It's nice to have stuff in one place, but not having any new content makes this necessary for purchase only by true collectors.

There is no way I can finish this book by publication date. Didion was one of our champion chroniclers of life in America from the 1960's through the first decade of the 2000's. The first piece, The Year of Magical Thinking is the chronicle of the death of her husband; another book on the death of her daughter and reflections on her daughter's life. She then goes on to chronicle journeys through the south and the west. After that are a series of short essays on a variety of topics written at various points in her life. The books on the death of her husband and her daughter are much more personal than works such as Slouching Towards Bethlehem or the White Album. Didion is trying to be more conversational with the reader. It worked for me, it may not work for everyone. Her essays are a mixed bag; some stronger than others..
I was born in 1950. Didion was one of the strongest chroniclers of our times and her book on the death of her husband is still a moving memoir. I am not a Didion completist (I have read Slouching towards Bethlehem and the White Album, but none of the rest of her nonfiction and none of her fiction but I think everyone should read the Year of Magical Thinking and her travel writing in the American South is very good. All in all a welcome addition to here canon.

This is a tremendous collection that deserves to be read multiple times. The thoughtful writing of Joan Didion provides comfort. Excellent book for gift giving. Carry this volume like a devotional or journal. Pick it up every day to see what Joan has to say.

It's nice to have stuff in one place, but not having any new content makes this necessary for purchase only by true collectors.