By Gilbert B. Elwyn

The name E.B. White, if it has any recognition value at all in 2008, is usually associated with any one of three of the best children’s books ever written: Charlotte’s Web, Trumpet of the Swan and Stuart Little. White had this in common with another favorite author of mine, Walter R. Brooks – he created interesting characters and plots, wrote peerless prose, and refused to demean his readers by writing down to them. Even if you’ve seen any of the screen adaptations (White was on record as not caring for the cartoon rendering of Charlotte’s Web and, thankfully, was long deceased before any of the recent movies), we suggest that you buy and read the actual books to totally enjoy and appreciate them.
Because of the popularity of these three books, many people nowadays are unfamiliar with his other works. For many years, White was a contributor to The New Yorker and other magazines during that medium’s golden age. A versatile man, he supplied commentary, essays and poems. Most of these were collected in book form, as were his letters, which provide an insight into the precise, humorous, thoughtful, and sometimes prickly nature of the man. His letter to the IRS alone stands as a monument to the power of the satiric pen.
Resting upon the reference shelves of most serious authors, whether novice or best-selling, is a thin marvel of a book, Elements of Style, by Strunk and White. E.B. White so admired Professor Strunk’s manual that he turned his fine editor’s hand to it, added an introduction, and created a classic. Whenever you have difficulty with reading one of our passages, it is because we somehow strayed away form the teachings of Strunk and White.
We’re saving the best for last. Our favorite book by E.B White, hands down, is One Man’s Meat. It is also high in the running for our favorite book ever. At the height of his career, White decided to move from New York City to Maine to become a farmer. He sent essays about his experiences on a Maine farm back to the bustling big city. They are filled with humor and insight and even some pathos. Ironically, White’s move to rugged simplicity coincided with the first movements of the Nazi war machine. The juxtaposition of the life and death struggles of farm life with the emerging menace of Germany’s aggression is poignant.
If you are able to find them, you will enjoy three audio recordings of White’s work. E.B. White read both Charlotte’s Web and Trumpet of the Swan. After White’s death, his son Joel recorded some of his father’s favorite essays, letters, and poems.

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