Joyride: A Memoir

Orlean (The Library Book) offers a master class in nonfiction writing and an indelible portrait of a bygone era of magazine journalism in this excellent personal history. Prompted by the 25th anniversary of her bestseller The Orchid Thief, Orlean takes stock of what she’s seen and learned since she took her first writing job in 1978 at an alt-weekly in Portland, Ore. The author recalls landing that gig with little more than pluck and a single clip, and describes an on-the-fly education that taught her to chase her own curiosity and develop the distinctive voice that would bring her fame. She brings readers behind the scenes of some of her best-known long-form articles, including profiles of an ordinary 10-year old boy from New Jersey for Esquire, surfer girls in Hawaii for Outside Women (which inspired the film Blue Crush), and an Ashanti king who worked as a taxi driver in Long Island for the New Yorker, describing how she infused each piece with surprising layers of complexity and wonder. Journalism junkies will also enjoy Orlean’s tales of working alongside publishing icons including Tina Brown, Robert Gottleib, and Anna Wintour. Writers new and established will savor every word. Agent: Richard Pine, InkWell Management. (Oct.)