What do you think?
Rate this book
The Points of My Compass
Harper & Row, 1962. Hardcover. The essays which comprise this volume are from a period when White styled himself as a foreign correspondent - who didn't leave home. In the spirit of fashionable bylines from Paris or Beijing, his letters came from all points of the compass - that is, a compass aligned with his apartment in New York.
- GenresEssaysNonfictionMemoir
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1962
11 people are currently reading
407 people want to read
About the author
E.B. White
114 books3,303 followersElwyn Brooks White was a leading American essayist, author, humorist, poet and literary stylist and author of such beloved children's classics as Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan. He graduated from Cornell University in 1921 and, five or six years later, joined the staff of The New Yorker magazine. He authored over seventeen books of prose and poetry and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1973.
White always said that he found writing difficult and bad for one's disposition.
Mr. White has won countless awards, including the 1971 National Medal for Literature and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, which commended him for making “a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.”
White always said that he found writing difficult and bad for one's disposition.
Mr. White has won countless awards, including the 1971 National Medal for Literature and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, which commended him for making “a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.”
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
October 28, 2010
For most of us, the name E.B. White conjures up one of two things: the charming animal stories of our childhood - Charlotte's Web, Trumpet of the Swan, or Stuart Little - or The Elements of Style, the authoritative manual written by White's mentor and revised by White in the 1950s. It wasn't until I read The Points of My Compass that I discovered the E.B. White that made both of those previous associations possible - the New Yorker columnist, the thoughtful essayist, the man of farm and city.
The essays which comprise this volume are from a period when White styled himself as a foreign correspondent - who didn't leave home. In the spirit of fashionable bylines from Paris or Beijing, his letters came from all points of the compass - that is, a compass aligned with his apartment in New York. Most essays are appended with a postscript written at the time they were compiled into this volume - commentary on his own commentary, or an update on the direction of world events during a tumultuous, exciting, and often bewildering period of American history. In the introduction to the volume, White compares revisiting these essays to an afternoon spent in the attic with an box of old love letters:
"The world that I'm in love with has not resisted my advances with anything like the firmness it is capable of, and I love it as passionately as though I were young, and so it's no wonder I have been heavily involved, no wonder an occasional passage in [the letters that make up this book] makes me wince."
And with that, I was hooked. The letters range in topic from the characteristics of New York pigeons to the nature of the newly-formed United Nations to the fate of the railroads in the state of Maine. Each is quiet, thoughtful, and absolutely anchored to the real world, a rare trait in political essays. I was shocked by the currency of his observations - change a few facts, and many of the essays could've been published in the New Yorker in the last year. Like this:
"The farm as a source of individual need and a supplier of personal wants has almost vanished from the scene. In its place is a sort of dirt-factory operation, and the land is not so much cultivated as it is mined for gold. Curiously enough, among the new farmers who are still doing things in an old-fashioned or backhanded way are fellows like me, not truly countrymen at all but merely dudes who have the time or the money, or both, for such bygone frivolities as raising some of the stuff they eat and drink."
Not so different from this, which makes me sad. But that's the way with these essays - they are at turns sobering and heartwarming, pastoral and urban, equally likely to provoke a smile or a frown. They're wonderful. I can't recommend this book enough.
The essays which comprise this volume are from a period when White styled himself as a foreign correspondent - who didn't leave home. In the spirit of fashionable bylines from Paris or Beijing, his letters came from all points of the compass - that is, a compass aligned with his apartment in New York. Most essays are appended with a postscript written at the time they were compiled into this volume - commentary on his own commentary, or an update on the direction of world events during a tumultuous, exciting, and often bewildering period of American history. In the introduction to the volume, White compares revisiting these essays to an afternoon spent in the attic with an box of old love letters:
"The world that I'm in love with has not resisted my advances with anything like the firmness it is capable of, and I love it as passionately as though I were young, and so it's no wonder I have been heavily involved, no wonder an occasional passage in [the letters that make up this book] makes me wince."
And with that, I was hooked. The letters range in topic from the characteristics of New York pigeons to the nature of the newly-formed United Nations to the fate of the railroads in the state of Maine. Each is quiet, thoughtful, and absolutely anchored to the real world, a rare trait in political essays. I was shocked by the currency of his observations - change a few facts, and many of the essays could've been published in the New Yorker in the last year. Like this:
"The farm as a source of individual need and a supplier of personal wants has almost vanished from the scene. In its place is a sort of dirt-factory operation, and the land is not so much cultivated as it is mined for gold. Curiously enough, among the new farmers who are still doing things in an old-fashioned or backhanded way are fellows like me, not truly countrymen at all but merely dudes who have the time or the money, or both, for such bygone frivolities as raising some of the stuff they eat and drink."
