Edited By Dave Eggers
"Eggers here obliges the dictates of the "Best American" series—beloved of many public library habitués—with an eclectic mix of entries. The first section includes mostly ironic works, here under goofy headings, e.g., "Best American Patents" and "Best American Lawsuits." But the contents of "Best American Poems Written in the Last Decade by Soldiers and Citizens Fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan" are moving and well crafted, and their inclusion after such light, mocking fare jars and calls into some doubt Eggers's probity. The remaining 90 percent of the book contains longer short stories and journalism, and some of the more famous choices, e.g., Sherman Alexie's funny, wincing account of his father's hospitalization and Andrew Sean Greer's retelling of being gay at a NASCAR encampment, are ragingly humorous. George Saunders's faux-ethnography of life in another kind of encampment, among homeless crackheads in Sacramento, may be the piece that will have the longest shelf life. David Rohde's story of his abduction by and escape from the Taliban and Evan Ratliff's Wired assignment to try to disappear in a ubiquitously networked world are celebrated for what they chronicle, not how well they are written. Verdict Essential for public libraries, but colleges should pass. Readers may not consume this cover to cover, but some lesser-known writers and journals get much-deserved attention." (Library Journal) Check Our Catalog
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