New New Journalism: Conversations with America's Best Nonfiction Writers on Their Craft Book

This was a little dated (2005!) and so of course all the interviews dealt with these writers' older works. So craft and influence questions were the most valuable. There were only 3 women included (Susan Orlean, Jane Kramer, and Adrian Leblanc) and the alphabetical ordering of the interviews meant I'd read almost 200 pages before hearing a female voice. [I'm used to the alphabetical ordering of the annual Best American Essays, which sometimes leads to serendipitiously provocative juxtapositions. But here I thought some editorial choices regarding order would have better illuminated the contradictions and common/disparate themes of the writers' work.]

I hadn't realized I was starting a 500-page book when I began the Kindle version. I grew a little bored by the same questions asked of each writer, in the same order ("Are you interested in writing about a celebrity?" No- duh!). Some interviews were great, but mainly due to the writer's individuality showing forth, not because of Boynton's questions. Especially fine: Conover, Kotlowitz, Krakauer, Rosenbaum, Schlosser, and the inimitable Lawrence Weschler. Also to-read: Telling True Stories and The Gang That Wouldn't Write Straight.