Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads hundreds of pieces from dozens of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to twenty or so of the very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind.

This second annual BEST AMERICAN TRAVEL WRITING volume is a far-flung collection chosen by travel writer extraordinaire Paul Theroux, a volume that again "favors the unexpected, the unusual and, in some instances, the potentially deadly" with writing that "is packed with punch and purpose" (San Antonio Express). From Lawrence Millman's journey to the time-stilled Mediterranean island of Pantelleria, "where Ulysses is spoken of like a contemporary," to Susan Orlean's experience on Bangkok's Khao San Road, a place that "makes you feel as though it could eat you alive," here is the most remarkable and most challenging travel writing of 2001. Read on for Russell Banks, Pico Iyer, Janet Malcolm, Susan Minot, David Quammen, Salman Rushdie, Edward W. Said, and many more.

• April 2013 Indie Next List
• March 2013 Indie Next List
• February 2013 Indie Next List