I’ve been reading the Best American Essays series since it started in 1986. This 2012 edition features some excellent essays. My favorite is Marcia Angell’s brilliant “The Crazy State of Psychiatry” which exposes the drug-culture luring in our mental health system. Ten percent of Americans over the age of six are on anti-depressants. And Angell’s analysis shows many psychotropic drugs increase rather than reduce mental problems. Scary stuff! I also enjoyed Geoffrey Bent’s “Edward Hopper and the Geometry of Despair.” I wanted to drop everything and look at some Hopper paintings. Joseph Epstein’s “Duh, Boring” was a fun read. Malcolm Gladwell’s “Creation Myth” about the inventor of the laser printer fascinated me. David Brooks did a fine job selecting these top-notch essays. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Foreword: Of Topics by Robert Atwan
Introduction by David Brooks
BENJAMIN ANASTAS. The Foul Reign of “Self-Reliance”
from The New York Times Magazine
MARCIA ANGELL. The Crazy State of Psychiatry
from The New York Review of Books
MIAH ARNOLD. You Owe Me
from Michigan Quarterly Review
GEOFFREY BENT. Edward Hopper and the Geometry of Despair
from Boulevard
ROBERT BOYERS. A Beauty
from Agni
DUDLEY CLENDINEN. The Good Short Life
from The New York Times Sunday Review
PAUL COLLINS. Vanishing Act
from Lapham’s Quarterly
MARK DOTY. Insatiable
from Granta
MARK EDMUNDSON. Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here?
from The Oxford American
JOSEPH EPSTEIN. Duh, Bor-ing
from Commentary
JONATHAN FRANZEN. Farther Away
from The New Yorker
MALCOLM GLADWELL. Creation Myth
from The New Yorker
PETER HESSLER. Dr. Don
from The New Yorker
EWA HRYNIEWICZ-YARBROUGH. Objects of Affection
from Ploughshares
GARRET KEIZER. Getting Schooled
from Harper’s Magazine
DAVID J. LAWLESS. My Father/My Husband
from Prism
ALAN LIGHTMAN. The Accidental Universe
from Harper’s Magazine
SANDRA TSING LOH. The Bitch Is Back
from The Atlantic
KEN MURRAY. How Doctors Die
from Zocalo Public Square
FRANCINE PROSE. Other Women
from Granta
RICHARD SENNETT. Humanism
from The Hedgehog Review
LAUREN SLATER. Killing My Body to Save My Mind
from Elle
JOSE ANTONIO VARGAS. Outlaw
from The New York Times Magazine
WESLEY YANG. Paper Tigers
from New York Magazine
I’d forgotten how much I used to enjoy these. Will pick it up at the library.
Patti, I’ve been a loyal reader of the BEST AMERICAN ESSAY series from the beginning. This 2012 edition is first-rate.
Yeah, the anti-depressant thing is scary. One of Jackie’s sisters (who shall remain nameless) sent her son to a shrink (for reasons I won’t say here) and he went on anti-depressants. The next thing we heard was that the whole family – both parents and both kids – were on them! I mean, this is nuts (so to speak).
Jeff, it’s not so nuts if you read the essay in this book that explains how anti-depressants (and other psycho-tropic drugs) with their side-effects can make mental problems way worse.
My anti depression drug of choice is a good book. I have a limited palate for essays, and this would probably be beyond it. I have some Chesterton essays awaiting their spot at the top of the TBR.
Rick, according to the “The Crazy State of Psychiatry,” the side-effects of anti-depressant drugs (and other psychotropic drugs like Prozac and Ritlin) can cause even more problems. I like your book idea.
You know I occasionally will pick up an essay collection by a single author and will enjoy the heck out of it but have never once even let this series get on my radar. Odd, but easily remedied.
Carl, after reading the BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS series for over 25 years, I can highly recommend it.
I admit that while I assiduously collect the fiction annuals, I’m very spotty with the NFs…more likely to pick up the two science annuals (and the borderline fictional sex writing) than the BAE, but I think you’ve convinced me of the error of my ways.
Todd, you would enjoy the BEST AMERICA ESSAYS series. There’s something there for every reader.
Love, love this book.
I’ve been reading the BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS series for decades, Vanessa. Many of the volumes are still available inexpensively online.