One Man's Meat [B1480]

1997 PB printing of the 1942 original, in nice clean condition. The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and author of Charlotte's Web documents his move from Manhattan to a saltwater farm in New England. "Superb reading."-The New Yorker. Called "a mid-20th-century Thoreau" by Notre Dame Magazine, E. B. White's desire to live a simple life caused him to sell half his worldly goods, give up his job writing the New Yorker's "Notes and Comment" editorial page, and move with his family to a saltwater farm in North Brooklin, Maine. There, White got into the nuts-and-bolts of rural life-not without a lot of self-reflection-and surrounded himself with barnyard characters, some of whom would later appear in Charlotte's Web.

One Man's Meat is White's collection of pithy and unpretentious essays on such topics as living with hay fever ("I understand so well the incomparable itch of eye and nose for which the only relief is to write to the President of the United States"), World War II ("I stayed on the barn, steadily laying shingles, all during the days when Mr. Chamberlain, M. Daladier, the Duce, and the Führer were arranging their horse trade"), and even dog training ("Being the owner of dachshunds, to me a book on dog discipline becomes a volume of inspired humor"). Though first published in 1942, this book delivers timeless lessons on the value of living close to nature in our quest for self-discovery. With each subject broached and reflected upon, it "becomes an ardent and sobering guidebook for those of us trying to live our day-to-day lives now" (Pif magazine). Too personal for an almanac, too sophisticated for a domestic history, and too funny and self-doubting for a literary journal, One Man's Meat can best be described as a primer of a countryman's lessons a timeless recounting of experience that will never go out of style.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Having grown up on a small hobby farm in NY and recently visited Maine I felt right at home reading about the author's daily adventures on his farm and in his community. Scattered throughout are musings on the world war that was going on in the background. I really felt like I was there experiencing farm life in the early 1940's. What a wonderful book."; "What a joy it was to read this collection of essays. It's funny and wise. You never feel bludgeoned by anything. There is very little by way of abstraction-all the insight feels real, like a stone held in your hand. Everything has the appropriate weight given to it. If, somebody ever looks at my writing and recognizes the influence of White, I'll be thrilled."; "thoughtful essays about daily life nearly 100 years ago absolutely delighted (and occasionally saddened) me. written as ww2 ramped up, it's comforting to see how many people responded to rising fascism and how it's really not that different from today."