The Best American Magazine Writing 2009

Resumen del libro

More and more readers turn to The Best American Magazine Writing for their fix of the year's most brilliant essays and fiction. Chosen from among the winners and finalists of the 2009 National Magazine Awards, current selections include a short story by the novelist everyone is talking about Roberto Bolaño; Selena Roberts's eccentric miniatures of the sports world; Jonathan Chait's critical encounters with political maneuvering during the 2008 presidential elections; Hendrik Hertzberg's equally trenchant inquiry into the tricks of political theater; and Naomi Klein's provocative confrontation with the unspeakable subjects of race and class.

The Best American Magazine Writing 2009 maintains its mix of reviews, features, profiles, and reporting. The always-engaging critic James Wood tackles the words of Richard Price, the multiple personalities of V. S. Naipaul, and the likeable unlikeables of Marianne Robinson's captivating novels. Hanna Rosin shares the unforgettable story of a transgendered child struggling to be normal in rural America. Tom Junod follows Steve Jobs as he loses his hold on the Apple empire. Dexter Filkins's deeply embedded reporting reveals that al-Qaeda and the Taliban are anything but dead in Afghanistan, and Patricia Marx's portrait of a frantic, frenetic Shanghai captures the thrilling terror of a city for sale. A uniquely styled detox regimen from popular physician Mehmet Oz and a devastating personal essay by Roger Rosenblatt on the death of his young daughter add to the diversity of this unparalleled collection. Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail, contributes a not-to-be-missed introduction.