Rating: 
Summary: Confounding.
Review: A book on writing well should be impeccably written. This one isn't. Extraordinary.
Rating:
Summary: Confounding.
Review: A book on writing well should be impeccably written. This one isn't. Extraordinary.
Rating: 
Summary: A writing and editing handbook
Review: As newspaper editor, I quote Zinsser frequently and discuss passages from "On Writing Well" with reporters of all skill levels. He is the flag bearer for all editors -- when you write, tell the story clearly and concisely. Zinsser tells us how to do it -- clearly, concisely and with a style that keeps you coming back.
Rating: 
Summary: Worthless Book
Review: How Zinsser can call himself a writer is beyond me. This book is filled with hostility, arrogance, and hypocrisy. All of the points Zinsser makes about being an effective writer are contradicted at some point throughout the book, either directly via a comment, or through his own writing style.'Part-time' writers are trivialized and all forms of writing except that which Zinsser purports to practice are criticized. This book is nothing more than a blatant attempt at self-aggrandization. If you're truly interested in being a writer, ignore all of the nonsensical garbage Zinsser writes. Trust me, I've been a newspaper editor for 25 years.
Rating:
Summary: Useful for Both Readers and Writers
Review: I first came across "On Writing Well" fifteen years ago, when I read the second edition. I thought it useful enough that I read it again twice at five year intervals.
Since my copy was literally coming apart at the seams, I purchased this sixth edition, which contains most of the content of the second, but adds chapters about specific forms of writing (The Interview, The Memoir, Science and Technology, Business Writing, Sports, Humor, etc). Additionally, it includes many more examples of what Mr. Zinsser considers to be good writing, some from his own writings and many more from those of other writers.
His selection of writers is so good that I recently purchased a copy of the book as a gift for a foreign student who asked me for list of recent quality American non-fiction.
I like his writing enough that I have read several more of his books ("Writing About Your Life: A journey Into the Past," "Writing to Learn," and "Willie and Dwike"). I find him to be best in writing about memoirs, but like the rest of us he has a limited reservoir of experience, and tends to repeat himself across books. He likes "Willie and Dwike" best of all his books; so do I.
He obviously has had a successful and happy life, which causes him to be a bit of a Pollyanna and critical of writers who write about the dark side of human nature. On the other hand, he does cite Mencken, Joseph Heller, Gary Trudeau and others of that persuasion, so not all is lost.
It's a fine book that will make you both a better writer and a better reader.
Rating:
Summary: Must have!
Review: I wanted to improve my writing skills, so I came across this recommended book in the back of literary magazine. I bought it and could not put it down.
"On Writing Well" was first published in 1976. I read the reprinted version. If you are non-fiction writer, this book is for you. The chapters are broken down into Principles, Methods and Forms.
The Principles chapter states simplicity and avoid clutter in your writing. Find your audience and use words to enhance that aspect. "Clutter is the disease of American writing." William Zinsser said.
The Methods chapter states "Learn to write by writing." Write anything and everything that comes to you. Write outside your comfront zone genre. Research something you know nothing about.
The Forms chapter includes writing about people, places and yourself.
"Writing wasn't easy and wasn't fun" and it was "hard work and his words seldom just flowed." He said.
I keep this book close to my own writing habits. I wish I read this book before I wrote my book. Anyway, chapter 10 gives "Bits and Pieces" on usage. He gives examples of using active verbs, Adverbs and paragraph construction. Other chapters include business writing, sports writing and critical writing.
William Zinsser uses plenty of his own writing to critique. Stating examples of poor sentence structure and misused words. He recommends to write and rewrite. And rewrite again.
"Good writing is good writing."
Rating:
Summary: Amazingly entertaining and practical!
Review: I was an English major and am currently a freelance editor, and Zinsser's book "On Writing Well" is the only writing book I've ever read that I've found to be both practical and entertaining.
First I must say that "On Writing Well" is not intended as a grammar manual; so if that is what you're looking for, this book is not for you. (In fact, a strict grammarian will find some of Zinsser's opinions and usage rather liberal.)
Zinsser does address craft, however, and this book covers a broad range of writing topics, with chapter titles ranging from "Usage" to "Humor" to "The Sound of Your Voice." One entire section of chapters is devoted to genre-specific insights.
