The editor, an acclaimed essayist, introduces 17 pieces from publications ranging from House & Garden to The Yale Review. They exemplify the rich scope and variety of the form. Among them are a discussion of boxing by Joyce Carol Oates, Alexander Cockburn's memories of an English boys' school, and Donald Barthelme on "Not-Knowing." Other writers are Julian Barnes, Joseph Brodsky, Gerald Early, Kai Erikson, Robert Fitzgerald, William Gass, Stephen J. Gould, Anne Hollander, George F. Kennan, Cynthia Ozick, Edward Rothstein, Frederick Turner, Gore Vidal, and John Wain.