Rating: 
Summary: An exceptional collection by a very gifted writer!
Review: In addition to being the author of three famous children's novels, E.B. White was also a prolific essayist, letter writer and journalist for The New Yorker magazine. I first stumbled upon his book of letters about four years ago and was completely enthralled. Shortly thereafter I discovered his essays and was equally delighted. Mr. White was an exceptional writer and humorist. He could take the most trivial and mundane of topics and make them come alive; nothing escaped his observation. These essays are simply wonderful!
Many of the essays are about Mr. White's experiences living in the Maine countryside. "Death of a Pig" is far and away the best essay in this entire collection and my personal favorite. I love to read it aloud! Mr. White bought a spring pig which he intended to fatten up and later slaughter during the wintertime. But instead the pig became ill and Mr. White found himself drawn into the role of the pig's friend and physician. If you think you could not possibly feel any strong emotion over a pig's demise, read this essay and you may find you feel very differently. It is one of the finest pieces of writing I have ever read; an exquisite commentary on mortality, both animal and human.
"The Geese" were two of Mr. White's close companions, a goose and a gander. In this essay Mr. White describes the gander's death from old age and his subsequent attempts to supply the lonely widower with a new family. Immensely charming!
In "What Do Our Hearts Treasure?" it is Christmas 1965 and due to health problems the Whites are spending the winter not in their beloved Maine but in sunny, warm Florida. They are having a great deal of trouble adjusting to the difference in climate and surroundings and are feeling quite miserable and homesick. Three days before Christmas a large package arrives for them from their daughter-in-law in Maine. It contains a marvelous surprise that goes a long way in easing the Whites's homesickness. A truly lovely essay!
In "Once More to the Lake" Mr. White describes a trip he took with his son to visit the lake in Maine where he and his family vacationed every August when he was growing up. It is a nostalgic piece about the passage of time and growing older. Very, very nice!
These are only a small sampling of the many pieces contained in this volume. If you enjoy these essays, then I also highly recommend "The Letters of E.B. White" as well. This book spans six decades and contains letters written to friends, family members, colleagues, readers, anyone and everyone. Many of these letters are delightfully funny, especially the ones which feature Mr. White's troublesome red dachshund, Fred, to whom he often ascribed human characteristics and foibles in a very humorous manner. One of my very favorite books!
Rating:
Summary: The Art of the Essay
Review: Most folks will know E.B. White as the author of Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, or as the eminently practical voice of reason in The Elements of Style. However, White was also an accomplished essayist, turning out pieces for The New Yorker and Harpers on a regular basis for many years.What I like about White's essays is that they can be counted on to be insightful, amusing and well-written. White approaches an essay like a pleasant conversation. He's been thinking about New York and its inhabitants, he will tell you, and this what he's come up with. On another occasion it may be the personality quirks of his old dachshund Fred, or the controversy over white versus brown eggs. Anything and everything is food for thought, although you can be sure that White will broaden the scope of his topics to include the world at large. New York, he concludes, is a concentrated version of many worlds, "...bringing to a single arena the gladiator, the evangelist, the promoter, the actor, the trader, and the merchant." Fred, the dachshund, was "...the Cecil B. deMille of dogs. He was a zealot, and I have just been reminded of him by a quote from one of the Democrats..." And the white versus brown egg debate, White concludes, is simply a matter of what you're used to. Personally he prefers brown, and can recommend the egg of the Silver Cross, whose egg is "...so richly brown, so wondrously beautiful as to defy description." Best of all, White's insightful commentary does not require intense concentration or endless analysis to get the gist of what he is trying to say. You can sit back and relax when you pick up a book of his essays, knowing you won't have to grapple with unfamiliar or awkward language. This is not to imply that you won't find yourself thinking about what he has to say. It's just that his approach is so matter-of- fact, easy going and accessible that you feel you've been invited to tea or are taking a leisurely stroll as the essay unfolds. I read White's essays the way some people read mysteries or romance novels. They are entertaining without being too demanding, and are a great way to set day-to-day concerns aside. Treat yourself to a good read.
