Best-selling author Alan Lightman selects the year’s finest nonfiction as this acclaimed series celebrates its fifteenth year. He has chosen a diverse, very personal collection that celebrates the essay as an independent genre unlike any other. This year’s pieces embrace stylistic freedom and strong opinions and afford the reader a fascinating view of the writer’s mind as it struggles with truth, memory, and experience. Featured writers include Jamaica Kincaid, Edward Hoagland, Cynthia Ozick, Mary Gordon, Edwidge Danticat, and others.
Publishers Weekly This year marks the 15th anniversary of this popular collection, and Lightman (Einstein's Dreams) presents a pleasing variety of voices, from established pros such as William Gass and Mary Gordon to newcomers such as Geeta Kothari and Cheryl Strayed. The selections come from a range of journals, and though the usual suspects--the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books and Harper's--are well represented, several less established literary venues, such as Doubletake and Sierra, are a welcome addition. Of particular interest are Andrew Sullivan's entry on hate crimes, a piece by controversial philosopher Peter Singer on personal responsibility for world hunger, and one on elusive fathers by Jamaica Kincaid. Certain themes resonate throughout the collection, especially technology and science, death, nature and place. A reader may be struck by just how traditional most of these essays are. The influence of E.B. White and John Updike, to name merely a couple of patron saints, is everywhere. But while many of the writers use conventional style--no huge experiments in essay form are conducted here--they are still examining fresh ideas unique to our times, such as new attitudes toward brain damage and heroin addiction. The list of honorable mentions is an important and useful document for industrious readers. There may always be something arbitrary about such selections, but who can complain about being offered the chance to read some of this year's best all in one volume, and with insightful introductory comments by Lightman, who is a fine writer himself. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Alan P Lightman; Robert Atwan; Richard The resurrectionist McCann; André Aciman; Wendell Berry; Ian Buruma; Fred D'Aguiar; Edwidge Danticat; William H Gass; Mary Gordon

edited and with an introduction by Alan Lightman; Robert Atwan, series editor

Lightman, Alan P., 1948-; Atwan, Robert

Alan Paige Lightman; Robert Atwan

Lightman Alan; Robert Atwan

Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin

Mariner Books

Holt McDougal

Clarion Books

United States, United States of America

First Edition, 2000-10-26

2000 ed. pap, 2000

2000 ed., US, 2000

October 26, 2000

Includes bibliographical references (p. [221]-233).

