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zhzhang's review against another edition
4.0
Some books are suitable for listening, well, I would say, this book is more for a copy in the hands to digest more vividly.
tipi's review against another edition
3.0
E.B. White is American creative nonfiction's best kept secret. Casual readers only know him for his children's books, but it turns out he's a very good essayist as well. He wrote the essays in this collection between 1938 and 1943 while living on a farm in Maine, and farming makes for an excellent backdrop, methinks. It gives White the rare opportunity to write sophisticatedly about a vocation which we popularly assume to be unrefined and working class. Even in 2017, farming has a good amount of untapped potential in the realm of creative nonfiction.
"Poetry" may be my favorite essay in this collection. I have personally never cultivated much of a taste for poetry, but the fact that such an oftentimes opaque medium can move other humans to wonderment... that in itself is enough to put a smile on my face. As opposed to reading it firsthand, I've always preferred reading about poetry. But more than anything I prefer a prose writer whose innermost temperament is poetic. E.B. White is one such writer. Only a poet can look at his dreaming dog and say that "he quivers like an aspen," or visit the Museum of Natural History for the sole purpose of witnessing a "a whale suspended in air."
"Poetry" may be my favorite essay in this collection. I have personally never cultivated much of a taste for poetry, but the fact that such an oftentimes opaque medium can move other humans to wonderment... that in itself is enough to put a smile on my face. As opposed to reading it firsthand, I've always preferred reading about poetry. But more than anything I prefer a prose writer whose innermost temperament is poetic. E.B. White is one such writer. Only a poet can look at his dreaming dog and say that "he quivers like an aspen," or visit the Museum of Natural History for the sole purpose of witnessing a "a whale suspended in air."
tipi's review against another edition
3.0
E.B. White is American creative nonfiction's best kept secret. Casual readers only know him for his children's books, but it turns out he's a very good essayist as well. He wrote the essays in this collection between 1938 and 1943 while living on a farm in Maine, and farming makes for an excellent backdrop, methinks. It gives White the rare opportunity to write sophisticatedly about a vocation which we popularly assume to be unrefined and working class. Even in 2017, farming has a good amount of untapped potential in the realm of creative nonfiction.
"Poetry" may be my favorite essay in this collection. I have personally never cultivated much of a taste for poetry, but the fact that such an oftentimes opaque medium can move other humans to wonderment... that in itself is enough to put a smile on my face. As opposed to reading it firsthand, I've always preferred reading about poetry. But more than anything I prefer a prose writer whose innermost temperament is poetic. E.B. White is one such writer. Only a poet can look at his dreaming dog and say that "he quivers like an aspen," or visit the Museum of Natural History for the sole purpose of witnessing a "a whale suspended in air."
"Poetry" may be my favorite essay in this collection. I have personally never cultivated much of a taste for poetry, but the fact that such an oftentimes opaque medium can move other humans to wonderment... that in itself is enough to put a smile on my face. As opposed to reading it firsthand, I've always preferred reading about poetry. But more than anything I prefer a prose writer whose innermost temperament is poetic. E.B. White is one such writer. Only a poet can look at his dreaming dog and say that "he quivers like an aspen," or visit the Museum of Natural History for the sole purpose of witnessing a "a whale suspended in air."
jamietr's review against another edition
5.0
After [b:Essays of E.B. White|394616|Essays of E.B. White|E.B. White|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439001918l/394616._SY75_.jpg|1243367], I couldn't stop. I needed more. I picked up [b:One Man's Meat|10813|One Man's Meat|E.B. White|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388708027l/10813._SY75_.jpg|13434] because it sounded interesting. And it was. The book collects a column that White wrote for Harper's in the early 1940s. Many of the articles are about life on his farm, and I enjoyed those the most. I like the subtle humor that comes across in these pieces. I like the voice he's created, and I admire the compactness of thought that makes his writing crisp.
If nothing else, reading these essays has put in my mind Rule 17 in [b:The Elements of Style|33514|The Elements of Style|William Strunk Jr.|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1168447985l/33514._SY75_.jpg|35832]: omit needless words. It also made me envious of the farm life White had up in Maine. The grass is always greener, but it sure seems pleasant.
If nothing else, reading these essays has put in my mind Rule 17 in [b:The Elements of Style|33514|The Elements of Style|William Strunk Jr.|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1168447985l/33514._SY75_.jpg|35832]: omit needless words. It also made me envious of the farm life White had up in Maine. The grass is always greener, but it sure seems pleasant.
melodyriggs's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve really come to enjoy an essay or two a day from White. He really was ahead of his time in many instances- including his thoughts about race. I also love reading the antics of his dachshund, Fred, who makes an appearance in several essays in this collection.
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