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Title: One Man's Meat by E. B. White, Roger Angell ISBN: 0-88448-192-1 Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers Pub. Date: June, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A war-time celebration of the American Experiment
Comment: This collection of essays is such a fine book; it deserves a much better commentary than it currently has here. And given the times we live in, its subject matter is particularly timely for American readers -- the period of history leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the early years of the war effort -- all told from the point of view of a thoughtful writer on a small farm in Maine.
White had moved there with his wife and young son from New York, where he'd been writing for The New Yorker, and took up country living, turning his attention to the annual round of the seasons, farm work, the nearby seaside, and the company of independent rural people. Most of the essays in this collection were written and published monthly in Harpers from July 1938 to January 1943. In them, there is White's awareness of the ominous threat of fascism emerging in Europe, as well as the vulnerability that Americans felt as they found themselves facing prolonged armed conflict with powerful enemies. These were dark days, and they provide a constant undertone in these otherwise upbeat essays about rural and small-town life.
And they are upbeat, celebrating the pleasures and gentle ironies of daily life with a few side trips into the world beyond -- the birth of a lamb, paying taxes, farm dogs, hay fever, raising chickens, Sunday mornings, radio broadcasts, civil defense drills, a visit to Walden pond, a day at the World's Fair, and unrealistic Hollywood portrayals of the pastoral. There is also here his famous essay "Once More to the Lake."
In many ways, the world he writes about is gone forever. But it's a world whose spirit remains at the heart of the national identity -- participatory democracy, individualism, citizenship, self-discovery, and self-reliance. Reading these essays, while they are often about seemingly trivial matters, you sense White's deepening faith in the American Experiment -- a belief in America as a work in progress.
And, of course, there is the famous White style, both simple and elegant. Its language, sentence structure, and movement of thought convey both sharpness of mind and generosity of spirit, in a manner that looks and sounds easy, but it is very hard to imitate. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the WWII homefront, the essay as a literary form, and a curiosity about rural life before farm subsidies and agribusiness.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Window Into White's Soul
Comment: Understanding E.B. White is not an easy task. He was a reserved man, very straightforward in his writing and simple in nature. However, White found that he was able to express himself with his writing, and none of his books is a more direct window into his soul than "One Man's Meat." Written over the course of White's later years of living on a Maine farm, this book contains witty accounts of geographic novelty, reminiscences on the promise of youth, and powerful insights into the little things in life that can make all the difference. No reader of E.B. White can gain a full knowledge of what the man was all about without having thoroughly digested this book.
Rating: 5
Summary: More satisfying than banana pudding.
Comment: For one who aspires to write well--the most delicious book I've ever read. The words "witty" and "sharp" come to mind, but poorly describe White and his work. Maybe, no words do with any degree of accuracy and right praise.
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Title: Essays of E. B. White by E. B. White ISBN: 0060932236 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 June, 1999 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Writings from The New Yorker 1925-1976 by E. B. White ISBN: 0060921234 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 06 November, 1991 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Here Is New York by E. B. White, Roger Angell ISBN: 1892145022 Publisher: Little Bookroom Pub. Date: July, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Farewell to Model T and From Sea to Shining Sea by E. B. White ISBN: 1892145219 Publisher: Little Bookroom Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: E.B. White: A Biography by Scott Elledge ISBN: 0393303055 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: January, 1986 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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