The Best of Slate: A 10th Anniversary Anthology

by David Plotz (Editor)

Slate pioneered online journalism-and now, in celebration of its 10th anniversary, a collection of its smartest, funniest and best reporting.

When Slate launched in June 1996, the web was a novelty and internet journalism scarcely existed. In the decade since, Slate has emerged as the most important new magazine of its generation. It has shaped how Americans think about politics, media, and culture, published some of the most exciting writers around, and pioneered an entirely original kind of journalism.

The Best of Slate captures the magazine's funny, conversational style, its extraordinary variety, and its provocative intellectual fierceness. The anthology will collect more than 60 pieces from the magazine's first decade, including articles by Michael Lewis, Jeffrey Goldberg, Christopher Hitchens, Jack Shafer, Dahlia Lithwick, Marjorie Williams, Jeffrey Steingarten, and Atul Gawande. Slate founding editor Michael Kinsley contributes an opening essay on Slate's history, and current Slate editor Jacob Weisberg contributes the introduction.

Author Biography: David Plotz is the Deputy Editor of Slate. He lives in Washington, DC.

Jacob Weisberg is the Editor of Slate and the bestselling author of Bushisms. He lives in New York, NY.

Michael Kinsley is Slate's founding editor. He lives in Seattle, WA.

Genres: Essays, Anthologies, Journalism

279 pages, Paperback

First published May 23, 2006

About the author

Plotz, an American journalist, has been a writer with Slate since its inception and was designated as the online magazine's editor in June 2008.

He is the author of "The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank" (2005) and "Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous, and Inspiring Things I Learned when I Read Every Single Word of the Bible" (2009).

Reviews

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confusing. I wasn't sure whether I was meant to be entertained and informed, or just mildly irritated and challenged by weird perspectives. Interesting ones...but ones that seem not to have an understanding of just how hard it is to effectively communicate internet sarcasm.

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's exactly what it says it is: an anthology of the Slate articles which the editors considered the best of the lot. Slate is not for everyone, and the same goes for the book. Additionally, I, as a Slate aficionado, don't agree with some of the article selections.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most enjoyable book I've read in a long time. I want to read more collections like this! I loved how diverse the topics are and how concise each story is. Great for nighttime reading!

[SaintAnn's]

Meghan O’Rourke and Ann Hulbert are contributors.