"On Writing Well" doesn't merely tell how to improve writing techniques; it gives interesting examples--articles that I found interesting in and of themselves. In particular, an article about a Saharan caravan caught my attention, and Zinsser shows, step by step, why he wrote that article the way he did.
This book is a "must have" that increased my passion for writing and provided me with the tools to "write well." It was the first book I was told to read in my editorial internship, and I've read it at least three times since.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful. Invest two hours and reap untold rewards.
Review: If writing non-fiction is an important part of your personal or professional life, reading this classic will be a sound investment. I read this book many years ago, when it was in its first edition, and its wisdom has had a profound impact on me. I can think of few experiences that have had such a demonstrably positive influence on my career (I am currently a professor of computer science). I have found Zinsser's sage advice to be applicable to writing technical papers, letters to the PTA, and virtually every other form of non-fiction. Zinsser patiently instructs his readers on how to write about travel or science, how to conduct an interview, how to craft an effective lead and ending, and even how to get started. Along the way, Zinsser entreats us to omit clutter and cliché, strike out useless adverbs, adjectives, and qualifiers, incorporate active verbs, and strive for correct usage as well as unity of pronoun, tense, and mood. But the overriding messages are clarity, simplicity, and directness. Keep it crisp. Oh, and just like driving a car, always signal your intentions (keep that "but" at the beginning of the sentence). Two specific pages in Zinsser's book have remained etched in my mind from the moment I took them in almost two decades ago. They comprise the most genuine and revealing demonstration I have ever seen in a book on writing. On those two pages (pages 10 and 11 in the first edition), Zinsser provides a glimpse at the penultimate draft of the very book you are reading, juxtaposed with the corresponding pages in final form; in so doing, Zinsser invites you to critically examine his own writing, while revealing something of his process. This was brilliant. Those few pages (penultimate draft plus final draft) are alone worth the price of the book. The lessons in this comparison are profound: First, Zinsser himself practices what he professes, but more importantly, even he is prone to inflate sentences with useless verbiage. What Zinsser has beautifully illustrated is how his writing came to be so tight. It did not spring from his mind to paper in the form we see; rather, it was gradually shaped through repeated editing, much of it with the aim of removing unnecessary words. (One could say that he is more like Beethoven, who endlessly rewrote, rather than Mozart, who composed finished works in one stroke.) I immediately adopted this practice and to this day I devote several final editing passes to the removal of useless words. I can think of no other lesson that I have learned in my 22 years of formal education that has been so enduring and consistently useful. In the past decade I have recommended this book to each of my graduate students, and nearly all of my colleagues; at times I have simply purchased a copy and presented it to them. Of course, such a gesture can be taken the wrong way. It needn't imply that one's writing is in desperate need of repair, but rather that the content is worthy of concise expression. It was in the latter spirit that I shared Zinsser's book with my students and colleagues, and I believe all have gained from it. Do yourself a life-long favor and read this wonderful book. It won't take long, yet its lessons might forever change the way you write. Your readers will benefit, and you will benefit.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book.
Review: Pay attention when he says something new. He will show it to you right away.
Rating:
Summary: ONE FOR THE KEEPER SELF
Review: Perfectly updated, Zinsser's book on writing well reminds us of what's important in being an effective writer. This isn't about fiction, but nonfiction. In two days, I've listened to this audio tape four times. The simplicity of Zinsser's advice is refreshing. When I pick up a pen, I always remind myself to keep it simple and say it in as few words a possible. That's pretty much Zinsser's advice. He also believes one who thinks clearly should be able to write clearly. Words are tools. Learn to use the language (tool) "simply and warmly" and you can write, too. He also warns that writing is not easy. A good writer writes and rewrites. Zinsser reminds us that writing is not a contest between writers, but a transaction between the writer and the reader. "My four principles are: Clarity, Simplicity, Brevity and Humanity. If you keep those four principles in mind, there's almost nothing you can't do." Zinsser goes over the four principles and more. Each subject is to the point--as Zinsser's says, "Life is too short." Zinsser gives his readers plenty of wisdom--too much to put in one review. Any writer who takes his own work seriously and wants others to as well should buy the book or audio tape and keep it handy.
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