An anthology Malcolm Gladwell has called "riveting and indispensable," The Best Business Writing is a far-ranging survey of business's dynamic relationship with politics, culture, and life. This year's selections include John Markoff (New York Times) on innovations in robot technology and the decline of the factory worker; Evgeny Morozov (New Republic) on the questionable value of the popular TED conference series and the idea industry behind it; Paul Kiel (ProPublica) on the ripple effects of the ongoing foreclosure crisis; and the infamous op-ed by Greg Smith, published in the New York Times, announcing his break with Goldman Sachs over its trading practices and corrupt corporate ethos.

Jessica Pressler (New York) delves into the personal and professional rivalry between Tory and Christopher Burch, former spouses now competing to dominate the fashion world. Peter Whoriskey (Washington Post) exposes the human cost of promoting pharmaceuticals off-label. Charles Duhigg and David Barboza (New York Times) investigate Apple's unethical labor practices in China. Max Abelson (Bloomberg) reports on Wall Street's amusing reaction to the diminishing annual bonus. Mina Kimes (Fortune) recounts the grisly story of a company's illegal testing—and misuse—of a medical device for profit, and Jeff Tietz (Rolling Stone) composes one of the most poignant and comprehensive portraits of the financial crisis's dissolution of the American middle class.

Introduction
Acknowledgments
Part I. On the Ground
1. The Sharp Sudden Decline of America's Middle Class, by Jeff Tietz, Rolling Stone
2. The Great American Foreclosure Story: The Struggle for Justice and a Place to Call Home, by Paul Kiel, ProPublica
Part II. Bad Medicine
3. Bad to the Bone: A Medical Horror Story, by Mina Kimes, Fortune
4. Prescription for Addiction, by Thomas Catan, Devlin Barrett, and Timothy W. Martin, Wall Street Journal
5. Anemia Drugs Made Billions, but at What Cost? Peter Whoriskey, Washington Post
Part III. Big Business
6. Making the World's Largest Airline Fly, by Drake Bennett, BusinessWeek
7. Gusher, by Steve Coll, The New Yorker
Part IV. Bad Business
8. Vast Mexico Bribery Case Hushed Up by Wal-Mart After Top-Level Struggle, by David Barstow, New York Times
9. Chesapeake and Rival Plotted to Suppress Land Prices Brian Grow, by Joshua Schneyer, Reuters
10. Fear Fans Flames for Chemical Makers, by Patricia Callahan and Sam Roe, Chicago Tribune
Part V. Media and Marketing
11. His. Hers., by Jessica Pressler, New York
12. Top Five Ways Bleacher Report Rules the World!, by Joe Eskenazi, San Francisco Weekly
13. Why India's Newspaper Industry Is Thriving, by Ken Auletta, The New Yorker
14. The Frequent Fliers Who Flew Too Much, by Ken Bensinger, Los Angeles Times
Part VI. Big Think
15. Trade-offs Between Inequality, Productivity, and Employment, by Steve Randy Waldman, Interfluidity
16. The Naked and the TED, by Evgeny Morozov, The New Republic
Part VII. Adventures in Finance
17. Wall Street Bonus Withdrawal Means Trading Aspen for Coupons, by Max Abelson, Bloomberg
18. The Tale of a Whale of a Fail, by Matt Levine, Dealbreaker
19. Case Against Bear and JPMorgan Provides Little Cheer, by Bethany McLean, Reuters
20. How ECB Chief Outflanked German Foe in Fight for Euro, by Brian Blackstone and Marcus Walker, Wall Street Journal
21. From The Trouble is the Banks, Edited by Mark Greif, Dayna Tortorici, Kathleen French, Emma Janaskie, and Nick Werle, n+1
22. Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs, by Greg Smith, New York Times
23. Death Takes a Policy: How a Lawyer Exploited the Fine Print and Found Himself Facing Federal Charges, by Jake Bernstein, ProPublica
Part VIII. Brave New World
24. How Companies Learn Your Secrets, by Charles Duhigg, New York Times Magazine
25. Glass Works: How Corning Created the Ultrathin, Ultrastrong Material of the Future, by Bryan Gardiner, Wired
26. Skilled Work, by Without the Worker, by John Markoff, New York Times
27. I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave, by Mac McClelland, Mother Jones
28. In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad, by Charles Duhigg and David Barboza, New York Times
29. How Apple and Amazon Security Flaws Led to My Epic Hacking, by Mat Honan, Wired
Permissions
List of Contributors