Sunday, December 26, 2010

#62 Essays of E.B. White


Each of these essays displays White’s trademark precision of language and thought. They remain timely. With the recent passage of the START agreement, in which the U.S. and Russia commit to reducing their cache of nuclear weapons, one hopes that White’s assertion that “A disarmament arrangement backed by controls and inspection… is simply a veiled invitation to more and greater secrecy” is incorrect, though White’s reasoning is so clear and methodical, one cannot help thinking that perhaps it is not.

His writing makes the reader feel as though he is simply having a conversation with a friend who knows of what he speaks. It is in the reader’s interest to listen.