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 former spouses and fashion competitors Tory and Christopher Burch. Peter Whoriskey ( "Washington Post") exposes the human cost of promoting pharmaceuticals for off-label uses. 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.

In this sweeping, incisive post mortem, Dean Starkman exposes the critical shortcomings that softened coverage in the business press during the mortgage era and the years leading up to the financial collapse of 2008. He locates the roots of the problem in the origin of business news as a market messaging service for investors in the early twentieth century. This access-dependent strain of journalism was soon opposed by the grand, sweeping work of the muckrakers. Propelled by the innovations of Bernard Kilgore, the great postwar editor of the Wall Street Journal, these two genres merged when mainstream American news organizations institutionalized muckraking in the 1960s, creating a powerful guardian of the public interest. Yet as the mortgage era dawned, deep cultural and structural shifts-some unavoidable, some self-inflicted-eroded journalism's appetite for its role as watchdog. The result was a deafening silence about systemic corruption in the financial industry. Tragically, this silence grew only more profound as the mortgage madness reached its terrible apogee from 2004 through 2006. Starkman frames his analysis in a broad argument about journalism itself, dividing the profession into two competing approaches-access reporting and accountability reporting-which rely on entirely different sources and produce radically different representations of reality. As Starkman explains, access journalism came to dominate business reporting in the 1990s, a process he calls "CNBCization," and rather than examining risky, even corrupt, corporate behavior, mainstream reporters focused on profiling executives and informing investors. Starkman concludes with a critique of the digital-news ideology and corporate influence, which threaten to further undermine investigative reporting, and he shows how financial coverage, and journalism as a whole, can reclaim its bite.

A breakout success, our anthology of the year's best business investigative writing includes provocative essays on the ongoing collapse of American middle-class jobs under the weight of maximizing shareholder values ( "Washington Post"); the underground networks of financial exchange that insulate Russia from diplomatic consequences and real economic pain ( "New York Times"); the shady practices and libertarian ethos of the new Silicon Valley ( "Frankfurter Allgemeine," "London Review of Books"); and the implications of Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean-In" ( "The Baffler"), the most talked about career-advice book of the year.

Additional articles cover London's long history of embracing corrupt foreign money ( "Vanity Fair"); the crimes and misadventures of the young founder of Silk Road, the wildly successful online illegal goods site known as the "Ebay of vice" ( "Rolling Stone"); the secret dealings of an elite Wall Street society ( "New York"); the real failings of the Fed during the 2008 economic crisis ( "The Atlantic"); the PIMCO fund controversy ( "Wall Street Journal"); the brilliant campaign behind J. Crew's brand transformation ( "Fast Compan"y); the decline of the funeral business ( "Philadelphia"); the political plans of the Koch brothers ( "The" "New Yorker); the Amazon tax fight (Fortune"); and the science of junk food ( "New York Times Magazine").

Contributors include: Russell BrandGregg EasterbrookJesse EisingerSusan FaludiBen JudahLucy KellawayDavid KushnerJane MayerEvgeny MorozovMatthew O'BrienKevin RooseRebecca SolnitAshlee VanceJia Lynn Yang

* 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.

In this sweeping, incisive post mortem, Dean Starkman exposes the critical shortcomings that softened coverage in the business press during the mortgage era and the years leading up to the financial collapse of 2008. He locates the roots of the problem in the origin of business news as a market messaging service for investors in the early twentieth century. This access-dependent strain of journalism was soon opposed by the grand, sweeping work of the muckrakers. Propelled by the innovations of Bernard Kilgore, the great postwar editor of the Wall Street Journal, these two genres merged when mainstream American news organizations institutionalized muckraking in the 1960s, creating a powerful guardian of the public interest. Yet as the mortgage era dawned, deep cultural and structural shifts-some unavoidable, some self-inflicted-eroded journalism's appetite for its role as watchdog. The result was a deafening silence about systemic corruption in the financial industry. Tragically, this silence grew only more profound as the mortgage madness reached its terrible apogee from 2004 through 2006. Starkman frames his analysis in a broad argument about journalism itself, dividing the profession into two competing approaches-access reporting and accountability reporting-which rely on entirely different sources and produce radically different representations of reality. As Starkman explains, access journalism came to dominate business reporting in the 1990s, a process he calls "CNBCization," and rather than examining risky, even corrupt, corporate behavior, mainstream reporters focused on profiling executives and informing investors. Starkman concludes with a critique of the digital-news ideology and corporate influence, which threaten to further undermine investigative reporting, and he shows how financial coverage, and journalism as a whole, can reclaim its bite.

Corporate monopolies, gross mismanagement, retail delivery drones, the growing app economy-2015 was a year of profound changes in the world of business and finance. Offering clear-eyed assessments of these developments along with compelling profiles and muckraking reports, the incisive articles in this volume provide an essential guide for understanding business's influence on economics, politics, and culture. Selections include Sarah Maslin Nir's explosive expose of the nail-salon industry in the New York Times and the Associated Press's disheartening investigation into slave-labor practices abroad. The stories in this volume explore new frontiers in the way we do chores, eat takeout, order online, and dumpster-dive, showcasing business's rapid evolution under the influence of new technologies. Profiles include the amusing portrait of a young investor who made a fortune betting on penny stocks; the inspiring and cautionary story of an undocumented immigrant who became a star trader at Goldman Sachs; and the shocking account of a troubled financial prodigy who defrauded his inner circle of millions. Claire Suddath adds her take on corporate America's broken maternity-leave system (Businessweek), and Charles Levinson reminds us of Wall Street's close ties to Washington in a probing look at the making (and unmaking) of the Dodd-Frank financial reform act (Reuters).