E.B. White: A Biography [Import] [Hardcover]

Scott Elledge (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Norton; 1st 1st Print edition (1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393017710
• ISBN-13: 978-0393017717
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.8 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,109,393 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good biography that's inspirational to writers, August 18, 2004

By 

Corinne H. Smith (Athol, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: E.B. White: A Biography (Paperback)

He's so much more than "Charlotte's Web" or "Stuart Little"! Read a volume of E.B. White's essays first and follow it up with this biography, and then you'll know almost everything about the man and his work. Author Scott Elledge was fortunate enough to have corresponded and visited with White; this work is therefore as accurate and as personal as one can be. It begins with the birth of Elwyn Brooks "Andy" White in Westchester County, N.Y., and follows his path to the West Coast as a young man and eventually back to New York and The New Yorker magazine, with diversions to a farm in Maine. The chapters about The New Yorker offices are the most interesting to those of us curious about how that publication works. And don't take that "Elements of Style" paperback on your bookshelf for granted! (And who *was* Strunk, anyway?) You'll learn here why White got involved in that project and what work went into its revision.

This book includes more than 30 pages of photos, illustrations, and original essay drafts. It's fascinating to see White's penciled editorial changes over his own typewritten paragraphs.

Recommended for fans of E.B. White, fans of The New Yorker magazine, and writers of all genres.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not an intimate look but as close as White would have wanted, July 31, 2004

By 

adkmilkmaid (New York State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: E.B. White: A Biography (Paperback)

The review below strikes me as unfair. Who DOES write like E.B. White? I thought Elledge's prose was decent, workmanlike, and unobtrusive. His scholarship seems excellent. Most important, Elledge is smart, respectful but not overawed -- he points out White's long immaturity and self-absorption -- and yet humane. (The more you delve into the world of biography, the more significant the last characteristic becomes.) He likes White and as a reader, you will too.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars E. B. White Admirers Will Be Doing Themselves A Favor, June 7, 2008

By 

Franklin the Mouse (Gorham, ME USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: E.B. White: A Biography (Paperback)

Mr. Elledge has done E.B. White and the author's admirers a terrific service. If you enjoy Mr. White's writings, then do yourself a favor and read this wonderful book. It helped me to better understand how the author evolved into one of the United States' greatest 20th-century writers. Though Mr. Elledge was an admirer of Mr. White, he remains a biographer at heart and does not shy away from exposing a few less-than-flattering aspects of EBW's personality. This book is not an edge-of-your-seat nail biter, but more of a gentle stroll with a good friend. Ultimately, Mr. White comes across as a decent, humble and authentic human being. I finished the book with a renewed respect for the author of Charlotte's Web.