Selections will include Jane Mayer's investigation of the various highly coercive interrogation techniques routinely employed by the CIA and the Pentagon, Jonathan Chait's report on how radical economic extremists have hijacked national policy, Andrew Sullivan's article on "Why Barack Obama Matters," George Packer's analysis of the contrasting appeals of Obama and Hillary Clinton, Parag Khanna on America's struggle to retain its status as the world's great superpower, and John Judis's essay on how politicians wield power by tapping into our deepest anxieties, from such publications as The New Yorker, The New Republic, the Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, and Vanity Fair.

Royce Flippin is the series editor of Best American Political Writing. A former senior editor at American Health magazine, he has written for various publications, including the New York Times, Men's Journal, Self, and Parents magazine. This is his seventh year as the editor of the series.

Todd Purdum is national editor of Vanity Fair.

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