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E. B. White (1899–1985)

Author of Charlotte's Web

Includes the names: E.B.White, White E. B., ELWYN BROOKS WHITE, אלוין ברוקס ויט, Элвин Брукс Уайт

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87,211 (101,515)1,642108 (4.12)92
Born in Mount Vernon, New York, E. B. White was educated at Cornell University and served as a private in World War I. After several years as a journalist, he joined the staff of the New Yorker, then in its infancy. For 11 years he wrote most of the "Talk of the Town" columns, and it was White and James Thurber who can be credited with setting the style and attitude of the magazine. In 1938 he retired to a saltwater farm in Maine, where he wrote essays regularly for Harper's Magazine under the title "One Man's Meat." Like Thoreau, White preferred the woods; he also resembled Thoreau in his impatience and indignation. White received several prizes: in 1960, the gold medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters; in 1963, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award (he was honored along with Thornton Wilder and Edmund Wilson); and in 1978, a special Pulitzer Prize. His verse is original and witty but with serious undertones. His friend James Thurber described him as "a poet who loves to live half-hidden from the eye." Three of his books have become children's classics: Stuart Little (1945), about a mouse born into a human family, Charlotte's Web (1952), about a spider who befriends a lonely pig, and The Trumpet of the Swan (1970). Among his best-known and most widely used books is The Elements of Style (1959), a guide to grammar and rhetoric based on a text written by one of his professors at Cornell, William Strunk, which White revised and expanded. White was married to Katherine Angell, the first fiction editor of the New Yorker. (Bowker Author Biography) Elwyn Brooks White was born on July 11, 1899, in Mt. Vernon, New York. After graduating from Cornell University, he worked briefly for an advertising agency and as a newspaper reporter before joining the staff of The New Yorker magazine in 1927. As a columnist for The New Yorker and a contributor to Harper's Magazine, White established a reputation as a prose stylist of exceptional elegance, clarity and wit. His interests, as reflected in his writing, were numerous and varied; his essays touched on such wide-ranging subjects as politics, farm animals, and life in New York City. White married Katharine S. Angell in 1929. They had one son, and in 1957 the family left New York for a farm in North Brookline, Maine. Writings from The New Yorker, 1927-1976 is a compilation of columns and essays produced during White's long relationship with the magazine. One Man's Meat, published in 1942, is a collection of his writings for Harper's. White adapted a short guide to English grammar and usage, The Elements of Style, from a college text written by one of his professors at Cornell, William Strunk Jr. It has sold millions of copies since it was first published in 1959 and has become a cherished resource for guidance in writing. White also co-authored Is Sex Necessary? with the humorist James Thurber, a fellow staff member at The New Yorker. E.B. White died on October 1, 1985 after succumbing to Alzheimer's. His diverse legacy also includes three children's books: Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, and The Trumpet of the Swan. In 1970 the American Library Association presented White the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award in recognition of his "substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children." He was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963 and received a special Pulitzer Prize citation for his body of work in 1970. (Bowker Author Biography) — biography from Charlotte's Web… (more)
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Works by E. B. White
Charlotte's Web 34,124 copies, 997 reviews
The Elements of Style 19,024 copies, 194 reviews
Stuart Little 13,573 copies, 138 reviews
The Trumpet of the Swan 10,590 copies, 74 reviews
The Elements of Style Illustrated 1,567 copies, 16 reviews
Essays of E.B. White 1,436 copies, 17 reviews
Charlotte's Web / Stuart Little / The Trumpet of the Swan 1,342 copies, 12 reviews
Here is New York 993 copies, 16 reviews
One Man's Meat 783 copies, 11 reviews
Is Sex Necessary?: Or Why You Feel the Way You Do 578 copies, 14 reviews
Letters of E. B. White 477 copies
Onward and Upward in the Garden (Editor; Introduction) 454 copies, 6 reviews
The Second Tree from the Corner 431 copies, 5 reviews
Writings from The New Yorker 1927-1976 317 copies, 5 reviews
A Subtreasury of American Humor (Editor; Contributor) 270 copies, 3 reviews
Poems and Sketches of E. B. White 258 copies, 1 review
