Thematically arranged, The Best American Essays, Fifth Edition, presents highly regarded contemporary authors at their best. The essays, selected from the popular Houghton Mifflin trade series of the same name, also cover common rhetorical modes--including narration and argumentation--thereby providing instructors optimal flexibility with respect to course approach. In the introduction, Robert Atwan offers an overview of various types of essays in order to prepare students for the readings that follow. To further prepare students, "Essayists on the Essay" offers insightful commentaries about the genre from many of today's top writers.