This past weekend, I undertook the laborious task of sorting through stacks of The New York Times from 2009 and late 2008. From those countless newspapers, I cut out 21 stories, and whittled down the list to bring you what I consider the best of the best stories I read over my morning coffee this past year.

In Booming Gulf, Some Arab Women Find Freedom in the Skies

By Katherine Zoepf, December 21, 2008

Rania Abou Youssef, 26, a flight attendant for the Dubai-based airline, Emirates, said that when she went home to Alexandria, Egypt, her female cousins treated her like a heroine. ‘I’ve been doing this for four years,’ she said, ‘and still they’re always asking, ‘Where did you go and what was it like and where are the photographs?’

In a journalistic sea of black burqa news reporting, a refreshing look into the profession of choice for young, working women in the Persian Gulf—flight attendants.

Ex-Detainee of U.S. Describes a 6-Year Ordeal

By Jane Perlez, Raymond Bonner and Salman Masood, January 5, 2009

Mr. Iqbal said he had been beaten, tightly shackled, covered with a hood and given drugs, subjected to electric shocks and, because he denied knowing Mr. bin Laden, deprived of sleep for six months.

As the country anxiously prepared to welcome a new president (who vowed to close Guantanamo Bay within a year), The New York Times published this terrifying look into the six-year imprisonment of a Pakastani man never charged with a crime.

Iraqis Snap Up Hummers, Seeing Them as Icons of Power

By Rod Nordland, March 29, 2009

In a country with at least 20,000 Humvees and a war-weary population, who would think there would be a market for a civilian version?

An interesting look into the Baghdadi elite, and the not-so-culturally-different idea that driving an oversized SUV exudes wealth, power and confidence.

No Job and Soon No Benefits, Race to Help Son Stay Cancer Free

By Kevin Sack, April 20, 2009

‘You just feel that you’re at a loss, that you’re at your wits’ end.’ I ask myself, ‘Do I really have to lose my home to save my son’s life?’

When Danna Walker found out that she had lost her job with DHL, she was more worried about finding health insurance for her 21-year-old son who has been cancer-free for just one year, than putting food on the table.

This story made me want to send it to every member of the House and Senate, because if the Walker’s story can’t swing votes, nothing will.

You’re Name’s Not on Our List? Change It, Beijing Officials Say

By Sharon LaFraniere, April 20, 2009

The character is so rare that once people see it, Miss Ma said, they tend to remember both her and her name. That is one reason she likes it so much. That is also why the government wants her to change it.

A new law in China requires each of it’s 1.3 billion citizens to replace their handwritten identity cards with computer-readable ones, Chinese citizens with uncommon names might not have any choice but to change their names.

Another Side of Kerouac: The Dharma Bum as Sports Nut

By Charles McGrath, May 15, 2009

He collected their stats, analyzed their performances and, as a teenager, when he played most ardently, wrote about them in homemade newsletters and broadsides. He even covered financial news and imaginary contract disputes.

Did Jack Kerouac invent fantasy sports? Doubtful, but the writer kept a secret pastime that none of his Beat counterparts had ever heard about: he “obsessively played a fantasy baseball game of his own invention.”

Made in India, But Published In New Haven

By Peter Applebome, May 31, 2009

Alert readers of The New Haven Advocate and its sister publications in Hartford and Fairfield County may have noticed a consistency among the bylines in its newest issue: Annie Rani, Dev Das, Nidhi Sharma, Asmi Rana, Neha Bhayana, Shreya Sanghani, Vijeta Bhatia and others.

Peter Applebome’s “Our Town” column on outsourcing local journalism was the catalyst for a previous Eat Media Blog post. An interesting—albeit depressing—look at how the global job pool might very well be eliminating the need for local, on the ground reporters.

E. Coli Path Shows Flaw in Beef Inspection

By Michael Moss, October 3, 2009

Ground beef is not a completely safe product. . .

This article has my pick for the most-informed scare tactic report of the year. As a self-disclosed vegetarian, countless meat-eaters brought up this article to me, vowing to never eat ground beef (or, at least, non-organic ground beef) again.

—Wendy Joan

(Writer’s note: All headlines mentioned in this article are from The New York Times’ print edition. Photo by fraley_tera)

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