On Writing Well by William Zinsser

On Writing Well by William Zinsser

"On Writing Well is a bible for a generation of writers looking for clues to clean, compelling prose." -New York Times

A beloved classic, this definitive volume on the art of writing nonfiction celebrates its thirtieth anniversary.

On Writing Well, which grew out of a course that William Zinsser taught at Yale, has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity, and for the warmth of its style. It is a book for anybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get through the day, as almost everybody does. Whether you want to write about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts, or about yourself in the increasingly popular memoir genre, On Writing Well offers you both fundamental principles as well as the insights of a distinguished practitioner. With over a million copies in print, this volume has stood the test of time and remains a valued resource for writers and would-be writers.

William Zinsser began his career as a reporter for the New York Herald Tribune and went on to write for a variety of publications. Writing to Learn, American Locations, Mitchell & Ruff: An American Profile in Jazz, and Easy to Remember: The Great American Songwriters and Their Songs are among his seventeen works, in addition to On Writing Well. He was a writer who taught at Yale and the New School. In 2015, William Zinsser passed away.