The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 (The Best American Series) [Paperback]

Michael Cart (Editor), Dave Eggers (Consultant Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2002

Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to the twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind.

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 is a selection for young people of the best literature from mainstream and alternative American periodicals: from the New Yorker, Jane, Rolling Stone, Zyzzyva, Vibe, The Onion, Spin, Epoch, Time, Little Engines, Modern Humorist, Esquire, and more. Dave Eggers has chosen the highlights of 2001 for this genre-busting collection that includes new fiction, essays, satire, journalism -- and much more. From Eric Schlosser on french fries to Elizabeth McKenzie on awful family to Seaton Smith on how to "jive" with your teen, The Best American Nonrequried Reading 2002 is the first and the best.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Nonrequired? That means your college professor didn't put it on the reading list. Houghton addresses its newest "best of" series to the under-25 crowd, who buy more books than anyone else and should enjoy this blend of fiction and nonfiction from some truly cool zines.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Although the inaugural issue of this hip, eclectic anthology is marketed at 15- to 25-year-olds, the editors are leery of condescending to "young adults" (a term they dislike). Cart goes so far as to deploy self-consciously casual language in his foreword; Eggers (author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) mostly replaces the introduction with a memoir of pool-hopping and awkward desire. Earnest posturing aside, this is a strong collection that includes short bursts of reportage, feature writing, fiction, satire, and even a comic strip (Adrian Tomine's moving, dead-on teenage portrait "Bomb Scare"). Two pieces from The Onion seem a little thin in this context, since they're easily outweighed by works like "The Lost Boys" (Sara Corbett's elegantly direct article about young Sudanese refugees who relocate to Fargo, North Dakota); "My Fake Job" (Rodney Rothman's hilarious and mostly true report about showing up to work at a dot-com that never hired him); and "Higher Education" (Gary Smith's rousing, almost too-good-to-be-true account of a black coach in Amish country). Sharp under-25 readers may still flee if they feel they're being targeted, but they sure don't have to. Keir Graff
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 273 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company; None edition (October 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618246940
• ISBN-13: 978-0618246946
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #737,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NOT ONLY FOR YOUNGER AUDIENCES, December 12, 2002

By 

S. Calhoun "rhymeswithorange" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 (The Best American Series) (Paperback)

Editor Dave Eggers explains that this inaugural edition of THE BEST AMERICAN NONREQUIRED READING 2002 is targeted for 15 to 25-year-olds. However, I can testify that individuals outside this predetermined age bracket can also gain enjoyment from this book. The wide variety of stories ranging from fiction to nonfiction satisfied me and kept me turning the pages. I enjoyed a great majority of the stories and only disliked two (which is rather remarkable considering that short story compilations seem to contain an equal share of winners and losers, in my own opinion.)

The journalistic entries were phenomenal and shed light on current events such as methamphetamine addiction in Asia, undocumented Mexican laborers in NYC, and Afghanistan soldiers fighting their civil war. Some of the comical pieces made me laugh out laugh such as "The Fourth Angry Mouse" and "My Fake Job" and The Onion entries were also notable (I'm already a fan of that publication.)

Sure, there were some stories intended for a 15 to 25-year-old audience but I could still relate even though it's been a decade since graduating high school. Who can forget what it's like during those delicate years? Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and will be looking forward to the 2003 edition.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If I were in charge, I wouldn't require it either., January 7, 2003

By 

Jeff Adelberg (Belmont, MA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 (The Best American Series) (Paperback)

I enjoyed most of the work in this compilation. I sort of wonder what the heck it was compiled for, but I I'm glad it was, since I would never have come across any of this stuff otherwise. Favorites include Rodney Rotham's hilarious "My Fake Job" and "The Nice New Radicals" by Seth Mnookin, a piece which I might argue SHOULD be required for some people. Eric Schlosser's "Why McDonald's Fries Taste So Good" was fascinating, but I seem to be the only person on the planet who hasn't already read his work. Many pieces discuss certain cultural struggles: good pieces, but why so many? One piece is "graphic" in both meanings of the word. I am glad it is included, if only to act as a precedent for other compilations. The only notably awful work is "Hubcap Diamondstar Halo" which is as difficult as its title. And even though most of the pieces were engaging, few of them have remained with me. Maybe you should get this book if you like magazines, but not enough to actually subscribe to them. Maybe you should get it if you have a short attention span, like me. Or maybe you shouldn't get it. Don't worry, it's not required.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great collection, check it out!, November 6, 2003

By 

Joe Sherry (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 (The Best American Series) (Paperback)

This was a fascinating collection. Most of the "Best American" collections are straight forward. You have a good idea of what you're going to get, and if you are widely read in those subjects (sports writing, science writing, short stories, etc), you may have come across most of those essays/stories. In this first collection of Non-required reading, you get the best stories and essays that would never be assigned in school and are from alternative magazines (rather than the large respected newspapers like the New York Times). The pieces collected very from short fiction, to political essays, to a graphic story (as in a story told in comic panels), to humor. It is a varied collection and most of the work is top-notch (I was less impressed with "Hubcap Diamondstar Halo").

Some highlights are "Speed Demons", "Journal of a new COBRA recruit" (yes, COBRA as in from G.I. Joe....this may be my favorite of the collection), "My Fake Job", "Fourth Angry Mouse", "Why McDonald's Fries Taste So Good", the two short pieces from the Onion, "Higher Education", and "Bomb Scare" (Bomb Scare is the graphic story). Just browsing through the table of contents, I was able to list 9 pieces that I would highlight and recommend. If there was nothing else in the collection, that would be enough to recommend it. But, there are other quality pieces in this collection. If you want to read short pieces (both fiction and nonfiction) that you might not ordinarily run across every day, this is the collection for you.