Below, our favorite stories of the week. Kindle users, you can also get them as a Readlist.
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1. Sixty-nine Days
Héctor Tobar | The New Yorker | June 30, 2014 | 58 minutes (14,378 words)
An in-depth account of how the Chilean miners survived during the 2010 Copiapó mining accident.
2. Prey
Kathleen Hale | Hazlitt | June 26, 2014 | 24 minutes (6,014 words)
“This is how I went from prey to predator.” A young woman testifies against her rapist and becomes obsessed with dangerous animals in the aftermath.
3. From Botanical Gardens Intern to Anthony Bourdain’s Assistant: A Job History
Laurie Woolever | The Billfold | June 26, 2014 | 12 minutes (3,227 words)
Woolever documents her entire career, with some important lessons along the way. “I took out a loan and did a 6-month professional course at the French Culinary Institute, while continuing to work part-time for the family for a few months. I soon learned that I was poorly-equipped to be restaurant cook. I’m rather lazy, I loathe noise, heat, and teamwork, bore easily, and crack under pressure.”
4. ‘I Was a Washington Post Reporter. And a Crack Addict.’
Ruben Castaneda | Politico | June 30, 2014 | 15 minutes (3,963 words)
In 1989, Ruben Castaneda was an ambitious young reporter at the Washington Post, covering the downfall of then-Mayor Marion Barry. And like Barry, Castaneda also had a double life.
5. Without You I’m Nothing
Alexandra Molotkow | The Believer | July 2, 2014 | 24 minutes (6,135 words)
Molotkow takes a closer look at the memoirs of rock stars’ ex-lovers—from Cynthia Lennon to Angie Bowie. “‘The truth is that if I’d known as a teenager what falling for John Lennon would lead to,’ read ‘John’’s final lines, ‘I would have turned round right then and walked away.’ Aside from the living death of losing her husband abruptly and in public, Cynthia never recovered the life she could have had without him.”
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