reviews
Jan 07, 2009
Elise
rated it: 
It is exceedingly difficult to rate an anthology with any more than three stars, because almost inevitably there will be some essays I love and some I despise (or rather, that bore me so to death that I don't even dignify them with a complete read). And when you average out love and despise you get 2.5, and then have to rate it a 3.
Regardless, this is worth a read, as "The Best" series of all types are every year. I particularly enjoyed the essays that leaned more towar More...
Regardless, this is worth a read, as "The Best" series of all types are every year. I particularly enjoyed the essays that leaned more towar More...
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Jul 05, 2009
Tyler
rated it:
The Best
- Atul Gawande's "The Way We Age Now"
- Sam Shaw's "Run Like Fire Once More"
- Charles Simic's "The Renegade"
Other Highlights
- Adam Gopnik's introduction
- Rich Cohen's "Becoming Adolf"
- Anthony Lane's "Candid Camera"
- Jonathan Lethem's "The Ecstasy of Influence"
- Louis Menand's "Notable Quotables"
- Hugh Raffles' "Cricket Fighting"
- John Upd More...
- Atul Gawande's "The Way We Age Now"
- Sam Shaw's "Run Like Fire Once More"
- Charles Simic's "The Renegade"
Other Highlights
- Adam Gopnik's introduction
- Rich Cohen's "Becoming Adolf"
- Anthony Lane's "Candid Camera"
- Jonathan Lethem's "The Ecstasy of Influence"
- Louis Menand's "Notable Quotables"
- Hugh Raffles' "Cricket Fighting"
- John Upd More...
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Dec 02, 2008
David
rated it: 
I thought this was a pretty disappointing effort this year. But this may simply be a reflection of the fact that Adam Gopnik gets on my last nerve. His meandering, pretentious introduction is a painful reminder of just how much David Foster Wallace's brilliance, wit, and low tolerance for bullshit will be missed (DFW was last year's editor).
Really slim pickings this year. I'd break it down roughly as follows.
Brilliant:
Anthony Lane on the Leica camera;
Hugh Ra More...
Really slim pickings this year. I'd break it down roughly as follows.
Brilliant:
Anthony Lane on the Leica camera;
Hugh Ra More...
Jul 08, 2009
Roxanne
rated it: 
There were some really amazing pieces in this collection, and some that didn't really reach me.
My favorites were Rich Cohen's mustache essay (possibly the best last line in the book), Atul Gawande's essay about aging, Sam Shaw's piece about the transcendent runners, Lauren Slater's essay about summer camp (what a perceptive eye she casts on her childhood! I would love to have such clarity of hindsight), and Lee Zacharias's vulture essay.
Solid, but not my favorites: Pa More...
My favorites were Rich Cohen's mustache essay (possibly the best last line in the book), Atul Gawande's essay about aging, Sam Shaw's piece about the transcendent runners, Lauren Slater's essay about summer camp (what a perceptive eye she casts on her childhood! I would love to have such clarity of hindsight), and Lee Zacharias's vulture essay.
Solid, but not my favorites: Pa More...
Jun 16, 2009
Craig
rated it:
Maybe it's primacy in the book allowed for an easier impression, but Patricia Brieschke's brief and very moving essay tore at my soul. I don't usually give in so easily to supposedly facile ploys at emotional impacts such as children, the elderly, the sick, the dying, etc. but I did with this one. It is a kernal of goodness. This does not diminish the other varied and very interesting essays that followed. I laughed out loud reading Rich Cohen's exploration of Hitler's infamous lip curtain a
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Mar 08, 2011
Jim
rated it:
The Best American Essays series are stellar. This particular edition is edited by Adam Gopnik. Previous edition editors have included Joyce Carol Oates, David Foster Wallace, Ian Frazier, Susan Sontag, Annie Dillard, and Gay Talese (quite a list!).
I've read superb essays by Rick Moody, Lauren Slater, and Jonathan Lethem.
Slater's essay was interesting in that she writes about a summer camp experience at Tripp Lake, which is about 20 miles from my house. Slater is typical of th More...
I've read superb essays by Rick Moody, Lauren Slater, and Jonathan Lethem.
Slater's essay was interesting in that she writes about a summer camp experience at Tripp Lake, which is about 20 miles from my house. Slater is typical of th More...
Oct 31, 2010
Levi
rated it:
I've come to realize that essays would be hard to write, and extremely hard to write well. It's that elusive balance between nonfiction subject matter and storytelling savvy. This collection was blast after blast of cool air, as each author seemed to up the ante a bit in their own way. The ones I hope to revisit years from now are "Buzzards" by Lee Zacharias, "The Renegade" by Charles Simic, "Tripp Lake" by Lauren Slater (in fact I know I'll read this again next sum
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Sep 30, 2009
Chrissy
rated it: 
I signed up for Creative Nonfiction, not because I was particularly interested in essay writing, but because it was the only graduate workshop class the university where I work was offering this semester. This book was the first thing we were assigned to read, and it was like being struck by lightening. So THIS is creative nonfiction! So THIS is brilliance! So THIS is beauty, pain, hysterical humor, connections between life and death and everything in between!
After reading these awe More...
After reading these awe More...
