Essays of E. B. White

Front Cover
Harper Collins, Feb 25, 2014 - Literary Collections - 384 pages

"Some of the finest examples of contemporary, genuinely American prose. White's style incorporates eloquence without affection, profundity without pomposity, and wit without frivolity or hostility. Like his predecessors Thoreau and Twain, White's creative, humane, and graceful perceptions are an education for the sensibilities."  — Washington Post

The classic collection by one of the greatest essayists of our time.

Selected by E.B. White himself, the essays in this volume span a lifetime of writing and a body of work without peer.  "I have chosen the ones that have amused me in the rereading," he writes in the Foreword, "alone with a few that seemed to have the odor of durability clinging to them." These essays are incomparable; this is a volume to treasure and savor at one's leisure.

 

Contents

GOODBYE TO FORTYEIGHTH STREET
3
HOMECOMING
8
A REPORT IN SPRING
16
DEAD OF A PIG
20
THE EYE OF EDNA
30
COON TREE
41
A REPORT IN JANUARY
56
THE WINTER OF THE GREAT SNOWS
65
THE RING OF TIME
178
WHAT DO OUR HEARTS TREASURE?
188
MEMORIES
193
AFTERNOON OF AN AMERICAN BOY
195
FAREWELL MY LOVELY
202
THE YEARS OF WONDER
210
ONCE MORE TO THE LAKE
246
DIVERSIONS AND OBSESSIONS
255

RIPOSTE
73
THE GEESE
76
THE PLANET
85
LETTER FROM THE EAST
87
BEDFELLOWS
99
SOOTFALL AND FALLOUT
112
UNITY
125
THE CITY
137
THE WORLD OF TOMORROW
139
HERE IS NEW YORK
148
FLORIDA
169
ON A FLORIDA KEY
171
THE SEA AND THE WIND THAT BLOWS
257
THE RAILROAD
261
BOOKS MEN AND WRITING
279
THE ST NICHOLAS LEAGUE
281
A SLIGHT SOUND AT EVENING
292
SOME REMARKS ON HUMOR
303
DON MARQUIS
312
WILL STRUNK
319
MR FORBUSHS FRIENDS
327
About E B White
349
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About the author (2014)

E. B. White, the author of such beloved classics as Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan, was born in Mount Vernon, New York. He graduated from Cornell University in 1921 and, five or six years later, joined the staff of the New Yorker magazine, then in its infancy. He died on October 1, 1985, and was survived by his son and three grandchildren.Mr. White's essays have appeared in Harper's magazine, and some of his other books are: One Man's Meat, The Second Tree from the Corner, Letters of E. B. White, Essays of E. B. White, and Poems and Sketches of E. B. White. He won countless awards, including the 1971 National Medal for Literature and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, which commended him for making a "substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children."During his lifetime, many young readers asked Mr. White if his stories were true. In a letter written to be sent to his fans, he answered, "No, they are imaginary tales... But real life is only one kind of life—there is also the life of the imagination."