In 1939, James Agee (1909-55) wrote a 10,000-word piece about Brooklyn for Fortune magazine. The editors shelved the article because of "creative differences"; apparently, Agee's finely detailed rhapsody didn't fit the editors' designs for a New York City special issue. In any case, it remained unpublished until 1968, when it appeared with the somewhat incongruous title Southeast of the Island. With this edition, a new generation of readers will be introduced to perhaps the finest prose description of Brooklyn, that singular borough.