US expat Emmett Stinson looks back to his homeland in the alienated aftermath of September 11. But how do these idiosyncratically American stories play out in an Australian literary context?

If you want to appear fully informed and drop-dead clever over Christmas dinner, The Best Australian Essays will help. Here's what to expect.

Being the world's greatest pick-up artist won't help when the shit hits the fan. Neil Strauss tells us about the apocalypse paranoia and hardcore survival skills that inspired his latest book Emergency.