In this singular collection, John D'Agata takes a literary tour of lyric essays written by the masters of the craft. Beginning with 1975 and John McPhee's ingenious piece, "The Search for Marvin Gardens," D'Agata selects an example of creative nonfiction for each subsequent year. These essays are unrestrained, elusive, explosive, mysterious--a personal lingual playground. They encompass and illuminate culture, myth, history, romance, and sex. Each essay is a world of its own, a world so distinctive it resists definition. Contributors include: Sherman AlexieDavid AntinJenny BoullyAnne CarsonGuy DavenportLydia DavisJoan DidionAnnie DillardThalia FieldAlbert GoldbarthSusan GriffinTheresa Hak Kung ChaJamaica KincaidWayne KoestenbaumBarry LopezJohn McPheeCarole MasoHarry MathewsSusan MitchellFabio MorabitoMary RuefleDavid ShieldsDennis SilkSusan SontagAlexander TherouxGeorge W. S. TrowDavid Foster WallaceEliot WeinbergerJoe WenderothJames Wright