Conor Fridersdorf has an article in the Atlantic entitled Nearly 100 Fantastic Pieces Of Journalism. Friedersdorf is the founding editor of The Best of Journalism, a newsletter devoted to exceptional nonfiction. This is his picks for the best of the last year.
Click here for the year's Pulitzer Prize winners and finalists.
Here are a few examples of Friedersdorf's picks:
THE NEW YORKER
Pandora's Briefcase by Malcolm Gladwell
During World War II, the British pulled off one of the most successful acts of espionage in history. In its details, however, even this fascinating tale of Allied trickery suggests that spying might not be worthwhile.
THE MORNING NEWS
The High Is Always The Pain And The Pain Is Always The High by Jay Kang
After living the ups and downs of life as a professional poker player, the author observes that "gambling narratives tend to glamorize the upswing." In his own story, however, the romance is wrapped up in the losses.
THIS AMERICAN LIFE
Patriot Games by Ben Calhoun
An unsurpassed case study in how idealistic people who enter professional politics wind up compromising their values.
THE OBSERVER
The Little Pill That Could Cure Alcoholism by James Medd
Is alcoholism "a physical condition with a spiritual solution," as Alcoholics Anonymous has long insisted? Dr Olivier Ameisen no longer thinks so - having successfully ended his own debilitating addiction, he thinks he's found a revolutionary cure for the disease in the form of a widely available pill.
MILITARY HISTORY QUARTERLY
Holy Terror: The Rise Of The Order Of The Assassins by Jefferson Gray
For almost two centuries, The Order Of The Assassins "played a singular and sinister role in the Middle East," terrifying enemies through their own brand of asymmetric warfare.
THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS
The Beck Revelation by Mark Lilla
By taking Glenn Beck's ideas seriously, the author gets as close as anyone has to teasing out what motivates the Fox News host and his bizarre brand of cable tv and talk radio.
SLATE
Big Breitbart by Christopher Beam
In a year that saw several profiles of Andrew Breitbart this one was the standout - a look at the man behind the bombast and bullshit.
THE NEW YORKER
Frat House For Jesus by Peter J. Boyer
The secretive religious organization that ministers to many of Washington DC's most powerful people.
GQ
The Comedian's Comedian's Comedian By Amy Wallace
An inquiry into Gary Shandling as comic innovator: it hints at what humor might look like if our cultural obsession with irony makes space for an earnest but sophisticated avant garde.
THE WASHINGTON MONTHLY
The Closing Of The Marijuana Frontier by John Gravois
In Mendocino County, California, pot is king - and its cultivators face complications unlike any other American farmers.
DESIGN OBSERVER
All Those Numbers: Logistics, Territory and Walmart by Jesse Lecavelier
What the discount retailer - the largest private employer in the United States - can teach us about design and efficiency.
THIS AMERICAN LIFE
NUMMI by Frank Langfitt
In the mid 1980s, one of Japan's most successful auto-makers willingly shared all the secrets of its success with GM. This is the story of why the company failed to take advantage of the opportunity.
THE POINT
Predatory Habits by Etay Zwick
A jeremiad against Wall Street and its out-sized place in American life.
CITY JOURNAL
Start-Up City by Ed Glaeser
If you want your city to succeed it's not huge employers you want - it's lots of small entrepreneurs.
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