The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2002

by Natalie Angier (Editor), Tim Folger (Series Editor)

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 Science and Nature Writing 2002, edited by Natalie Angier, is another "eclectic, provocative collection" (Entertainment Weekly). Malcolm Gladwell, Joy Williams, Barbara Ehrenreich, Burkhard Bilger, Dennis Overbye, and many more of the best and brightest writers on science and nature explore such topics as the rise and fall of Islamic science, disappearing cancers, and the meaning of mountain lions in the back yard.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Essays, Anthologies

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

Natalie Angier is a nonfiction writer and a science journalist for The New York Times.

Reviews

[Wesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought from the bargain shelf at Tsunami Books in Eugene, Oregon, for $1. Worth the price, but just barely. I will not seek collections from other years.

[Mary Brace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

[Sesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this collection of science and nature writing out of serendipity and discovered some great essays. Since then I have bought every annual issue of the Best American Science and Nature writing.

The 2002 issue is still my most favorite of the lot. The most fascinating piece in this issue is by Burkhard Bilger, "Braised Shank of Free-Range Possum". Mr. Bilger travels the south in search of old-world delicacies such as the free-range possum of the title ("...that feral, faintly glandular presence rising through the sauce", turtle soup ("...a mixture of brine and fern and slumbering beast"), frog legs ("Tender and buttery, with a subtle, amphibian chew") and other intriguing meats. I keep going back to this essay for its outrageous charm.

Then there is Malcolm Gladwell's "Examined Life". Those of you who have read his "The Tipping Point" and "Blink" will know what Mr. Gladwell is capable of. And in "Examined Life" he tells the story of Stanley Kaplan of the Kaplan coaching business, filled with remarkable detail of Kaplan's determination to prove that scoring high on the SAT exams is a matter of training, training, training.

Other great pieces in the 2002 edition include "I Have Seen Cancers Disappear" by Judith Newman, "Why McDonald's Fries Taste So Good" by Eric Schlosser, and "Is That a Mountain Lion in Your Backyard?" by Gordon Grice.

Tom Folger is the editor for the series as a whole, but each year's collection is picked by a different editor. The 2002 edition is Natalie Angier's selection - she is a long-time science writer for the New York Times, and has recently written, "Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science."

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a great piece by Barbara Ehrenreich, the author of Nickled & Dimed, about her reaction to being diagnosed with breast cancer. I have to say I'd probably feel the same and can't quite view anything slathered in pink in the name of the cure in quite the same way.

Additionally I enjoyed this collection because I'm a nature nut! There are articles about birds getting confused flying around skyscrapers, people being hunted by mountain lions, & the effects of overfishing, just to name a few.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this for the Malcolm Gladwell article on Kaplan and the SAT - fascinating. I am in the anti-standardized testing camp - I see the potential value, but rarely see them used in that way. I like reading Gladwell's take on things - makes me think about them differently, even when I don't agree with him.

[Demian Katz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm mysteriously drawn to random collections of essays, and I quite enjoyed this one -- in spite of being more than a decade old and dealing with science, it didn't feel unreasonably dated, it and covered a wide range of topics and styles. I'll definitely keep an eye out for more volumes of this series!

[Novem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series. This is my favorite one so far.

[Ellen Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

quality and readability varied widely. some were passe by now (artificial intelligence), some I'd read (Ehrenreich on cancer, excellent), some topics have been so over done (Darwin).