Crystal Growth in Science and Technology Book

I came across this collection of science and nature writing out of serendipity and discovered some great essays. Since then I have bought every annual issue of the Best American Science and Nature writing.

The 2002 issue is still my most favorite of the lot. The most fascinating piece in this issue is by Burkhard Bilger, "Braised Shank of Free-Range Possum". Mr. Bilger travels the south in search of old-world delicacies such as the free-range possum of the title ("...that feral, faintly glandular presence rising through the sauce", turtle soup ("...a mixture of brine and fern and slumbering beast"), frog legs ("Tender and buttery, with a subtle, amphibian chew") and other intriguing meats. I keep going back to this essay for its outrageous charm.

Then there is Malcolm Gladwell's "Examined Life". Those of you who have read his "The Tipping Point" and "Blink" will know what Mr. Gladwell is capable of. And in "Examined Life" he tells the story of Stanley Kaplan of the Kaplan coaching business, filled with remarkable detail of Kaplan's determination to prove that scoring high on the SAT exams is a matter of training, training, training.

Other great pieces in the 2002 edition include "I Have Seen Cancers Disappear" by Judith Newman, "Why McDonald's Fries Taste So Good" by Eric Schlosser, and "Is That a Mountain Lion in Your Backyard?" by Gordon Grice.

Tom Folger is the editor for the series as a whole, but each year's collection is picked by a different editor. The 2002 edition is Natalie Angier's selection - she is a long-time science writer for the New York Times, and has recently written, "Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science."