The Best American Essays 2004

by Louis Menand (Editor), Robert Atwan (Series Editor)

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.
Here you will find another "splendid array of unpredictable and delectable essays" (Booklist), chosen by the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Louis Menand, another collection with "delights on every page" (Dallas Morning News). The Best American Essays once again earns its place as the liveliest and leading annual of its kind.

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Anthologies, American, Biography, Politics, Philosophy

323 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

Louis Menand, professor of English at Harvard University, is the author of The Metaphysical Club, which won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize in History. A longtime staff writer for The New Yorker, he lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Genevieve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed to read 300 pages of essay, short stories, or poetry for my creative writing class. Since I had the least experience with essays, I picked that genre. I am amazed at the quality of writing. I have read about subjects from Jews in Iraq, chronic fatigue syndrome, women writers, taxidermy, knitting, rock scholarship, the origins of "cool" and it is incredible that they can make me be interested in all of them. I hope to read a lot more of the series.

[Marti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read these essays one a day.

[Linda DiMeo Lowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not enjoy many of these essays. I skipped two of them after reading a couple of pages. I think since 2004, essays have evolved into a more personal, memoir-like form. As far as I'm concerned, out with the old, in with the new.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's difficult to recount in this space everything good and bad about an anthology such as this, so I'm going with essays I found interesting and/or useful:
- a rediscovered piece by James Agee on the 1943 Detroit race riots
- Jared Diamond's "The Last Americans," which seems to be a starting point for his book "Collapse."
- "The Unreal Thing" by Adam Gopnik, which is both a review of the Matrix films and an examination of the philosophical issues they raised.
- Laura Hillenbrand's amazing account of her battle with chronic fatigue syndrome and the effort it took to write her first book, "Seabiscuit."
- "Yarn" by Kyoko Mori, a mix of histories about knitting.
- Susan Orlean's "Lifelike," a personal report from the 2003 World Taxidermy Championship.
- Oliver Sack's "The Mind's Eye," which looks at blindness and how the brain adapts to it.
- Janna Malamud Smith's meditation on her father in "My Father is a Book."
- a previously unpublished essay by Tennessee Williams, "Amor Perdida."

[Jeff Lacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather good selection of essays in the edition of Best American Essays. Of note is James Agee's discovered essay, "America, Look at Your Shame!" that addresses the Detroit race riots in June 1943, and race relations in general. Also interesting is Kathryn Chetkovich's, "Envy," where she addresses writer envy. "The Arctic Hedonist" about Vilhjalmur Stefansson, by Anne Fadiman was a interesting essay about the Antarctic explorer. One can always count on Dr. Oliver Sacks for his edification on any medical issue. In "The Mind's Eye," he discusses blindness occurring at birth, months after birth, in childhood, and in adulthood, and how the brain reacts to the deprivation of this sense. Also appealing was the curious essay about the development of taxidermy over the years by Susan Orlean, entitled, "Lifelike."

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found that most of these were indeed quite notable and enjoyable to read. I found "A Sudden Illness," ""My '80s," "Bix and Flannery," "Against Cool," "My Father is a Book," and "An Enlarged Heart" to be of the most interest and/or best written. Some ("Passover in Baghdad," "Rock 101," "Arrow and Wound") didn't reach me at all. The others were just sort of "there" and interesting to read, but leave no real lasting memories.

I look forward to the next in the series.

[Jenny Mckeel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a hard time reading a book of unrelated essays, but there were, predictably, a number of great ones in this book. My favorites:
"Envy," by Kathryn Chetkovich
"The Arctic Hedonist" by Anne Fadiman
"Caught," by Jonathan Franzen
"A Sudden Illness," by Laura Hillenbrand
"Against Cool," by Rick Moody
"Lifelike," by Susan Orlean
"Amor Perdida," by Tennessee Williams

All of these essays are completely awesome.

[Bibliophile10 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Consider the word "fine," which can mean--among its many degrees of value--"unacceptable" (if uttered as exclamation) or "very good indeed" or "okay." This BAE volume is fine in the latter sense, its contents generally innocuous and unremarkable. I gave single check marks to six better-than-okay essays: Jared Diamond's "The Last Americans," Jonathan Franzen's "Caught," Adam Gopnik's "The Real Thing," Kyoko Mori's "Yarn," Susan Orlean's "Lifelike," and Oliver Sack's "The Mind's Eye."

[Richard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hardly a single essay in here could maintain my vested interest. The one exception here was Gerald Stern's essay about the bullet in his neck, but I would more recommend finding the particular issue of Georgia Review it came from than to buy this, which is tainted with the kind of stilted, faux-literary writing that seems to infect most of the Best American choices.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, the female authors were much better than the male ones.

The worst (1 star) are Franzen, Gopnik, Miller, and Moody.

The best (5 stars) are Diamond, Fadiman, Mori, Sacks, and Zarin.

The absolute best was Oliver Sacks, obviously. Hard for anyone to compare to him, no one made me think as deeply.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second foray into the best American Essay series and there are some good ones in here. My favorites include Rick Moody's "Against Cool," a look at the origins and meanings of cool; and Kathryn Chetkovich's "Envy," a personal essay about a relationship between two writers.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

i love this anthology

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly interesting collection. The "My"s have it: "My Yiddish," by Leonard Michaels and the astounding "My 80s," by Wayne Koestenbaum.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual, a great collection.
All of the essays are excellent, but Moody's 'Against Cool' really stands out.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title says most of what you need to know. I didn't necessarily like them all but they were all well written.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louis Menand talks about voice here. I love his unorthodox view, and share it. Voice is not natural, but constructed. Right-o.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, but now, a few weeks after reading it, not much stands out. Laura Hillenbrand's account of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is eye-opening and will stay with me.

[Ayelet Waldman]

I love essays. They are fun to read, often weird, and usually can be relied on to make me cry.

[JP · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's nothing instrumental here but they styles and approaches are a concise mix worthy of exploration. My favorites: "Arrow and Wound," "Passover in Bagdhad," and "Lifelike."