The Points of My Compass: Letter from the East, the West, the North, the… 169 copies, 2 reviews
The Annotated Charlotte's Web 140 copies
Some Pig!: A Charlotte's Web Picture Book 133 copies, 3 reviews
On Democracy 63 copies, 1 review
Charlotte's Web / Stuart Little (Author) 52 copies
The Wild Flag: Editorials from The New Yorker on Federal World Government… 40 copies
Quo Vadimus or The Case for the Bicycle 37 copies
Salutations!: Wit and Wisdom from Charlotte's Web 35 copies, 1 review
Tela Charlottae/Charlotte's Web: Latin Edition 34 copies
Farewell to Model T and From Sea to Shining Sea 33 copies, 2 reviews
Chickens, Gin, and a Maine Friendship: The Correspondence of E. B. White… 30 copies, 2 reviews
An E. B. White Reader 27 copies
In the Words of E. B. White: Quotations from America's Most Companionable… 22 copies, 2 reviews
Wilbur's Adventure: A Charlotte's Web Picture Book 17 copies
Notes on Our Times 15 copies, 1 review
Letters and Essays of E.B. White 12 copies
Joseline Compatible with Apple Watch Magnetic Wireless Charger Pad… 11 copies
On Kawara 11 copies, 1 review
Charlotte's Web: Movie Storybook (Charlotte's Web) 10 copies
Newbery Award Favorite Library 8 Book Box Set : Charlotte's Web, The One… (Contributor) 10 copies
The Door 8 copies, 3 reviews
The Moon 1968-1972 8 copies
The Trumpet of the Swan: Teachers Guide Grades 3-4 4 copies
White on White: Selections from the Works of E. B. White 4 copies
The Fox of Peapack and Other Poems 4 copies
W.Strunk.'s E. B. White's The Elements of Style (The Elements of… 3 copies
The Lady is Cold and Other Poems 3 copies
Every Day is Saturday 3 copies
E. B. Classic White Story Collection 3 copies
Charlotte's Web (Scholastic Book Guides) 3 copies
Once More to the Lake 3 copies, 1 review
Ho hum, newsbreaks from the New Yorker 3 copies
Reading room 3 copies
Time Out for Books Guide - Mouse and the Motorcycle and Charlotte's Web 2 copies
Writings from the "New Yorker", 1920s-70s by White, E. B. (1989) Paperback 2 copies
The Trumpet of the Swan Guided Reading Classroom Set 2 copies
I Paint What I See: A Ballad of Artistic Integrity [poem] 1 copy
Topics : our new countryman at the U.N. 1 copy
THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE. WITH REVISIONS, AN INTROD., AND A CHAPTER ON… 1 copy
Paul Bunyan, the Mightiest Logger of Them All 1 copy
Irtnog 1 copy
Charlotte's Web 1973 Edition 1 copy
The Hour of Letdown 1 copy
The Elements of Reasoning 1 copy
The Yearling Gift Library For Girls Set 1: Charlotte's Web, Roller Skates,… 1 copy
A Guide for Using Stuart Little in the Schoolroom 1 copy
Les aventures de Narcisse 1 copy
Паутина Шарлотты [для младшего и… 1 copy
Stuart Little - Abridged 1 copy
Panza Charlottei 1 copy
Cleopatra: The Life of an Egyptian Queen 1 copy
No Dummy 1 copy
Essays of E. B. White 1 copy
Charlottes tryllevev 1 copy
Qui New York 1 copy
[No title] 1 copy
The geese 1 copy
Stuart Little : Teacher's Guide 1 copy
Charlotte's Web- "DVD" Movie 1 copy
Letters of E. B. White 1 copy
A Letter From E. B. White 1 copy
Til Death Do Us Part 1 copy
Charlotte's Web Guided Reading Classroom Set 1 copy
O Cisne e o Seu Trompete (Portuguese Edition) 1 copy
Charlotte và Wilbur 1 copy
The Points Of My Compass Letter from the East, the West, the North, the… 1 copy
O Cisne e o Seu Trompete 1 copy
A História de Stuart Little 1 copy
Stuart Little by E. B. White (1973-08-01) 1 copy
Rare - Charlotte's Web & Other Classics by White Illustrated New… 1 copy, 1 review
The Morning of the Day they Did It {short story} 1 copy
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Also by E. B. White
The Best American Short Stories of the Century (Contributor) 1,515 copies, 10 reviews
The Art of the Personal Essay (Contributor) 1,308 copies, 8 reviews
50 Great Short Stories (Contributor) 1,157 copies, 8 reviews
The Best American Essays of the Century (Contributor) 736 copies, 4 reviews
Fierce Pajamas: An Anthology of Humor Writing from The New Yorker (Contributor) 689 copies, 6 reviews
A Patriot's Handbook: Songs, Poems, Stories and Speeches Celebrating the… (some editions) 469 copies, 5 reviews
The World of the Short Story: A 20th Century Collection (Contributor) 446 copies, 4 reviews
American Gothic Tales (Contributor) 426 copies, 5 reviews
Timeless Stories for Today and Tomorrow (Contributor) 417 copies, 6 reviews
Reporting World War II Part One : American Journalism, 1938-1944 (Contributor) 416 copies, 3 reviews
Fifty Great American Short Stories (Contributor) 408 copies, 3 reviews
American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau (Contributor) 393 copies
Charlotte’s Web [2006 film] (Original Story) 379 copies, 3 reviews
Wonderful Town: New York Stories from The New Yorker (Contributor) 347 copies
A Treasury of Great Science Fiction, Volume 2 (Contributor) 306 copies, 3 reviews
