The Best American series has been the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction since 1915. For each volume, the very best pieces are selected by a leading writer in the field, making the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind.

The Best American Spiritual Writing 2005 includes

Mary Gordon * Natalie Goldberg * Oliver Sacks * Ptolemy Tompkins * Patricia Hampl * Gary Snyder * Charles Johnson * Harvey Cox * Todd Gitlin * Bill McKibben * Philip Levine * W. S. Merwin * and others

Philip Zaleski, editor, is the author of The Recollected Heart, The Book of Heaven, and, most recently, Prayer: A History (with Carol Zaleski). He is a senior editor of Parabola and a research associate in religion at Smith College.

Barry Lopez is the author of Arctic Dreams, the illustrated fable Crow and Weasel, and several essay and short story collections, including About This Life and Resistance. He has received the National Book Award and other honors.