Rating:
Summary: The Art of the Essay
Review: Most folks will know E.B. White as the author of Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, or as the eminently practical voice of reason in The Elements of Style. However, White was also an accomplished essayist, turning out pieces for The New Yorker and Harpers on a regular basis for many years. What I like about White's essays is that they can be counted on to be insightful, amusing and well-written. White approaches an essay like a pleasant conversation. He's been thinking about New York and its inhabitants, he will tell you, and this what he's come up with. On another occasion it may be the personality quirks of his old dachshund Fred, or the controversy over white versus brown eggs. Anything and everything is food for thought, although you can be sure that White will broaden the scope of his topics to include the world at large. New York, he concludes, is a concentrated version of many worlds, "...bringing to a single arena the gladiator, the evangelist, the promoter, the actor, the trader, and the merchant." Fred, the dachshund, was "...the Cecil B. deMille of dogs. He was a zealot, and I have just been reminded of him by a quote from one of the Democrats..." And the white versus brown egg debate, White concludes, is simply a matter of what you're used to. Personally he prefers brown, and can recommend the egg of the Silver Cross, whose egg is "...so richly brown, so wondrously beautiful as to defy description." Best of all, White's insightful commentary does not require intense concentration or endless analysis to get the gist of what he is trying to say. You can sit back and relax when you pick up a book of his essays, knowing you won't have to grapple with unfamiliar or awkward language. This is not to imply that you won't find yourself thinking about what he has to say. It's just that his approach is so matter-of- fact, easy going and accessible that you feel you've been invited to tea or are taking a leisurely stroll as the essay unfolds. I read White's essays the way some people read mysteries or romance novels. They are entertaining without being too demanding, and are a great way to set day-to-day concerns aside. Treat yourself to a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Masterful and wonderful and delightful
Review: Too bad there is/was only one E. B. White; too bad he couldn't have lived for ever. He will always remain as one of the best American essayists while at the same time continuing to earn acclaim for several other books that will always stay in print: childhood classics Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, as well as the newer edition of Elements of Style.
But his essays! Oh, they are so good, so rambling and thoughtful and gently pointed, many humorous while still making a deep and important impression. Anyone who strives to write good prose must read these essays to find out how a master did it and made it look easy. The first one in this volume, Death of a Pig, could serve as a lesson in How to Write.
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: White's Essays presents the most interesting, readable, and instructive short pieces I have every had the pleasure of reading, first when I was a G.I. in 1941, and most recently as a retired professor in 2001 -- not to list the several readings in between. The widely-opened mind of a great writer and observer of his world. My only regret is that I have only 5 stars to give to White's masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: Strunk's student becomes the teacher
Review: Wow. This book is a treasure chest; I resorted to folding the corners of dozens of pages so I could easily relocate some of its gems. You will hate reaching the end of this book, but you will come away with renewed powers to observe life's little treasures of daily experience. Seeing the world through the eyes of E. B. White is an inspiring privelege, and this book enables that. If books were cookies, this one would win a whopping big prize.
Rating:
Summary: The writer's writer
Review: You would be hard-pressed to find any writer who constructs sentences more methodically or more elegantly than White. His style is clear as a summer creek. Each word belongs exactly where he put it, and each metaphor is perfectly chosen. You will not find more value per word anywhere. Above all, though, he is sensible. He doesn't arrive at erratic conclusions, but simple, naturally sane ones, which makes you wish all people would read White as an object lesson on seeing clearly. The world doesn't need to be made difficult, and he proves it. His power of persuasion through the written word is remarkable (he once wrote a letter to the New York Herald Tribune disagreeing with an editorial, and after few days had passed, the Tribune wrote a public letter of apology for its views. That's effective writing.) This book is one of the reasons print will never die; it can't be filmed, which means it can't be misinterpreted and possibly destroyed. Finally, Felix Frankfurter, Supreme Court Justice, once wrote a letter to White, saying, "If angels can write, none wields a better pen than you." If you read this book, and read it closely, you just might agree.
Rating:
Summary: The writer's writer
Review: You would be hard-pressed to find any writer who constructs sentences more methodically or more elegantly than White. His style is clear as a summer creek. Each word belongs exactly where he put it, and each metaphor is perfectly chosen. You will not find more value per word anywhere. Above all, though, he is sensible. He doesn't arrive at erratic conclusions, but simple, naturally sane ones, which makes you wish all people would read White as an object lesson on seeing clearly. The world doesn't need to be made difficult, and he proves it. His power of persuasion through the written word is remarkable (he once wrote a letter to the New York Herald Tribune disagreeing with an editorial, and after few days had passed, the Tribune wrote a public letter of apology for its views. That's effective writing.) This book is one of the reasons print will never die; it can't be filmed, which means it can't be misinterpreted and possibly destroyed. Finally, Felix Frankfurter, Supreme Court Justice, once wrote a letter to White, saying, "If angels can write, none wields a better pen than you." If you read this book, and read it closely, you just might agree.
|
