There were several really great essays in this collection, and as an essayist, I got a lot of instruction and ideas for my own nonfiction writing. There were a handful that I didn't much care for, but that's almost always the case when it comes to large collections. I'd definitely recommend for writers and teachers as well as nonfiction readers.

My one gripe is with all anthologies that use a random organizational structure, like alphabetical order. It's probably great for people who like to skip around anyway, but I read everything front-to-back and like there to be some emotional story told through the arrangement of the pieces. ( )

I’ve been reading on this book, a dab at a time, all summer. It was the required reading for my personal essay writing class this summer. I went to look for it at B&N and it wasn’t there. I was happy to find I could download it, immediately, on my Kindle. An excellent use of my Kindle, as I could carry it with me to Utah and read it while waiting for an oil change and even just before I went to sleep. I had no idea the book had 576 pages; on the Kindle, all books feel equally light. So what about the…what do I call them? I want to call them stories, but I suppose, for accuracy’s sake, I will call them essays. Brilliant. Writing so good I could almost see the sheen of the words on my Kindle. But sad. All were sad. No happy stories. A school shooting. An unwanted child. An alcoholic dad. That left me thinking, Are there no happy stories? Is it only the traumatic events of one’s life that people want to read? I’ll leave that question, and just say one more time: These are excellent essays. Amazing. I want to read them again. And again. ( )