The Best Of 2015

Between our classic print magazine and our award-winning website, we’ve published more than 500 articles this year—on everything from Vladimir Putin’s Russia to the euro crisis to how to deal with the self-proclaimed Islamic State. We’re proud of all our content, but every year there are a few pieces that really stand out from the pack. So we’ve compiled some of our favorites into this anthology for handy reference. Our diverse offerings include Kenan Malik’s “The Failure of Multiculturalism,” which argues that Europe’s integration policies have entrenched divisions rather than erased them, and Ira Trivedi’s “When a Bride-to-Be Is a Bride to Buy,” an eye-opening piece on India’s bride shortage and how it has fueled the trafficking of young women. From Greece’s financial problems to the Islamic State’s statecraft, the decline of international studies in the American academy to the stagnation of reforms in China, we’ve covered it all. We hope you enjoy the collection and come back for more in 2016!

Adam Johnson, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Orphan Master's Son, works with group of high school students out of 826 San Francisco to select the year's best new fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics, and category-defying gems aimed at readers 15 and up.

The stories in this volume explore new frontiers in the way we do chores, eat takeout, order online, and dumpster-dive, showcasing business's rapid evolution under the influence of new technologies. Profiles include the amusing portrait of a young investor who made a fortune betting on penny stocks; the inspiring and cautionary story of an undocumented immigrant who became a star trader at Goldman Sachs; and the shocking account of a troubled financial prodigy who defrauded his inner circle of millions.

The latest addition to the celebrated Best American series, featuring the most creative and effective visualizations of data from the past year, introduced by Brain Pickings' creator Maria Popova.

This anthology of essays and articles explores topics ranging from untouched wilderness to scientific ethics—and the nature of curiosity itself. Scientists and writers are both driven by a dogged curiosity, immersing themselves in detailed observations that, over time, uncover larger stories. As Rebecca Skloot says in her introduction, all the stories in this collection are “written by and about people who take the time, and often a substantial amount of risk, to follow curiosity where it may lead, so we can all learn about it.” The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2015 includes work from both award-winning writers and up-and-coming voices in the field. From Brooke Jarvis on deep-ocean mining to Elizabeth Kolbert on New Zealand’s unconventional conservation strategies, this is a group that celebrates the growing diversity in science and nature writing alike. Altogether, the writers honored in this volume challenge us to consider the strains facing our planet and its many species, while never losing sight of the wonders we’re working to preserve for generations to come. This anthology includes essays and articles by Sheri Fink, Atul Gawande, Leslie Jamison, Sam Kean, Seth Mnookin, Matthew Power, Michael Specter and others.

25 of the tastiest and most popular recipes on Closet Cooking, the 2015 edition.

The annual collection celebrating the finest Australian science writing of the year. How does dust connect the cosmos with our bed sheets? Why do lobsters do the Mexican Wave backwards? And what makes us feel ‘wetness’ when there’s no such thing as ‘wet’ nerve receptors? Now in its fifth year, The Best Australian Science Writing 2015 draws on the knowledge and insight of Australia’s brightest thinkers in examining the world around us. From our obsession with Mars to the mating habits of fish, this lively collection covers a range of topics and delights in challenging our perceptions of the planet we think we know.

Mega best-selling mystery and thriller novelist James Patterson edits a collection of the best mystery writing.