On Writing Well: Audio Collection

By: William Zinsser

Narrated by: William Zinsser

Length: 2 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

This expanded audio collection presents William Zinsser's On Writing Well, the classic teaching book that has sold more than 1 million copies, together with a new 90-minute section that tells you how to write a memoir.

Based on a course that Zinsser taught at Yale, On Writing Well has long been praised by writers, teachers, and students for its sound advice, its clarity, and the warmth of its style. It's for everybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get through the day. Whether you want to write about people and places, science and technology, business, sports, or the arts, this is the definitive guide to the craft of nonfiction.

Part II of this collection, on memoir, personal history, and family history, tells you in helpful detail how to write the story of your life: who you are, who you once were, and what heritage you come from. Throughout, Zinsser refers to the work of many successful memoir writers, including Frank McCourt, Annie Dillard, Russell Baker, and Eudora Welty, to demonstrate how they solved the problems of selection, compression, focus, and tone that every memoir writer struggles with.

©1990, 1999, 2003 William Zinsser (P)2003 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Zinsser's classic belongs on every writer's shelf. It's full of practical, no-frills advice on the basics of writing nonfiction: clarity, simplicity, brevity and humanity....The author's easy-going delivery and warm voice are confidence-building, as well. The discussion is crystal clear and easy to follow as transitional statements carefully lead the listener from one section to the next. Most of all, the audio exudes Zinsser's generosity of spirit, which is sure to inspire any would-be writer." (AudioFile)