The Best of Modern Humor (Contributor) 283 copies, 2 reviews
75 Short Masterpieces: Stories from the World's Literature (Contributor) 282 copies, 1 review
Charlotte's Web [1973 film] (Original Story) 278 copies, 1 review
A Treasury of Great Science Fiction [2-volume set] (Contributor) 276 copies, 5 reviews
Writing New York: A Literary Anthology (Contributor) 265 copies, 4 reviews
The 40s: The Story of a Decade (Contributor) 258 copies, 4 reviews
It's Great To Be Eight (Contributor) 253 copies, 1 review
Stuart Little [1999 film] (Original book) 237 copies, 2 reviews
The 50 Funniest American Writers: An Anthology of Humor from Mark Twain to… (Contributor) 233 copies, 3 reviews
Russell Baker's Book of American Humor (Contributor) 195 copies
Short Stories from The New Yorker, 1925 to 1940 (Contributor) 187 copies, 1 review
Eight Modern Essayists (some editions) 170 copies, 2 reviews
This Is My Best (Contributor) 168 copies
Black Water 2: More Tales of the Fantastic (Contributor) 148 copies, 3 reviews
The Norton Book of Personal Essays (Contributor) 141 copies, 1 review
American Wits: An Anthology of Light Verse (Contributor) 130 copies, 3 reviews
An American Album: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Harper's Magazine (Contributor) 126 copies, 1 review
The Big New Yorker Book of Cats (Contributor) 116 copies, 1 review
Winter: A Spiritual Biography of the Season (Contributor) 104 copies, 2 reviews
The Owl in the Attic and Other Perplexities (Introduction, some editions) 101 copies, 1 review
Voices in Our Blood: America's Best on the Civil Rights Movement (Contributor) 88 copies
The Greatest Sailing Stories Ever Told: Twenty-Seven Unforgettable Stories (Contributor) 69 copies
The Glorious American Essay: One Hundred Essays from Colonial Times to the… (Contributor) 68 copies
Autumn: A Spiritual Biography of the Season (Contributor) 56 copies, 2 reviews
Gentlemen, Scholars and Scoundrels: A Treasury of the Best of Harper's… (Contributor) 54 copies
55 Short Stories from The New Yorker, 1940 to 1950 (Contributor) 53 copies
Reading for Pleasure (Contributor) 49 copies
Best in Children's Books 10A 48 copies
Charlotte's Web: A Full-Length Play (Original book) 48 copies, 1 review
The Bedside Tales: A Gay Collection (Contributor) 43 copies
Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure [2003 film] (Original Story) 43 copies
A Quarto of Modern Literature (Contributor) 38 copies
In Search of the Simple Life: American Voices, Past and Present (Contributor) 35 copies
Published and Perished: Memoria, Eulogies, and Remembrances of American… (Contributor) 35 copies, 1 review
Stories for Men (Contributor) 32 copies
The War: Stories of Life and Death from World War II (Contributor) 30 copies
A Book of Essays (Contributor) 25 copies
The Best of Both Worlds: An Anthology of Stories for All Ages (Contributor) 25 copies, 1 review
The Stuart Little Movie Collection [3 film DVD] (Writer) 14 copies
The Panorama of Modern Literature (Contributor) 14 copies, 1 review
Favorite Animal Stories (Contributor) 12 copies
Tales for Males (Contributor) 10 copies
Charlotte's Web - 3 Movie Collection (Charlotte's Web/Charlotte's Web… (Original book) 10 copies, 1 review
Ten Years of Holiday: Selected by the Editors of Holiday Magazine (Contributor) 8 copies
British and American Essays, 1905-1956 (Contributor) 7 copies
The bear went over the mountain (Contributor) 6 copies
Wide-Angle Lens: Stories of Time and Space (Contributor) 6 copies
Contemporary Short Stories: Representative Selections, Volume 3 (Contributor) 6 copies
The Fireside Treasury of Modern Humor (Contributor) 5 copies
Furrow's End: An Anthology of Great Farm Stories (Contributor) 2 copies
The Ethnic Image in Modern American Literature, 1900-1950 (Contributor) 1 copy
Contos Dramáticos (Contributor) 1 copy
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Canonical name
White, E. B.
Legal name
White, Elwyn Brooks
Other names
Date of birth
1899-07-11
Date of death
1985-10-01
Burial location
Brooklin Cemetery, Brooklin, Maine, USA
Gender
male
Nationality
USA
Country (for map)
Birthplace
Mount Vernon, New York, USA
Place of death
North Brooklin, Maine, USA
Cause of death
Places of residence
Seattle, Washington, USA
New York, New York, USA
Education
Cornell University (AB | 1921)
Occupations
journalist
writer
Relationships
White, Katharine S. (spouse)
Angell, Roger (stepson)
Thurber, James (friend)
Strunk, William (mentor)
Agents
Organizations
Harper's Magazine
The New Yorker
United States Army
Awards and honors
Pulitzer Prize (Special Citation, 1978)
Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (1970)
Presidential Medal of Freedom (1963)
American Academy of Arts and Letters (1962)
Short biography
Disambiguation notice

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