jeannebean's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
4.0
debbiecuddy's review against another edition
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
oodlesofbooks's review against another edition
5.0
These essays are so beautiful some left me in tears. I find some of the ones about trains and trucks and what not boring but the ones about nature and the Maine farm are bucolic and perfect. I love how he speaks of everyday life in an extraordinary way. Some of his essays on pollution and hydrogen bombs are relevant and unfortunately still necessary 70 years after being published. How can someone be so timeless. He is extraordinary.
mjanssen's review against another edition
5.0
There's no excuse for not having read this much, much sooner. When I wasn't laughing at White's dry humor, I was marveling at how incredibly well-crafted each sentence was, each turn of phrase. Nearly every other page featured a passage that I wanted to copy out or add to my Goodreads quotes. I did skip a few essays that seemed dated or didn't interest me, but almost every other one was a gem, including his account of a trip to Alaska, his reflections on life in rural Maine, his elegy for the railroads, and his appreciation of Thoreau's Walden. I hope to return to this review someday and write more about White's greatness, but until then, just read this!
juliepjones's review against another edition
5.0
excellent, excellent, excellent... especially the parts about the city and the farm. I'm not much into politics, so I skipped over that section. Maybe I'll come back and read those parts when I don't have to be so selfish about my time.
nenobeano's review against another edition
4.0
A pleasant read. E.B. White is a master at making the mundane interesting.