William Zinsser gained acclaim as the teacher of non-fiction writing, most notably memoir writing. He is also the teacher of many aspiring writers through his classic tome: On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
I am a thankful recipient of Mr. Zinsser's wisdom and wit. I'd read "On Writing Well" forwards and backwards. I am working on reading it sideways now.
His lessons on clear and simple writing is exemplified in this, his memoir. The stories herein are clear, concise, words are used tactically but sparingly. He is able to say what he wants to say and tell the stories he wants to tell in the same manner that he has told millions of readers.
It is an interesting yet spare telling of his life. He covers all the different kinds of writing jobs that he has had and he gets to the point about what he likes and dislikes about each of the jobs. The anecdotes are interesting and yet still serve to make his point and move the narrative along.
It is astonishing just how many writing jobs can be had by one man, moving from being a journalist, teacher, editor, reviewer, free lance writer, humorist, and conscience. The book is short and its tone is informative - as he had encouraged his readers to be; never pedantic - as he strove to never to be; and informative, as his books always are.
The story of how he came to write his most famous book is enlightening and evokes great respect and gratitude from this reader. The section on his Yale years brings the readers to a place where few tread. And his reminiscence of the newspaper trade in the heyday of newspapers makes on wish to return to that particular era.
It was, a lovely read, an entertaining read, and most importantly, a well written read.