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Faves:William Manchester: "Okinawa: The Bloodiest Battle of All"Samuel Hynes: "The Feeling of Flying"Richard Selzer: "A Mask on the Face of Death"Charles Simic: "Reading Philosophy at Night"
I had sensed that this book was not THE BEST ESSAYS OF AMERICA when I read the introduction. Because Introduction section was boring and had a style of writing. My idea was that since the same person compiled these essays, they could also be similar.And I was right. And I gave up after eighth essay. They are all boring, and have bad writing style just like the introduction.But I should spare the two of them among the eight I read."Okinawa: The Bloodiest Battle of All" by William Manchester, and
Better than the 1986 and 1987 editions, this anthology, edited by Annie Dillard, offers a range of subjects and writing styles, from E.J. Kahn Jr.'s long-winded profile to Anne Carson's lyrical meditation. While I won't revisit many of the essays, two especially stood out: William Manchester's "Okinawa: The Bloodiest Battle of All" and William Kittredge's "Home." Both surprised me with their honesty and voice, and I will refer to them again as a teacher and student.
Read this for the Annie Dillard short essays. Love her.