cover image Writing Places: The Life Journey of a Writer and Teacher

Writing Places: The Life Journey of a Writer and Teacher

William Knowlton Zinsser. Harper, $22.99 (194pp) ISBN 978-0-06-172902-7

Influential journalist, author and educator Zinsser (American Places, Easy to Remember) produces an elegantly written memoir, featuring an array of vividly drawn tales from 50-plus years of writing, reporting and teaching in London, the Hamptons, Yale University and elsewhere. A master of storytelling, what makes Zinsser's memoir most effective is the gentle connection he forms with nearly everyone who enters his life, from his students at Yale, who treated Zinsser as a trusted confidante, to the elusive golf-ball thief ""Mr. Roby,"" who Zinsser celebrated in a Saturday Evening Post article. Zinsser also chronicles his days as a writer for the Herald Tribune and Life, as well as the lean times when freelance work alone sustained him. Zinsser also delves into the development of his own non-fiction writing course at Yale, his bestseller On Writing Well, and a multitude of other articles and books. With careful introspection and nothing but gratitude for the people in his life, Zinsser makes perfect sense out of his long, strange journey.