The second collection of poems by the best-selling Texan journalist, historian, and poet Michael Lind employs a striking variety of metrical forms to deal with an unusually broad range of subjects. The Dragons That Are Best includes the libretto of a song cycle based on a Mexican legend for the famous soprano Marni Nixon and a verse satire about Bill and Hillary Clinton that appeared in Esquire, glimpses of working-class challenges and historical cameos, and a Southwestern bestiary and allegorical lyrics, including the title poem, that deal with aging and social tolerance and attitudes toward life.

Michael Lind has been an editor or contributing writer at Tablet, Harper's Magazine, The New Republic, and The New Yorker and has taught at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Texas. His books of history, political journalism, and poetry include Parallel Lives: Poems (2007), featured on The Writer's Almanac on NPR; Bluebonnet Girl, illustrated by Kate Kiesler, an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Book Award Winner (2003); and the narrative poem The Alamo (1997).