The Electric Typewriter

If You Knew Sushi by Nick Tosches - The author heads out in search of the world’s best Sushi. Virtuoso storytelling from a true connoisseur.

The Last Meal by Michael Paterniti - Locked in a dark cage for weeks, then drowned in armagnac and eaten whole. A reporter re-creates President Mitterand’s almost mythical last supper.

The Million Dollar Nose by William Langewiesche - How an ordinary American from the backcountry of northern Maryland became the world’s most influential wine critic.

The End of Men by Hanna Rosin - Women excel in education, in the workplace, all over the place. So what are we going to with all the leftover men?

The Women’s Movement by Joan Didion - J-Diddy takes down feminism’s straw dogs with trademark lucidity.

Either/Or by Ariel Levy - Is gender a state or a scale? This look at the problems faced by a world-champion athlete provides some intruiging answers to this surprising question.

A Few Words About Breasts by Nora Ephron - The world’s only natual resource controlled exclusively by women, we all want them, some more than others…

The Problem with Boys… by Tom Chiarella - …is actually a problem with men.

Liking Is for Cowards by Jonathan Franzen - Is clicking buttons a way to avoid real commitment? A beautiful piece about our fear of real connections.

The Vietnam Syndrome by Christopher Hitchens - Hitchens exposes the ongoing tragedy of Agent Orange with a power that only a few writers can muster.

My Secret Life of crime by Geoff Dyer - Narrow esacpes from death, imprisonment and grevious bodily harm. A trio of life changing events that never were.

The Accidental Rebel by Paul Auster - Our narrator gets caught up in heady days of the late 1960s and ends up occupying a university building. I’m sure we’ve ll been there.

The Rise of the Essay by Zadie Smith - Why novelists love writing essays. Explained by a novelist in an essay, of course.

The Rumor by John Updike - A rumour takes on a life of its own. A great story that manages to feel both real and imagined at the same time.

Living With Geese by Paul Theroux - As well as getting to the heart of Goose psychology, the author launches a scathing offensive against the needy, anthropomorphising animal lover.

The Worst Mistake in History by Jared Diamond - Could it be that civilisation itself is a crisis measure, a result of the overpoulation brought about by the unique sucess humanity? A fascinating new perspective on progress.

To Have is To Owe by David Graeber - Does anyone know what the green stuff really is? David Graeber cuts through centuries of monetary mythology to give an unusually credible answer.

The Origin of Aids by Tom Curtis - Disturbing evidence suggesting that AIDS epidemic may have been unintentionally caused by large scale vacination programmes.

Plastic Ocean by Susan Casey - Where does all the plastic go? To a giant whirlpool in the middle of the pacific. And from there, who knows?

Bystanders to Genocide by Samantha Power - Never again? Maybe not. This standout piece of in-depth reporting asks why the US goverment refused to intervene during the Rwandan genocide despite knowing about the unfolding atrocities.

What if It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie? by Gary Taubes - Is fat our enemy, or is it a lie dreamt up by the processed food industry so they can sell us branded carbs? Gary Taubes takes a look at the evidence.

The Oil We Eat by Richard Manning - A great piece of journalism exploring the relationship between food production and energy, an issue that will define the coming century.

The Wisdom of Saint Marshall, the Holy Fool by Gary Wolf - Believe the hype… Marshall McLuhan is arguably one of the most important thinkers of the information age. Here a brief but insightful introduction to his work.

Israel: The Alternative by Tony Judt - A rare voice of reason in a debate railroaded by fanatics, Tony Judt proposes a real soultion that nobody seems ready to hear.

How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read by Pierre Bayard - Not reading is our main way of relating to most literature, find out how to make the most of your ignorance.

The Birth of ‘The New Journalism’ by Tom Wolfe - Who put the ‘I’ in journalism - Tom Wolfe seems to think that he and his friends were responsbile.

Inhaling the Spore by Lawrence Wechsler - A classic article about an obscure and idiosyncratic private museum in LA’s Culver City. Later developed into a book, the original story is a rare feast of words and ideas.