May 06, 2009
James
rated it:
Adam Gopnik sets out three "chief kinds of essays being written these days" in his introduction: the review essay, the memoir essay, and the "odd-object" essay. This last type of essay takes up far too much space in the collection he's edited. Some are good: Lee Zacharias' essay on vultures was fascinating and explored the subject from practically every perspective, from the historical to the personal. Many were dull, though, like Emily Grosholz's lame "On Necklaces"
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Nov 19, 2008
Michael
rated it:
There are some really great essays in this years collection. It's funny, I didn't feel like any of the essays blew me away while I was reading them, but now that I look back on them, I can't help but think that my life would be a little duller if I hadn't read them. Some highlights include how Rich Cohen's "Becoming Adolf," which will change the way you look at the Hitler-stache, Atul Gawande's "How We Age Now" -- Gawande's ability to convey complex medical issues to a non-
More...
Jan 28, 2009
Leif Erickson
rated it:
Some really great essays in here, along with some so-so ones and one I couldn't stand ("Everybody's Nickname," which I really should have loved if the writer had not been so gimmicky). I am teaching from the book this semester, and so far we are really enjoying dicsussing and debating it. Tomorrow we discuss "The Ecstacy of Influence," which is a challenging (both in difficulty and terms of preconceptions) essay about originality and plagiarism.
Apr 13, 2009
Terry
rated it:
This is probably the best "Best American Essays" collection I have read (out of the few I've read). The earlier editions I have read tended to drift toward the same content (dogs; being young in New York). I just found this particular collection intellectually challenging, in a good way; each essay is dense (and I mean that as a compliment) and thought-provoking. It's like chewing on a particularly authentic French bread slice rather than Wonder Bread.
Jul 12, 2010
sla
rated it:
Standouts:
*****More...
The Way We Age Now - Atul Gawande
Aging scares me. This personal fear—perhaps even more than my love for them or any sense of duty—has driven a preoccupation with how I’d like to care for, or see my parents cared for, if and when they need it. It’s about self-worth and independence as we age, I think.
An overview, for me, of geriatric care, this piece is a perfect jumping off point to delve into the matter further. My connection to a piece often has to
Jan 13, 2011
Brian
rated it:
A few days after finishing this one, Atul Guwande's essay on aging still stands out in my mind. I'd recommend anyone grab a copy at the library to read that essay, and skip through for others of interest.
I'd have preferred the Jim McManus essay on poker listed in the notable section at the back to a couple of the essays actually included in the collection, but perhaps Gopnik is more a fan of Leica cameras than card games. We can disagree on which is more interesting to either of us More...
I'd have preferred the Jim McManus essay on poker listed in the notable section at the back to a couple of the essays actually included in the collection, but perhaps Gopnik is more a fan of Leica cameras than card games. We can disagree on which is more interesting to either of us More...
Nov 14, 2009
Plwest
rated it:
I look forward to this collection of essays every year. I read them over the Thanksgiving weekend. They bring me to my knees. How I learn about the world, besides watching Southpark, is through the Best American Essays series.
Jan 11, 2009
Scott
rated it:
There were a few essays in here that I really liked, but for the most part I was unimpressed and a little bored. Part of this is undoubtedly the mere fact that I prefer short stories to essays, but I feel very strongly that writing should be entertaining (or, at least, interesting and compelling), regardless of the medium, content, and purpose.
May 05, 2009
Tiffany
rated it:
This collection of essays spanned so many topics that I was frequently outside my own zone of interest. They're all well-written, though occasionally a little too ... literary ... for my taste. I especially enjoyed "The Lesbian Bride's Handbook," while "The Constant Gardener" was heartbreaking.
Nov 18, 2010
I got hooked on the "Best American" series. Sedaris alone is worth the buy. I love highly quirky, broad-ranging colelctions like this. We'll see which year's essays win out!
May 12, 2009
Wendy
rated it:
The essay, Solipsism, which has been panned as much as it's been praised, appeared first (or rather, second!) in The Pinch, for which I was the managing editor. So, I'm biased.
Mar 08, 2009
Mark
rated it:
I wasn't sure I was even going to read this collection, but Adam Gopnik's introduction sucked me in. Semi-committed, I proceeded to get bowled over by Patricia Brieschke's essay, which was perhaps the saddest thing I've ever read, and then righted again by humor with Richard Cohen's essay about the Hitler/toothbrush mustache. A great collection overall. [full review ]
Jan 24, 2012
Barbara
rated it:
Some very good: "On Necklaces" and "The Way We Age Now"
Some terrible: The Ecstasy of Influence" and "Everybody's Nickname"
One intriguing: "Run like Fire Once More"
Some terrible: The Ecstasy of Influence" and "Everybody's Nickname"
One intriguing: "Run like Fire Once More"
Jul 07, 2009
Amy
rated it:
I'm teaching this collection this fall. Lots of good essays to choose from, and some not so good, which I won't assign. The Gopnick intro's so-so.
Jun 09, 2010
Robin
rated it:
Some of the essays were better than others. Most of the time, I felt like the essays chosen were downright dry and uninteresting.
Oct 09, 2009
Katie
rated it:
I loved the path Emily R. Grosholz's "On Necklaces" took me down. I savoring the rest of these gems.
Feb 27, 2009
Michelle
rated it:
I like the essay about facial hair--namely, Hitler's "toothbrush mustache" and how it symbolizes evil so much that it can possibly change one's character.
Feb 18, 2011
Megan
rated it:
I usually find the Best American series more enjoyable. I thought the 2008 collection was rather uneven- I really enjoyed some essays, like Atul Gawande's, but others I ended up not finishing becuase I just couldn't get through them.