André Aciman
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma -- Fred D'Aguiar
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma -- Fred D'Aguiar -- Edwidge Danticat
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma -- Fred D'Aguiar -- Edwidge Danticat -- William H. Gass
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma -- Fred D'Aguiar -- Edwidge Danticat -- William H. Gass -- Mary Gordon
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma -- Fred D'Aguiar -- Edwidge Danticat -- William H. Gass -- Mary Gordon -- Edward Hoagland
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma -- Fred D'Aguiar -- Edwidge Danticat -- William H. Gass -- Mary Gordon -- Edward Hoagland -- Jamaica Kincaid
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma -- Fred D'Aguiar -- Edwidge Danticat -- William H. Gass -- Mary Gordon -- Edward Hoagland -- Jamaica Kincaid -- Geeta Kothari
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma -- Fred D'Aguiar -- Edwidge Danticat -- William H. Gass -- Mary Gordon -- Edward Hoagland -- Jamaica Kincaid -- Geeta Kothari -- Richard McCann
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma -- Fred D'Aguiar -- Edwidge Danticat -- William H. Gass -- Mary Gordon -- Edward Hoagland -- Jamaica Kincaid -- Geeta Kothari -- Richard McCann -- Cynthia Ozick
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma -- Fred D'Aguiar -- Edwidge Danticat -- William H. Gass -- Mary Gordon -- Edward Hoagland -- Jamaica Kincaid -- Geeta Kothari -- Richard McCann -- Cynthia Ozick -- Scott Russell Sanders
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma -- Fred D'Aguiar -- Edwidge Danticat -- William H. Gass -- Mary Gordon -- Edward Hoagland -- Jamaica Kincaid -- Geeta Kothari -- Richard McCann -- Cynthia Ozick -- Scott Russell Sanders -- Lynne Sharon Schwartz
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma -- Fred D'Aguiar -- Edwidge Danticat -- William H. Gass -- Mary Gordon -- Edward Hoagland -- Jamaica Kincaid -- Geeta Kothari -- Richard McCann -- Cynthia Ozick -- Scott Russell Sanders -- Lynne Sharon Schwartz -- Peter Singer
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma -- Fred D'Aguiar -- Edwidge Danticat -- William H. Gass -- Mary Gordon -- Edward Hoagland -- Jamaica Kincaid -- Geeta Kothari -- Richard McCann -- Cynthia Ozick -- Scott Russell Sanders -- Lynne Sharon Schwartz -- Peter Singer -- Floyd Skloot
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma -- Fred D'Aguiar -- Edwidge Danticat -- William H. Gass -- Mary Gordon -- Edward Hoagland -- Jamaica Kincaid -- Geeta Kothari -- Richard McCann -- Cynthia Ozick -- Scott Russell Sanders -- Lynne Sharon Schwartz -- Peter Singer -- Floyd Skloot -- Mark Slouka
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma -- Fred D'Aguiar -- Edwidge Danticat -- William H. Gass -- Mary Gordon -- Edward Hoagland -- Jamaica Kincaid -- Geeta Kothari -- Richard McCann -- Cynthia Ozick -- Scott Russell Sanders -- Lynne Sharon Schwartz -- Peter Singer -- Floyd Skloot -- Mark Slouka -- Cheryl Strayed
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma -- Fred D'Aguiar -- Edwidge Danticat -- William H. Gass -- Mary Gordon -- Edward Hoagland -- Jamaica Kincaid -- Geeta Kothari -- Richard McCann -- Cynthia Ozick -- Scott Russell Sanders -- Lynne Sharon Schwartz -- Peter Singer -- Floyd Skloot -- Mark Slouka -- Cheryl Strayed -- Andrew Sullivan
André Aciman -- Wendell Berry -- Ian Buruma -- Fred D'Aguiar -- Edwidge Danticat -- William H. Gass -- Mary Gordon -- Edward Hoagland -- Jamaica Kincaid -- Geeta Kothari -- Richard McCann -- Cynthia Ozick -- Scott Russell Sanders -- Lynne Sharon Schwartz -- Peter Singer -- Floyd Skloot -- Mark Slouka -- Cheryl Strayed -- Andrew Sullivan -- Steven Weinberg
André Aciman-- Wendell Berry-- Ian Buruma-- Fred D'Aguiar-- Edwidge Danticat-- William H. Gass-- Mary Gordon-- Edward Hoagland-- Jamaica Kincaid-- Geeta Kothari-- Richard McCann-- Cynthia Ozick-- Scott Russell Sanders-- Lynne Sharon Schwartz-- Peter Singer-- Floyd Skloot-- Mark Slouka-- Cheryl Strayed-- Andrew Sullivan-- Steven Weinberg-- Terry Tempest Williams ..

Foreword -- Robert Atwan
Introduction -- Alan Lightman
The last time I saw Paris -- André Aciman
In distrust of movements -- Wendell Berry
The joys and perils of victimhood -- Ian Buruma
A son in shadow -- Fred D'Aguiar
Westbury court -- Edwidge Danticat
In defense of the book -- William H. Gass
Rome : the visible city -- Mary Gordon
Earth's eye -- Edward Hoagland
Those words that echo ... echo ... echo ... through life -- Jamaica Kincaid
If you are what you eat, then what am I? -- Geeta Kothari
The resurrectionist -- Richard McCann
The synthetic sublime -- Cynthia Ozick
The force of spirit -- Scott Russell Sanders
At a certain age -- Lynne Sharon Schwartz
The Singer solution to world poverty -- Peter Singer
Gray area : thinking with a damaged brain -- Floyd Skloot
Listening for silence -- Mark Slouka
Heroin/e -- Cheryl Strayed
What's so bad about hate? -- Andrew Sullivan
A designer universe? -- Steven Weinberg
A shark in the mind of one contemplating wilderness -- Terry Tempest Williams
Biographical notes --
Notable essays of 1999.

Compiles the best literary essays of the year 1999 which were originally published in American periodicals

xviii, 233 p. ; 22 cm
Includes bibliographical references (p. [221]-233)

2023-06-28