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.