Editor's pick: Susie Linfield on the aid crisis

One of the very best feelings you can have as an editor is when someone you have been after for ages finally gives in and agrees to write you a piece, and when the copy arrives it it is so totally brilliant that not only does it not require any real editing, but you can bathe for a while in its reflected glory - as if in doing the commissioning you could actually claim the piece as your own. Such is the case with this brilliant piece by Susie Linfield, about the crisis in humanitarian aid. I came across her writing online, and found out she runs the Cultural Reporting and Criticism course at NYU and is an expert on photojournalism. I'm reading her new book about photography and war, called Cruel Radiance, which is very good (we'll review it on our next issue). So do yourself a favour and read the essay – I'd recommend printing it out (it's free) and reading with a cup of tea (and let us know what you think in our groovy new comments section at the end of all articles).