Inside the Bohemian Grove by Philip Weiss - The author sneaks into the secretive summer camp where world leaders meet to pee on trees. You can’t make this stuff up.

Song of the Sausage Creature by Hunter S. Thompson - Dr. Gonzo faces his mortality when he comes face-to-face with the deadly Ducati 900. One of the tightest pieces of prose ever written.

The Professional Voice of Law Enforcement by Raoul Duke - Find out what you friendly local Sheriff really thinks about weaponry. This almost certainly isn’t a spoof.

How Not to Talk to Your Kids by Po Bronson - Could telling kids that they’re smart be stopping achieving their full potential?

The Possibilian by Burkhard Bilger - This standout piece explores how the subtlest shift in perception can create whole a new way of seeing the world.

Java Man by Malcolm Gladwell - Wake up and smell the coffee. Gladwell takes the reader on a jaunt through the history of everyone’s favourite drug.

Mind vs. Machine by Brian Christian - An intrepeid reporter takes on the latest in artificial intelligence in a battle for humanity.

The Blind Man Who Learned To See by Michael Finkel - The amazing sotry of a blind man who loves mountain biking. A fascinating account of the power of our senses.

Why Men Lie by Vince Passaro - Essential reading for anyone who has to deal with men on regular basis.

Confessions of an Opium-Seeker by Nick Tosches - A breathtaking account of the author’s journey thorugh Asia in search of the mythical opium den.

Shipping Out by David Foster Wallace - DFW’s seminal article about the dubious pleasures of the cruise. An absolute must-read. 

A Fleet of One by John McPhee - John McPhee at his arresting best as he steps into the hypnotic world of coast-to-coast trucking.

Mother Earth Mother Board by Neal Stephenson - Ever wondered how the internet gets where it’s going? Join the hacker tourist on his classic quest to visit the people and places that keep information moving. 

The Coldest War by Kevin Fedarko - If ever there were a need for further proof of the futuility of war this is it. The author joins troops from India and Pakisthan as they battle for control of an unihabited himalayan glacier.

Home by Chris Jones - Journey don’t gat much longer than this: stuck in space and waiting for a ride home.

The Place to Disapear by Susan Orlean - A trip to the generic heart of the backpacker trail.

The Lost City of Z by David Grann - The tale of an ill-fated expedition to one of the Amazon’s remotest regions and a modern story of environmental degredation.

(with links to outstanding articles and essays)

Hunter S. Thompson - The smokescreen of excess can’t disguise the raw power of Dr Gonzo’s electric prose. Some of his best work is available here.

David Foster Wallace - Another non-fiction writer in a class of his own. DFW combines unrivalled intellect and originality with breathtaking style. For selected essays click here.

Joan Diddion - When it comes to memoir few can compete with J-Diddy’s atmospheric brilliance. Great extracts from ‘Slouching Towards Bethlehem’, ‘The White Album’ and more here.

Nick Tosches - Although best known for his music writing, the epic journeys Tosches has published in Vanity Fair rank among the best travel writing there is. Links to both + more here.

Malcolm Gladwell - The New Yorker’s resident mind-reader, famous for tackling the psychology of everything from food to financial meltdown. A selection of our favourite articles is here.

Susan Orlean - Another New Yorker stalwart, Orlean has a rare eye for off-beat subjects and a knack for capturing human detail. Find links to some of her best work here.

Zadie Smith - A novelist whose occasional essays are always overflowing with energy and insight. Favourites themes include writing, class and race. Our pick of the bunch is here.

Tom Chiarella - Esquire’s finest never fail’s to entertain with his acutely self-aware brand of mainstream magazine journalism. Plenty of fine examples to choose from here.

David Sedaris - A great memoirist with a sense for the sublime. Sedaris’ dry humour always managed to hit the spot. Read some of his best work here.

William Langewiesche - The consumate reporter, Langwiesche travels the world to get to the bottom of some of the complex issues that define our lives. A collection of articles here.