Susan Orlean--the beloved New Yorker staff writer and the author of the New York Times bestsellers Rin Tin Tin, The Orchid Thief, and On Animals--selects twenty science and nature essays that represent the best examples of the form published in 2024.

The Best American series, launched in 1915, is the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction, and it is the most respected--and most popular--of its kind.

New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean selects twenty pieces that represent the best science and nature writing published the previous year and explores our ever-changing world.

Author: Susan Orlean, Jaime Green
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Mariner Books
Published: 10/21/2025
Pages: 304
Weight: 0.65lbs
ISBN: 9780063414211

About the Author
Green, Jaime: -

Jaime Green, series editor, is a science writer and essayist. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Aeon, Slate, The Nation, The New York Times Book Review, Astrobites, and elsewhere. She is the author of The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos.

Orlean, Susan: -

Susan Orlean has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1992. She is the New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including The Library Book, Rin Tin Tin, Saturday Night, and The Orchid Thief, which was made into the Academy Award-winning film Adaptation. Her memoir, Joyride, will be published in October 2025. She lives with her family and her animals in Los Angeles.