The Best American Essays 2007 is a primer for essay writers and essay readers alike, with a variety of topics and writing styles.

The green and gold cover of The Best American Essays 2007 (edited by David Foster Wallace, and Robert Atwan, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007) makes the book stand out on a bookshelf. This is a good thing since this latest offering of an annual series that began in 1986, is always a highlight of the reading year.

Variety of Essay Topics

The essays in this book are about many things, although some topics are more interesting than others. This is always the case. Some essay topics lend themselves more to enthusiasm and curiosity, in both writer and reader.

The writing in this volume varies, as well, from brilliance to workmanlike skill, but the breath of essays that were available for consideration for acceptance into the book is heartening for any essay writer; hundreds of essays are gathered annually.

The Book’s Editors

The book’s editors are well-qualified to select essays for an anthology. David Foster Wallace has written an essay collection entitled Consider the Lobster, while Robert Atwan has been the series editor since 1986.

Introduction to The Collection

In his introduction, David Foster Wallace writes: “Some of the book’s essays are quite beautiful indeed, and most are extremely well written and/or show a masterly awareness of craft … But others aren’t, don’t, especially … but they have other virtues that make them valuable … many of these virtues have to do with the ways in which the pieces handle and respond to the tsunami of available fact, context, and perspective that constitutes Total Noise.” He is right in his judgment.

Favourite Essays

Among my favourite essays is “Werner”, by Jo Ann Beard, about a man named Werner Hoeflich and the aftermath of a devastating fire in his apartment building. Beard’s brilliant writing pulls you into this story with her first sentence and doesn’t release you until the last.

“Petrified”, by John Lahr, is a fascinating study of stage fright, and “Passion Flowers in Winter”, by Molly Peacock, profiles Mrs. Mary Delany, who lived in the 1700s, was a student of Handel, knew Jonathan Swift, and invented an early form of collage.

The Best American Essays 2007 contains other fine offerings, as well. The great thing about this kind of book is how the reader can jump around, picking and choosing what he or she wants to read, based on a particular criteria or just on whim.

Other Anthologies in The Series

The Best American Series also includes volumes such as The Best American Mystery Stories, The Best American Short Stories, and The Best American Travel Writing.

Check out more great book suggestions: Great Reference Book For Writers, and A Writing Guide For Every Desk.