William Knowlton Zinsser

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born

October 07, 1922

gender

male

genre

Nonfiction

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William Knowlton Zinsser (born October 7, 1922) is a writer, editor, and teacher. He began his career as a journalist for the New York Herald Tribune, where he worked as a feature writer, drama editor, film critic, and editorial writer, and has been a longtime contributor to leading magazines.

In his books, Zinsser emphasizes word economy. Author James J. Kilpatrick, in his book The Writer's Art says that if he were limited to just one book on how to write, it would be William Zinsser's On Writing Well. Adds Kilpatrick, "Zinsser's sound theory is that 'writing improves in direct ratio to the number of things we can keep out of it.'"

Throughout the 1970s, Zinsser taught writing at Yale University where he was ...more

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books by William Knowlton Zinsser

avg rating: 4.07 | 1,141 ratings | 211 reviews | 19 distinct works | 3 fans

	On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Knowlton Zinsser avg rating 4.16 — 786 ratings — published 1976 21 editions	my rating:
	Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir by William Knowlton Zinsser avg rating 3.81 — 62 ratings — published 1987 3 editions	my rating:
	Writing To Learn by William Knowlton Zinsser avg rating 3.85 — 48 ratings — published 1989 2 editions	my rating:
	Writing About Your Life: A Journey into the Past by William Knowlton Zinsser avg rating 3.31 — 26 ratings — published 2004 2 editions	my rating:
	Worlds of Childhood: The Art and Craft of Writing for Children by William Knowlton Zinsser avg rating 3.73 — 11 ratings — published 1998	my rating:
	Writing Places: The Life Journey of a Writer and Teacher by William Knowlton Zinsser avg rating 4.17 — 6 ratings — published 2009	my rating:
	American Places: A Writer's Pilgrimage to Sixteen of This Country's Most Visited and Cherished Sites by William Knowlton Zinsser avg rating 4.17 — 6 ratings — published 1992 4 editions	my rating:
	Easy to Remember: The Great American Songwriters and Their Songs by William Knowlton Zinsser avg rating 3.67 — 6 ratings — published 2001 2 editions	my rating:
	Mitchell & Ruff: An American Profile in Jazz by William Knowlton Zinsser avg rating 5.00 — 2 ratings — published 2000	my rating:
	Spring Training by William Knowlton Zinsser avg rating 3.00 — 2 ratings — published 1989 3 editions	my rating: