Scan barcode
achaines's review against another edition
5.0
E.B. White is perfection. I will never write anything as clean and rich as these essays, but I can enjoy them.
tirami's review against another edition
5.0
I picked up a secondhand copy of this book at the Goodwill a few years ago on a whim. I’d never heard of E.B. White before, but a quote on the back of the book called him “one of the finest essayists of the twentieth century,” so I brought him home to see what the fuss was all about.
I am happy to report that they weren’t lying. I found this collection of essays thoroughly enjoyable. They paint a picture of a man that was kind, witty, thoughtful, and ahead of his time. Reading his essays felt like conversations with a good friend, giving me a vivid look into the past and filling me with hope and joy.
Thank you, Mr. White. This is not just one of the best collections of essays I’ve ever read, but one of the best books too. My copy will certainly stay on my shelves for years to come.
I am happy to report that they weren’t lying. I found this collection of essays thoroughly enjoyable. They paint a picture of a man that was kind, witty, thoughtful, and ahead of his time. Reading his essays felt like conversations with a good friend, giving me a vivid look into the past and filling me with hope and joy.
Thank you, Mr. White. This is not just one of the best collections of essays I’ve ever read, but one of the best books too. My copy will certainly stay on my shelves for years to come.
jeannebean's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
4.0
debbiecuddy's review
5.0
What a joy to read these essays! Each one is a gem and it is difficult to choose a favorite. Some I have read over & over again are "Here is New York", "The Years of Wonder", & "Once More to the Lake". I can't praise this book highly enough and would give it 10 stars if I could.
jonbrammer's review against another edition
4.0
New England writers have a mode - fascinated with nature, and the everyday workmanlike process of filtering the natural experience through the small routines of daily life. Frost did it with "Mending Wall", Updike with his petty domestic dramas, Thoreau with his canoe and tourist cabin. I'll throw Lowell and Dickinson's confessional poetry in with the lot, if only to support my claim that these are all fish out of water stories - what it means to be inside when you really want to be outside, to bridge the divide between the house and the forest. White famously did this with his animal stories for children, but in this collection, his neatest rhetorical trick is "Coon Tree" - a meditation on a nocturnal scavenger that segues into a discussion of Cold War politics and nuclear annihilation.
stevesaroff's review against another edition
5.0
E.B. White gave lessons on being a good person. He didn't need a byline on most of his words -- for many years, he wrote the 'talk of the town' section in the early New Yorker magazine without any credit. What he needed was a quiet, stark room, a plain wooden table, a small window, and distance from the crowd. And his writing shows what you can do with a mind free of petty ego. It makes perfect sense that he helped write the book that taught the teachers how to teach (elements of style). The essays in this book show the power of words.
rhaines46's review against another edition
4.0
Nonfiction with a subtle sense of humor, an eclectic knowledge base, and really strong writing... reminds me of John McPhee and Annie Dillard, probably my two favorite authors. Many of these essays didn't feel particularly timely or relevant but overall the experience of reading them compared favorably to some more timely and relevant content (Twitter).
EDIT: forgot to mention that he has a paragraph describing Thoreau's Walden is thoroughly fun to read
EDIT: forgot to mention that he has a paragraph describing Thoreau's Walden is thoroughly fun to read