E.B. White is one of my literary heroes. The Elements of Style has been my bible for grammar and syntax since i was in high school. Charlotte’s Web was my favorite childhood book before i even connected the author with the Elements of Style. And then there is the connection to his stepson Roger Angell, the brilliant baseball essayist. i came across this book in a used bookstore in Palo Alto. the essay is an ode to New York City, written as White returns after 20 years of living in Maine to write an essay for his son’s magazine. The observations, the descriptions of neighborhoods and people- it is poetry in prose. “Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness; natives give it solidity and continuity; but settlers give it passion.” No truer words have ever been spoken about NYC, and so beautifully.