"They do what the essay form arguably does best: engaging the personal in order to reach larger themes . . . The essay form forces authors to take measure of themselves, and allows the reader to do so as well." --Publishers Weekly

The best-selling essayist Leslie Jamison picks the best essays from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites, bringing her incredible ability to "stitch together the intellectual and the emotional with the finesse of a crackerjack surgeon" (NPR) to the task.