The first decades of the 21st century have witnessed a blossoming of creative nonfiction. In this extraordinary collection, Phillip Lopate gathers essays by forty-seven of America’s best contemporary writers, mingling long-established eminences with newer voices and making room for a wide variety of perspectives and styles. Features works from some of the best writers of the past quarter century, from Barry Lopez and Margo Jefferson to David Sedaris and Samantha Irby.