The Best of David Foster Wallace

a list by Peter, the avid reader who runs Flashlight Worthy

David Foster Wallace was an incredible (and volatile) talent that died long before he ran out of things to say. Entertainment Weekly (which actually has good taste in books) cites the books below as his most rewarding work... work that's a mix of "intellectual rigor, hilarity, and -- crucially -- empathy."

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/Infinite_Jest');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316066524'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/Infinite_Jest');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316066524'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Infinite Jest

by David Foster Wallace

Entertainment Weekly says:
Published when he was just 33, this 1,079-page doorstop might fairly be called this generation's "Moby-Dick" or "Gravity's Rainbow."

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/Infinite_Jest');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/Infinite_Jest');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316066524'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 1,104 page paperback |$12.23 |345 reviews

 
 
onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/A_Supposedly_Fun_Thing_Ill_Never_Do_Again_Essays_and_Arguments');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316925284'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/A_Supposedly_Fun_Thing_Ill_Never_Do_Again_Essays_and_Arguments');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316925284'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments

by David Foster Wallace

Entertainment Weekly says:
The egghead as humorist. In essays on cruise ships and state fairs, Wallace is always bemused but never cynical.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/A_Supposedly_Fun_Thing_Ill_Never_Do_Again_Essays_and_Arguments');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/A_Supposedly_Fun_Thing_Ill_Never_Do_Again_Essays_and_Arguments');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316925284'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 368 page paperback |$10.19 |89 reviews

 
 
onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/Brief_Interviews_with_Hideous_Men');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316925195'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/Brief_Interviews_with_Hideous_Men');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316925195'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

by David Foster Wallace

Entertainment Weekly says:
His wildest book of stories is exactly what the title promises; myriad portraits of men behaving badly.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/Brief_Interviews_with_Hideous_Men');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/Brief_Interviews_with_Hideous_Men');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316925195'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 336 page paperback |$10.19 |68 reviews

 
 
onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/Consider_the_Lobster_And_Other_Essays');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316013323'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/Consider_the_Lobster_And_Other_Essays');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316013323'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Consider the Lobster: And Other Essays

by David Foster Wallace

Entertainment Weekly says:
More comedic (and strikingly brainy and openhearted) nonfiction. Included topics: John McCain, porn, talk radio, and dictionaries.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/Consider_the_Lobster_And_Other_Essays');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/Consider_the_Lobster_And_Other_Essays');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316013323'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 352 page paperback |$10.19 |47 reviews

 
 
onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/The_Best_American_Essays_2007');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0618709274'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/The_Best_American_Essays_2007');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0618709274'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">The Best American Essays: 2007

edited by David Foster Wallace, Robert Atwan

Entertainment Weekly says:
Introductions are usually superfluous, but Wallace blows apart the form with this examination of "Total Noise."

(Note that Wallace only wrote the Introduction to this collection.)

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/The_Best_American_Essays_2007');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Best_of_David_Foster_Wallace/The_Best_American_Essays_2007');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0618709274'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 336 page paperback |$10.68 |6 reviews

 

Know any books we should add to the list above? .

 
 

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