180 of 218 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
I am sorry to disagree...., September 20, 2009
This review is from: On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (Paperback)
I usually only write reviews for books I can praise. I actively avoid giving criticism about books that have, as this one does, a large and enthusiastic following. I feel compelled to write now because I think that many will not be as well served as they imagine after reading these reviews.
I think this book is popular for many understandable and, in themselves, good reasons. The writer is up-beat and optimistic. He supplies simple formulas for complex problems. He has both wit and charm. He supplies many funny stories. He makes fun of pompous academics and pedagogues. He is empathetic and warm. His instructions are personal, not distant or abstract. He requires little of the reader and avoids pesky formalities. For all these reasons, one should be attracted to a non-fictional book of reminiscence about writing. However, all these virtues are not those of a book teaching writing.
Indeed, many dislike books that try to teach writing because the majority are rigorous, boring, and impersonal. So, it is no wonder that against those demanding and dry texts this humane presentation appears as an oasis. However, it is a mistake to think that those emotional values make this a good writing text.
This book's relation with writing is much like a movie's relation with its topic: a narrative about a thing more than an instruction. For instance, "Field of Dreams" may make us happy, but it hardly is likely to make us better baseball players. Here most of Zinsser's time is expended in context, quotation of others, and folksy tale. These are topped off with a brief commands - "Go to it" - that have a cheerleader's enthusiasm and lack of content. He celebrates one style, his own, which is short and informal to the exclusion of the hundreds of others that have graced our language. He gives little help with formal discourse. He feels free to judge -- for instance scientists -- outside his field and beside the point. He makes numerous grammatical errors and seems to recognize the dash as the only punctuation. He generalizes egregiously about topics that are enormous and yet undefined, for instance "the human element."
In short, he is less an instructor and more a coach.
As I said, his many strengths have understandably broad appeal, but this book would be inadequate for the college classes I teach. You may not need such formal help and that is fine as long as you do not think it appears here.
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A CLASSIC GUIDE TO WRITING WELL, May 15, 2007
This review is from: On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (Paperback)
On Writing Well, by William Zinsser, is meant to compliment The Elements of Style by Stunk and White. In Zinsser's own words "The Elements of Style is a book of pointers and admonitions: do this, don't do that. What it didn't address was how to apply those principles to the various forms that nonfiction writing and journalism can take."
Although the book is organized in four parts, the content could really be summarized in two categories:
· Writing principals, methods, and attitudes
· Guidelines for specific forms of nonfiction, including travel, humor, business, sports, arts, memoirs, and family history.
Subjects addressed include: rewriting, craft vs. art, humanity and warmth, clutter, simplicity, finding a style, clichés, rhythm, unity, tone, and attitude. All of these are covered with the insight of a successful writer having decades of experience.
The author works some biographical information and experiences into the text, but the focus of the material is on writing well. Given that the first edition was in 1976, some of the examples and attitudes are dated, but they also add to the charm of the book.
No recaps or exercises are included at the end of the chapters, but an index is provided for easy reference.
As the subtitle indicates, the book is specifically directed at nonfiction writing, but many of the concepts also apply to fiction. With over a million copies sold, and in its thirtieth anniversary edition, much of the information has already been worked into other writing guides. As envisioned by Zinsser, On Writing Well compliments The Elements of Style. Together, they make a great combination.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good basic advice for basic writers, November 9, 2006
This review is from: On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (Paperback)
I read this book as part of a class on writing essays. The advice in it is apt, but it was too basic for the good writers in the group. The nonwriters, on the other hand, found it all amazing and startling stuff. I'd recommend it for those who have read enough to know what a complete sentence looks like but have never seriously written before and want to.
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