In the magazine world, no recognition is more highly coveted than an "Ellie," presentedby the American Society of Magazine Editors. Selected from thousands of submissions, the pieces in this anthology represent the very best of those -- outstanding works by some of the most eminent writers in America:

Laura Hillenbrand (Seabiscuit) on living and creating with chronic fatigue syndrome

Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) on love and surfing

Mark Bowden (Black Hawk Down) on modern torture and the "landscape of persuasion"

Seymour M. Hersh (Chain of Command) on the "selective intelligence" used by the White House to justify the war in Iraq

Calvin Trillin (The Tummy Trilogy) on his favorite force of nature, the newsman R. W. Apple, Jr.

Tucker Carlson (CNN's Crossfire), the "whitest man in America," on a peace mission with Rev. Al Sharpton

And many more!