---
product_id: 58476255
title: "The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 (The Best American Series)"
price: "€ 28.56"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 6
url: https://www.desertcart.fi/products/58476255-the-best-american-nonrequired-reading-2002-the-best-american-series
store_origin: FI
region: Finland
---

# The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 (The Best American Series)

**Price:** € 28.56
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 (The Best American Series)
- **How much does it cost?** € 28.56 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.fi](https://www.desertcart.fi/products/58476255-the-best-american-nonrequired-reading-2002-the-best-american-series)

## Best For

- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Description

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 (The Best American Series) [Cart, Michael, Eggers, Dave] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 (The Best American Series)

Review: Eclectic and Powerful Collection - Some highlights of this collection are: Higher Education, the profile of Reese Perry, an African American high school basketball coach who shows up in an all-white midwest small town and, through his altruistic love, transforms them from prejudiced tribalists to open-minded cosmopolitans, a heart-breaking essay. Bomb Scare, a graphic or comic book style story of a high school where all the kids and their parents lack a moral compass and surrender to nihilism, the inability to transcend their self-centeredness. Why McDonald's French Fries Taste So Good, an excerpt from Fast Food Nation, which explains how the food industry uses sinister science to secretly make us addicted to the chemicals the food companies put in our food. Stop That Girl, a short story about a ten-year-old girl whose mother marries a rich man and ends up in a False Eden where playing house leaves her feeling abandoned and unloved. My Fake Job, an essay in which Rodney Rothman simply walks into a tech office and feigns being an employee, an act of charlatinism that isn't questioned by anyone at the office, casting light on how these fly-by-night business operations are so disjointed and full of isolated employees who suffer so much transience and alienation as the employers don't commit to them in the slightest. Toil and Temptation, an essay about a Mexican immigrant who slowly gets caught up in consumerism and becomes more of a slave in America than he ever was in Mexico.
Review: Best of the Best of... - Whenever I read a Best of Series book, only a few stories/essays grab me, and this is the eclectic nature of anthologies. In Best-of books all writing is high quality, but what interests the writer and me is hit and miss. Yet I found almost seventy percent of BNR 2006 excellent. The graphic entries all great, I've read Delisle's Pyongyang, it is up there with Spiegelman's Maus, but the other two I had never heard of and found both very provocative - Joe Sacco & Gipi. The Best American Excerpt from a Military Blog is a tearjerker, and the Chuck Norris Facts as well as the Onion headlines are funny. My prose favorites came from Tom Downey, The Lincoln Group, Julia Sweeney, and Vonnegut. On the questionable end, I'm glad to have the opportunity to read the 26 pages of the Iraqi Constitution, but..., it does not make very compelling reading. And perhaps too many of the essays or excerpts made a one-sided statement about our involvement in the Middle East. This is fascinating stuff, and though Tom Downey's 'The Insurgent's Tale' perhaps is the most provocative piece of the bunch, it also made me wonder why the story seemed unable to come down a little harder, or examine, both sides. I somehow felt the author gave the insurgent a pass at times. Four and a half stars.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #511,510 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #493 in American Fiction Anthologies #1,237 in Essays (Books) #3,472 in Short Stories Anthologies |
| Customer Reviews | 4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars (148) |
| Dimensions  | 5.5 x 0.75 x 8.25 inches |
| Edition  | 2002nd 2002 ed. |
| ISBN-10  | 0618246940 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0618246946 |
| Item Weight  | 12 ounces |
| Language  | English |
| Part of series  | The Best American: Nonrequired Reading |
| Print length  | 273 pages |
| Publication date  | October 15, 2002 |
| Publisher  | Houghton Mifflin Company |

## Images

![The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 (The Best American Series) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81aZk0W-eyL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Eclectic and Powerful Collection
*by M***N on March 12, 2004*

Some highlights of this collection are: Higher Education, the profile of Reese Perry, an African American high school basketball coach who shows up in an all-white midwest small town and, through his altruistic love, transforms them from prejudiced tribalists to open-minded cosmopolitans, a heart-breaking essay. Bomb Scare, a graphic or comic book style story of a high school where all the kids and their parents lack a moral compass and surrender to nihilism, the inability to transcend their self-centeredness. Why McDonald's French Fries Taste So Good, an excerpt from Fast Food Nation, which explains how the food industry uses sinister science to secretly make us addicted to the chemicals the food companies put in our food. Stop That Girl, a short story about a ten-year-old girl whose mother marries a rich man and ends up in a False Eden where playing house leaves her feeling abandoned and unloved. My Fake Job, an essay in which Rodney Rothman simply walks into a tech office and feigns being an employee, an act of charlatinism that isn't questioned by anyone at the office, casting light on how these fly-by-night business operations are so disjointed and full of isolated employees who suffer so much transience and alienation as the employers don't commit to them in the slightest. Toil and Temptation, an essay about a Mexican immigrant who slowly gets caught up in consumerism and becomes more of a slave in America than he ever was in Mexico.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Best of the Best of...
*by C***L on October 30, 2009*

Whenever I read a Best of Series book, only a few stories/essays grab me, and this is the eclectic nature of anthologies. In Best-of books all writing is high quality, but what interests the writer and me is hit and miss. Yet I found almost seventy percent of BNR 2006 excellent. The graphic entries all great, I've read Delisle's Pyongyang, it is up there with Spiegelman's Maus, but the other two I had never heard of and found both very provocative - Joe Sacco & Gipi. The Best American Excerpt from a Military Blog is a tearjerker, and the Chuck Norris Facts as well as the Onion headlines are funny. My prose favorites came from Tom Downey, The Lincoln Group, Julia Sweeney, and Vonnegut. On the questionable end, I'm glad to have the opportunity to read the 26 pages of the Iraqi Constitution, but..., it does not make very compelling reading. And perhaps too many of the essays or excerpts made a one-sided statement about our involvement in the Middle East. This is fascinating stuff, and though Tom Downey's 'The Insurgent's Tale' perhaps is the most provocative piece of the bunch, it also made me wonder why the story seemed unable to come down a little harder, or examine, both sides. I somehow felt the author gave the insurgent a pass at times. Four and a half stars.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A MUST BUY! SELECTED BY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS--GREAT IDEA!
*by E***H on March 12, 2017*

This is an annual "must-buy" for our household, a tradition we started when my daughter was in high school. There are so many great writers represented here, in so many formats, from poetry and comics to essays and short stories. The allure of this series among many younger readers is that the content is selected by high school students in two cities. (I don't know if those cities are fixed, or if they move every year.) These students work for a number of months, reading stacks of literary journals, and obscure poetry and comics publications.The result is a beautiful mixture of great writing. You'll capture the heart of a young (but dedicated) reader if you introduce her/him to this annual. Enjoy!

---

## Why Shop on Desertcart?

- 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016
- 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories
- 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price
- 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members)
- 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection
- ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews

**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.fi/products/58476255-the-best-american-nonrequired-reading-2002-the-best-american-series](https://www.desertcart.fi/products/58476255-the-best-american-nonrequired-reading-2002-the-best-american-series)

---

*Product available on Desertcart Finland*
*Store origin: FI*
*Last updated: 2026-02-23*