not a very modern form of the essay. I thought I would do well to get a little forward thought on it. Not finished with the book yet, but so far I like it. The essays are also a good length for my bus ride, which provides a nice sense of accoplishment.
Mar 07, 2010
T.
rated it: 
"No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader. For me the initial delight is in the surprise of remembering something I didn't know I knew." -- Robert Frost, The Figure a Poem Makes
Apr 25, 2011
Ellen
rated it:
Obviously, this stuff is good. I discovered some new writers and some new favorites by old writers(The Crack Up, by Fitzgerald.) However, Joyce Carol Oates made these selections and she definitely did so with a historical sense. The collection could just as well have been called "Best Essays about America in the 20th Century." No surprises here, no experiments with form, and what to me felt like a sometimes annoyingly persistent "relevance." I guess I just have a thing for r
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Mar 18, 2009
Artifice
rated it:
I got this for Michael Byer's class back at Oberlin I think. It's OK.
Aug 20, 2008
Liana
rated it:
It was enlightening enough, but most of the essays deal with the pitfalls and triumphs of American tolerance, having to do mostly with what it is like to live in America as a minority (this is not a bad thing, though). It would have been nice to see more variety in topics. However, the subjects discussed did vary with each passing essay in at least one regard--being Jewish, being Hispanic, being black (three of the most moving essays in the series). Since this is only volume one, I think I shoul
More...
Dec 16, 2009
Matthew
rated it:
First time I was reading first hand accounts of much of America's history. Learnt a lot from this book in terms of where the style of the personal essay derives from. Some lovely passages from TS Eliot on writing, or other reminisces on the outdoors, or urban inequality, etc. Some of the essays I didn't like, either for style (too descriptive) or content (too self-indulgent), but I'd say 80 to 90% was excellent. Had to read essays seperately and give time to digest thought.
Dec 16, 2009
Shelby
rated it:
I have mixed reviews for this one: some of the essays were a bit tedious to get through, and perhaps the meaning was just lost on me; others were really incredible, and if I could be half as good a writer someday, I would be happy. The introduction, by Joyce Carol Oates, is written by someone who really knows the craft, and because I read it before reading the essays, I had more appreciation for them.
May 04, 2009
Wendy
rated it:
Not every essay in this collection is a gem, but several are, and the worst manage to at least be thought provoking. Particular stand-outs for me were Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail", Alice Walker's essay on her search for Zora Neale Hurston's grave, Richard Rodriguez's essay on growing up bilingual, and Stephen Jay Gould's essay on the evolution of baseball.
Jun 29, 2007
There's a couple of dozen essayists included, running chronologically from Mark Twain to Saul Bellow. Pretty wide range of authors, plus several pages of "stuff we couldn't include" at the end. Also listed additional titles by the listed authors in case one strikes your fancy. For the schizophrenic reader in all of us.
Mar 15, 2011
Erin
rated it:
This is a textbook for one of my Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse graduate classes (aptly entitled "The Essay"). We didn't read the entire book, but we read many of the essays, and they were really quite enjoyable and represented a broad range of "types" of essays. This would be a good book to have on your shelf.
Jun 21, 2011
I'd read the Eudora Welty essay somewhere and decided to pick up this collection to read the other essays. I believe this will be the perfect introduction to essay reading.
I plan to take my time reading this and enjoying the writers between my fiction reading.
I plan to take my time reading this and enjoying the writers between my fiction reading.
Apr 10, 2007
Laura
rated it:
I really enjoyed this collection. There is a wide variety of voices and subject matter (and quite a range of eras, obviously, since it's spread over a century). It's a nice change from straight-up fiction, but every bit as engrossing and entertaining.
Jan 29, 2008
Sarajeangroves
rated it:
This book provides amazing perspective on the 20th century from some of our country's most amazing writers. Really a must-read for any person interested in the essay as an art form.
Jul 07, 2007
Kathryn
rated it:
A decent collection of American essays -- some are in at the exclusion of others that would have been better fit to the title "Best American Essays," but a fair compilation.
Feb 01, 2011
I renewed this from the library twice and still didn't get through it all. I enjoyed some of the essays but didn't really love any of them. I'm giving up on this one.
Oct 12, 2007
Wendy
rated it:
I received this book as a gift, and what a wonderful gift it was. I pick it up again and again. To be reread many times....
Dec 17, 2009
Jenni
rated it:
Joyce Carol Overdrive does a great job editing here - great, if not sometimes obvious, selections.
Jul 08, 2007
scott
rated it:
for this particular collection, i owe the cleveland public library $30. dig it!
Oct 16, 2007
Maggie
rated it:
Good essays. Good editing. Best place to bury your nose in for hours :)