Not so different from this, which makes me sad. But that's the way with these essays - they are at turns sobering and heartwarming, pastoral and urban, equally likely to provoke a smile or a frown. They're wonderful. I can't recommend this book enough.
September 28, 2009
If you ever had aspirations to be a writer... don't read this book - E.B. White might scare you off. He writes the way I would write, if I could.
April 25, 2014
This book contains 18 of E.B.White's essays, including The Ring of Time and Coon Tree (two of his better known essays). If you aren't going to read the whole book, read the last one, "The Years of Wonder". It is White's account of traveling to Alaska and working his way back on a shabby cruiseship. He never takes himself too seriously, -- the essay is fascinating and humorous, possibly my favorite of the collection.
White is brilliant. Even when I completely disagree with him I enjoy reading his essays.
Quotes:
"Hurricaines are the latest discovery of radio stations and they are being taken up in a big way."
"You can certainly learn to spell 'moccasin' while driving into Maine, and there is often little else to do except steer and avoid death."
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spend less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority."
"Many of the commonest assumptions, it seems to me, are arbitrary ones: that the new is better than the old, the untried superior to the tried, the complex more advantageous than the simple, the fast quicker than the slow, the big greater than the small, and the world remodelled by Man the Architect functionally sounder and more agreeable than the world as it was before he changed everything to suit his vogues and his conniptions."
"For some weeks now I have been engaged in dispersing the contents of this apartment, trying to persuade hundreds of inanimate objects to scatter and leave me alone."
"I see nothing in space as promising as the view from a Ferris wheel."
White is brilliant. Even when I completely disagree with him I enjoy reading his essays.
Quotes:
"Hurricaines are the latest discovery of radio stations and they are being taken up in a big way."
"You can certainly learn to spell 'moccasin' while driving into Maine, and there is often little else to do except steer and avoid death."
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spend less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority."
"Many of the commonest assumptions, it seems to me, are arbitrary ones: that the new is better than the old, the untried superior to the tried, the complex more advantageous than the simple, the fast quicker than the slow, the big greater than the small, and the world remodelled by Man the Architect functionally sounder and more agreeable than the world as it was before he changed everything to suit his vogues and his conniptions."
"For some weeks now I have been engaged in dispersing the contents of this apartment, trying to persuade hundreds of inanimate objects to scatter and leave me alone."
"I see nothing in space as promising as the view from a Ferris wheel."
August 14, 2018
In the forward of this book, a collection of essays published in The New Yorker, E. B. White mentions he is in love with the world. The world he sees is through the eyes of someone who has not forgotten what it was like to be young. Excerpts:
“The girl wasn’t so young that she did not know the delicious satisfaction of having a perfectly behaved body and the fun of using it to do a trick most people can’t do, but she was too young to know that time does not really move in a circle at all.” (About a bareback circus-horse rider.)
“The sentence has the power to resuscitate the youth drowning in his sea of doubt. I recall my exhilaration upon reading it, many years ago, in a time of hesitation and despair. It restored me to health.” (On the one-hundredth anniversary of Thoreau’s Walden and why it should be handed out with, or instead of, college diplomas.)
“I lived at last in the present, and the present was magnificent—rich and beautiful and awesome...At last I had adjusted to a difficult world and conquered it.” (This last and longest essay is about an adventure he had from Seattle to Alaska at age 24. It should have been its own book or a coming-of-age movie.)
“The girl wasn’t so young that she did not know the delicious satisfaction of having a perfectly behaved body and the fun of using it to do a trick most people can’t do, but she was too young to know that time does not really move in a circle at all.” (About a bareback circus-horse rider.)
“The sentence has the power to resuscitate the youth drowning in his sea of doubt. I recall my exhilaration upon reading it, many years ago, in a time of hesitation and despair. It restored me to health.” (On the one-hundredth anniversary of Thoreau’s Walden and why it should be handed out with, or instead of, college diplomas.)
