Notes from no man's land : American essays

Oh jeeze. Oh jeeze. This was the best book I read all year. I could not believe how skillfully she twines her personal experience with historical narrative and analysis. All these essays are beautiful and compelling. You can read the book's title essay here: http://www.believermag.com/issues/200802/?read=article_biss and I really can't recommend it, or this book, highly enough.