Farewell to Model T and From Sea to Shining Sea [Hardcover]

E. B. White (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2003

In 1922, just out of college and at loose ends, E. B. White set off across America in his Model T. He left his map at home, but packed his typewriter and dictionary—his true destination, he tells us, was the world of letters. Along the way, he also discovered America:

"My own vision of the land—my own discovery of it—was shaped, more than by any other instrument, by a Model T Ford...a slow-motion roadster of miraculous design—strong, tremulous, and tireless, from sea to shining sea."

White first wrote about the flivver in "Farewell to Model T," which appeared in the New Yorker in 1936. Rich in comic descriptions of the T's many eccentricities and the absurd demands it put on its devoted owners, this was the first of White's essays to bring him fame. It is here published for the first time with "From Sea to Shining Sea," in which he conjures the backroads and main streets of an unspoiled America. Together, these essays are an affectionate tribute to the car that holds a mythic place in the American imagination.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

E.B. WHITE: "Thoroughly American and utterly beautiful" is how William Shawn, his editor at The New Yorker, described E.B. White’s prose. At the magazine, White developed a pure and plainspoken literary style; his writing was characterized by wit, sophistication, optimism, and moral steadfastness. For his contribution to American letters, Mr. White was awarded the National Medal for Literature, a Presidential Medel of Freedom, and membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1978 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his body of work. E.B. White died in 1985.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 42 pages
• Publisher: Little Bookroom (May 31, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892145219
• ISBN-13: 978-1892145215
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #761,361 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

E.B. White, the author of twenty books of prose and poetry, was awarded the 1970 Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for his children's books, Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web. This award is now given every three years "to an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have, over a period of years, make a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children." The year 1970 also marked the publication of Mr. White's third book for children, The Trumpet of the Swan, honored by The International Board on Books for Young People as an outstanding example of literature with international importance. In 1973, it received the Sequoyah Award (Oklahoma) and the William Allen White Award (Kansas), voted by the school children of those states as their "favorite book" of the year.

Born in Mount Vernon, New York, Mr. White attended public schools there. He was graduated from Cornell University in 1921, worked in New York for a year, then traveled about. After five or six years of trying many sorts of jobs, he joined the staff of The New Yorker magazine, then in its infancy. The connection proved a happy one and resulted in a steady output of satirical sketches, poems, essays, and editorials. His essays have also appeared in Harper's Magazine, and his books include One Man's Meat, The Second Tree from the Corner, Letters of E.B. White, The Essays of E.B. White and Poems and Sketches of E.B. White. In 1938 Mr. White moved to the country. On his farm in Maine he kept animals, and some of these creatures got into his stories and books. Mr. White said he found writing difficult and bad for one's disposition, but he kept at it. He began Stuart Little in the hope of amusing a six-year-old niece of his, but before he finished it, she had grown up.

For his total contribution to American letters, Mr. White was awarded the 1971 National Medal for Literature. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy named Mr. White as one of thirty-one Americans to receive the Presidential Medal for Freedom. Mr. White also received the National Institute of Arts and Letters' Gold Medal for Essays and Criticism, and in 1973 the members of the Institute elected him to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a society of fifty members. He also received honorary degrees from seven colleges and universities. Mr. White died on October 1, 1985.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Quintessential American Writer, January 9, 2007

By 

Kathleen W. Cleary (Saratoga Springs, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Farewell to Model T and From Sea to Shining Sea (Hardcover)

If you are only familiar with E.B.White from his children's books, this pair of essays is a great way to treat yourself to the genius of his beautifully simple yet brilliant essays. Several others have been published in small book form in recent years, notably This Is New York. Find out why Mr. White was the mainstay of The New Yorker for 50 years. Elements of Style is still being taught in high schools and colleges today, despite a plethora of new and more elaborate books on writing. He is the master!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a writer!, January 19, 2008

By 

Nicholas D. Lancaster (Kent, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Farewell to Model T and From Sea to Shining Sea (Hardcover)

After checking out this book from the Library and reading it once I knew it would be perfect for my dad, who loves everything about cars. It was his Christmas present this year and while I was wrapping it I opened it up and couldn't put it down and ended up reading it through for a second time. It's a beautifully written hommage to the Model T, and to a time that now feels like ancient history, though it was only 80 or so years ago. My dad loved it and has read it twice himself now. It's the perfect size to pick up and read through instead of watching some worthless sitcom.

5.0 out of 5 stars MEMORY RUSH:, April 7, 2011

By 

R. Buck (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Farewell to Model T and From Sea to Shining Sea (Hardcover)

MY LATE FATHER LOVED WHEN I READ THIS BOOK TO HIM, OVER AND AGAIN, AND HE WOULD HAVE ME PAUSE EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE SO THAT HE COULD ADD HIS "TWO-CENT'S WORTH" BEST AS HE COULD REMEMBER IT. I LATER BOUGHT A SECOND COPY FOR ANOTHER ELDERLY GENT ... GOT THE SAME REACTION. IT WAS FUN TO WATCH THIS WONDERFUL LITTLE BOOK BE ABLE TO EVOKE A SHAKE OF THE HEAD OR JUST PURE AMUSEMENT EVERY TIME THE PASSAGES WERE READ.