Here, six eminent biographers explain the pleasures and problems of their craft of reconstructing other people's lives. The result is a book rich in anecdote and in surprising new information about a variety of famous Americans. David McCullough takes us along on the exhilarating journey to Missouri to find "The Unexpected Harry Truman." Richard B. Sewall describes his twenty-year search for the elusive poet, Emily Dickinson. Paul C. Nagel tells us about "The Adams Women" - four generation...

Join William Zinsser as he visits sixteen of our nation's most treasured historic sites — unlearning cliched assumptions and rediscovering fundamental truths about America. American Places — and the ideals that Zinsser discovers these places represent — will never go out of fashion."Speaking across the centuries with stone and symbol, narrative and myth, America's iconic places remind us of our anchoring principles and best intentions. 'This is where we started and what we believed...

"On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition EPB is a bible for a generation of writers looking for clues to clean, compelling prose." —New York TimesA beloved classic and the definitive volume on the art of writing nonfictionOn Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition EPB, which grew out of a course that William Zinsser taught at Yale, has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity, and for the w...

An ingeniously constructed teaching memoir from the author of the bestselling On Writing Well -- "You learn without knowing it." (Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes**)**Written with elegance, warmth, and humor, this highly original "teaching memoir" by William Zinsser--renowned bestselling author of On Writing Well gives you the tools to organize and recover your past, and the confid...

William Zinsser’s Writing to Learn shows students how to write clearly about any subject—from mathematics, physics and chemistry to art and music-and how to use writing as a means of learning.In his warm and engaging style, Zinsser dispels students’ fear of writing, and he shows them that the process of writing can help them understand a subject that they always thought they had no aptitude for. Taking students into many surprising corners of knowledge, Zinsser provides pr...

Two must-have classics together in one volume, On Writing Well and How to Write a Memoir, from acclaimed writer, editor, and scholar William Zinsser""On Writing Well is a bible for a generation of writers looking for clues to clean, compelling prose."" –New York TimesOn Writing Well, which grew out of a course that William Zinsser taught at Yale, has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity...

Adapted from "Zinsser on Friday," The American Scholar's National Magazine Award–Winning Essay SeriesFor nineteen months William Zinsser, author of the best-selling On Writing Well and many other books, wrote a weekly column for the website of the American Scholar magazine. This cornucopia was devoted mainly to culture and the arts, the craft of writing, and travels to remote places, along with the movies, American popular song, email, multitasking, baseball, Central Park, Tina Bro...

This is an essential book for everyone who wants to write clearly about any subject and use writing as a means of learning.

"Highly recommended"—Library Journal"In this account of the world adventures of two splendid jazz artists, Bill Zinsser has given us one of the most exciting books about America's original art form that I've ever read. It's a revelation."—Studs TerkelSince 1955, Dwike Mitchell and Willie Ruff have been playing, teaching, and sharing jazz around the U.S. and around the world. William Zinsser, one of our finest chroniclers of American life, tells their story as he travels wit...

The turbulent events that overtook Russia in 1917 are often called one of history's great turning points. In March of that year, a corrupt, outdated, careworn autocracy - the 300-year-old Romanov dynasty - was overthrown by a spontaneous uprising of Russia's long-oppressed masses. During the next few months, Alexander Kerensky and other liberals in the provisional government attempted to adopt reforms. But the continuing hardships of World War I and the pressure of Vladimir Lenin's Bolshev...

We remember Thomas Alva Edison as the craggy, rumpled inventor of the light bulb and the phonograph - a prodigy, the affable "Wizard of Menlo Park." But he also was a visionary entrepreneur who changed the world. What Edison invented was the modern age. Here is his unforgettable story.