“I lived at last in the present, and the present was magnificent—rich and beautiful and awesome...At last I had adjusted to a difficult world and conquered it.” (This last and longest essay is about an adventure he had from Seattle to Alaska at age 24. It should have been its own book or a coming-of-age movie.)
February 8, 2017
OK, I'm weird, but blame it on my sainted grandmother: she introduced me to things such as the Saturday Review and EB White's works for adults when I was about 15. Having said that, I'm having delightful time finally reading a number of books (up next, Mencken's Newspaper Days, after his childhood Happy Days) that were left to me from her library.
Beyond White's wonderful, conversational (but always economical: he didn't update Strunk's Little Book for nothing!) style, I was so struck by how relevant this book of essays from his home Down East, his NYC apartment, and other "points of (his) compass" are in 2017 (oh, would I love to read him in the New Yorker about President Bannon...). They include startlingly relevant pieces on the Cold War, transportation, and nature, leavened with his wry observations particularly about the wildlife around Brooklin Maine. If you, like me, are waking up at 3 in the morning, this is the volume to grab!
Beyond White's wonderful, conversational (but always economical: he didn't update Strunk's Little Book for nothing!) style, I was so struck by how relevant this book of essays from his home Down East, his NYC apartment, and other "points of (his) compass" are in 2017 (oh, would I love to read him in the New Yorker about President Bannon...). They include startlingly relevant pieces on the Cold War, transportation, and nature, leavened with his wry observations particularly about the wildlife around Brooklin Maine. If you, like me, are waking up at 3 in the morning, this is the volume to grab!
March 1, 2023
Another EB White gem!
August 30, 2008
E.B. White, of Strunk and White fame, and Charlotte's Web fame as well, writes impeccably. This is a book of essays that he collected together, from the mid-1950's. I'd compare his writing to either expensive cognac or really smooth milk chocolate, except it's not sweet. It does go down well and leaves me with a warm glow. The writing is just so clear. He is a fond observer of nature and remarkably sensible observer of human nature. Considering when this was written, I'm quite surprised to see that many of his comments about politics and the news media don't sound dated at all. I'm about 7 essays into it, each is 5 to 10 pages long.
Unless he completely screws this up in the second half, he's got a solid 4 stars.
Update 8/29/08:
I finished this a couple of weeks ago, and it actually gets better as it goes along. One of the essays tells a bit about (oh hell I can't remember his first name) Strunk and the origins of the book Elements of Style.
Unless he completely screws this up in the second half, he's got a solid 4 stars.
Update 8/29/08:
I finished this a couple of weeks ago, and it actually gets better as it goes along. One of the essays tells a bit about (oh hell I can't remember his first name) Strunk and the origins of the book Elements of Style.
November 20, 2015
Most famously known for Charlotte's Web, of course, E.B. White shows extreme deftness in the art of the essay in this quiet little work. These "letters" as he's dubbed them are brimming with fantastic writing that is captivating and rejuvenating (I sincerely laughed several times, which is awkward in a coffee shop). His style is light-hearted, clear-sighted, and cunning. The topics herein cross the spectrum of the late 1950s from the inclusion of the television to the American home to the implications of nuclear war with the U.S.S.R. He has a great eye for the mundane and exploring the magic that is commonplace in this world. While we all cherish Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little in our hearts, White has a cleverly critical eye that is well worth including in your reading. I thoroughly enjoyed "The Eye of Edna", "The Railroad", and "The Shape of the Television" while not taking such a liking to "The Shape of the U.N." and "Unity". Highly recommended.
October 18, 2009
I reread at least portions of this wonderful book of essays almost annually. As far as I'm concerned there is no better writer than E.B.
White. He makes each sentence, each word count with his spare and elegant prose. The thing that led me back to this book at this time, though, was deciding to reread Thoreau's "Walden". I remembered there was an essay in "Points of My Compass" in which White expressed his appreciation for Thoreau's point of view...thinks "Walden" should be given to all college graduates as a guide for living one's life well.
White. He makes each sentence, each word count with his spare and elegant prose. The thing that led me back to this book at this time, though, was deciding to reread Thoreau's "Walden". I remembered there was an essay in "Points of My Compass" in which White expressed his appreciation for Thoreau's point of view...thinks "Walden" should be given to all college graduates as a guide for living one's life well.
December 11, 2021
My favorite essay (aside from the "Elements of Style" piece included in the work of the same name) was "The Years of Wonder," in which White reflects on his voyage to Alaska as a young man. By his own account, White was insufferable. That the insufferable young White ultimately matured into the sage old White gives me hope.
