The Best American Sports Writing 2018

The latest addition to the acclaimed series showcasing the best sports writing from the past year.

The latest addition to the acclaimed series showcasing the best sports writing from the past year For over twenty-five years, The Best American Sports Writing has built a solid reputation by showcasing the greatest sports journalism of the previous year, culled from hundreds of national, regional, and specialty print and digital publications. Each year, the series editor and guest editor curates a truly exceptional collection. The only shared traits among all these diverse styles, voices, and stories are the extraordinarily high caliber of writing, and the pure passion they tap into that can only come from sports.

A collection of the best travel writing published in 2017, selected by Cheryl Strayed.

For over twenty-five years, The Best American Sports Writing has been a showcase for the most exceptional sports journalism of the previous year, selected by an acclaimed guest editor. Represented in this year's collection are giants in the field as well as up-and-coming writers to watch--the only shared traits among the diverse styles and voices are the extraordinarily high caliber of writing and the pure passion they tap into.

This volume contains many aspects of sports journalism in daily newspapers, bundled in these main chapters: Professional Sports - Boxing Fights, Yacht Races, Horse Racing, Car Racing, Football, Baseball etc. College Sports - Sports Agents, lce Hockey, Football Coaches, Basketball Cheatings, etc. Sports Celebrities - Famous Jockey, Boxing Champion, Baseball ldol, Outstanding Golfer, etc. Sports Television - Munich Olympics, Los Angeles Olympics, Barcelona Olympics, Sochi Winter Olympics, etc. Sports Photos - Football Player, Baseball Hero, Barcelona Olympics, Boston Marathon Bombings etc. Sports Cartoons - Criticism about several Olympic Summer and Winter Games.

Selected by Ruth Reichl, “punchy and vibrant” essays on food, its place on our tables, in our lives, and in our world (Publishers Weekly). The twenty-eight pieces in this volume are about food, yet touch on every pillar of society: from the sense memories that connect a family, to the scientific tinkering that gives us new snacks to share, to the intersections of culinary culture with some of our most significant political issues. Included among other essays are: “Revenge of the Lunch Lady” by Jane Black, food writer for the Washington Post, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal “How Driscoll’s Reinvented the Strawberry” by Dana Goodyear, author of Anything that Moves “Who Owns Uncle Ben?” by Shane Mitchell, James Beard Award winner and Saveur contributing editor “Is Dinner for Two Worth $1,000?” by Jonathan Gold, Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times restaurant critic At times a celebration, at times a critique, at times a wondrous reverie, The Best American Food Writing 2018 is brimming with delights both circumspect and sensuous. Dig in! “For pure food writing fun, it’s hard to beat Baxter Holmes’s ‘The NBA’s Secret Sandwich Addiction,’ which will have readers first laughing incredulously and then hungrily craving a PB&J on plain white bread. Thoughtful and educational, enticing and entertaining, this collection has something for everyone.”—Publishers Weekly

Best-selling author Sam Kean edits this year's volume of the finest science and nature writing.

In a time of reckoning, this year’s National Magazine Awards finalists and winners focus on abuse of power in many forms. Ronan Farrow’s Pulitzer Prize–winning revelation of Harvey Weinstein’s depredations (New Yorker), along with Rebecca Traister’s charged commentary for New York and Laurie Penny’s incisive Longreads columns, speak to the urgency of the #MeToo moment. Ginger Thompson’s reporting on the botched U.S. operation that triggered a cartel massacre in Mexico (National Geographic/ProPublica) and Azmat Khan and Anand Gopal’s New York Times Magazine investigation of the civilian casualties of drone strikes in Iraq amplify the voices of those harmed by U.S. actions abroad. And Alex Tizon’s “My Family’s Slave” (Atlantic) is a powerful attempt to come to terms with the cruelty that was in plain sight in his own upbringing. Responding to the overt racism of the Trump era, Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “My President Was Black” (Atlantic) looks back at the meaning of Obama. Howard Bryant (ESPN the Magazine) and Bim Adewunmi (Buzzfeed) offer incisive columns on the intersections of pop culture, sports, race, and politics. In addition, David Wallace-Wells reveals the coming disaster of our climate-change-ravaged future (New York); Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham’s ESPN the Magazine reporting exposes the seamy sides of the NFL; Nina Martin and Renee Montagne investigate America’s shameful record on maternal mortality (NPR/ProPublica); Ian Frazier asks “What Ever Happened to the Russian Revolution?” (Smithsonian); and Alex Mar considers “Love in the Time of Robots” (Wired with Epic Magazine). The collection concludes with Kristen Roupenian’s viral hit short story “Cat Person” (New Yorker).