November 12, 2020
what a wonderful little book! Makes you appreciate daily occurances and simple truths. A lovely book to get lost in and escape to simpler times
February 13, 2024
some repeats with later comments, White makes his points clearly deep. 240 pages
September 1, 2016
Continuing my review of more of the writing of EB White I was able to pick up a copy of this book used through Amazon. The book contains many of the popular " Letters from the North " ( and other directions ) series. Written mostly in the fifties it contains consistent examples of how easily White could write sentences no one else could.
"The Eye of Edna" has him writing about the noted Northeast hurricane of 1954 which hit White's coast of Maine very hard.
" Homecoming " has White writing of driving into Maine from New Hampshire up Route one to his small hometown. Many of the locales are places I am familiar with which adds an enjoyment to the story for me.
" Sootfall and Fallout " examines the issue of nuclear testing in an essay heavy with analogy, as only White can.
Also features are essays on White's appreciation of Will Strunk. This led to his eventual revising Strunk's book on writing. He adds his thoughts on the modern motorcar, the decline of the railroads, the problems of television advertising as well as more essays.
Perhaps my favorite writings in the book are those simple reports issued on the change of seasons, two are featured here, reports on spring and one also on fall.
More White to come, love his writing.
"The Eye of Edna" has him writing about the noted Northeast hurricane of 1954 which hit White's coast of Maine very hard.
" Homecoming " has White writing of driving into Maine from New Hampshire up Route one to his small hometown. Many of the locales are places I am familiar with which adds an enjoyment to the story for me.
" Sootfall and Fallout " examines the issue of nuclear testing in an essay heavy with analogy, as only White can.
Also features are essays on White's appreciation of Will Strunk. This led to his eventual revising Strunk's book on writing. He adds his thoughts on the modern motorcar, the decline of the railroads, the problems of television advertising as well as more essays.
Perhaps my favorite writings in the book are those simple reports issued on the change of seasons, two are featured here, reports on spring and one also on fall.
More White to come, love his writing.
February 3, 2009
The foreward alone was enough to convince me that this book was going to be something special, and his the first essay doesn't disappoint. Although this collection of non-fiction essays is obviously a product of the time when it was written--the 50's, I think--they still speak to modern social conventions (crazy-ass media and perverse bloodlusty reporters for example) and the larger human condition as well. Yes sir.
July 6, 2011
I am re reading this for about the third time. I had given it to my Dad years ago (after reading the essays, no doubt) and he has recently returned the book to me. They are timeless but also carry the themes of concerns re international relations, industrial military complex of the 1950s, national politics and the "everyman" observations of a great writer who lives both in New York City and rural Maine.
March 17, 2013
Nice collection of essays, the best of which are about White himself (especially the last one, "The Years of Wonder"), reading and writing (especially Thoreau), or life on the farm in Maine ("The Eye of Edna"). Though I would read anything that he wrote, I think his views of the U.N., television, etc. are too dated and not as felt as things that come from his own experience.
January 14, 2017
In this collection of New Yorker columns, E. B. White writes with warmth and precision, infusing humble objects with vitality like a scientist systematically galvanizing small frogs. Postage stamps mate like grasshoppers; fir trees cluster like a theater's audience; a dachshund clambers into a sick-bed "like some lecherous old physician."
October 25, 2014
Every so often there is a book that when you see the page numbers growing in size you feel a certain disappointment, knowing that you are getting loser to the end.
Every sentence is a bite from gourmet meal.
Every sentence is a bite from gourmet meal.
December 26, 2007
a witty commentary of essays depicting what life was like in the late 1950s; both personal accounts and political opinions. It was striking to see that not much has changed....
May 19, 2011
Just delightful to read these essays! Out of print. So glad to have a copy. I know I will want to reread it.
November 1, 2013
it was very different than most of the books I read but, I found White's prose to be relaxed and conversational.
December 19, 2015
Wonderful writing. Some of it fairly dated. I scanned a few chapters, but overall enjoyed this book.
December 28, 2015
Love. Relaxing and thought provoking and real. Will read more of White.
May 5, 2016
Great time capsule read. A bit rambling at times, but interesting juxtaposition of topics. A bit curmudgeonly.
August 12, 2008
The essays in this book are timely and timeless. I would highly recommend it
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews