Here is New York
by E.B. White
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Every time I read White's gorgeous love letter to New York City, I'm filled with nostalgia for my own town and I tend to wake the next day with a honed sense of observational candor. As many have noted in recent years, his heavy observation of NYC's vulnerability can be read almost as a prophesy of September 11, 2001, though this was written in 1949 when thoughts about the end of World War II and atomic bombs were still abundant:
The city, for the first time in its long history, is destructible. A single flight of planes no bigger than a wedge of geese can quickly end this island fantasy, burn the towers, crumble the bridges, turn the underground passages into lethal chambers, cremate the millions. The intimation of mortality is part of New York now; in the sounds of jets overhead, in the black headlines of the latest editions....more
The city, for the first time in its long history, is destructible. A single flight of planes no bigger than a wedge of geese can quickly end this island fantasy, burn the towers, crumble the bridges, turn the underground passages into lethal chambers, cremate the millions. The intimation of mortality is part of New York now; in the sounds of jets overhead, in the black headlines of the latest editions....more
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I miss New York.
This book is, as a quote on the back cover of the 50th anniversary edition states, "the finest portrait of the city." It is amazing to think that an essay written in 1948 could capture so perfectly the essence and heart of a city that has, to all appearances, completely changed each decade since.
I love the descriptions of the demographics of the city (natives, commuters, transplants) and how they each influence its character. I wonder whether, while I lived th...more
This book is, as a quote on the back cover of the 50th anniversary edition states, "the finest portrait of the city." It is amazing to think that an essay written in 1948 could capture so perfectly the essence and heart of a city that has, to all appearances, completely changed each decade since.
I love the descriptions of the demographics of the city (natives, commuters, transplants) and how they each influence its character. I wonder whether, while I lived th...more
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A must read for any New Yorker, New York visitor, or lover of the NYC.
The dude gets it right, even 50 years later.
E.B. White's "Here is New York" is a 56 page/7500 word essay about NY.
He begins the essay "On any person who desires such queeer prizes, New York will bestow the gift of lonliness and the gift of privacy." He talks about the fact that you have anonymity in NYC, and can be a hermit, but then are immersed in a concentrated center of cultures/activit...more
The dude gets it right, even 50 years later.
E.B. White's "Here is New York" is a 56 page/7500 word essay about NY.
He begins the essay "On any person who desires such queeer prizes, New York will bestow the gift of lonliness and the gift of privacy." He talks about the fact that you have anonymity in NYC, and can be a hermit, but then are immersed in a concentrated center of cultures/activit...more
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I've reread this a couple of times since I moved to New York. Sometimes when I am walking around the city, I'll remember snippets of White's essay. Right now the most applicable part, for me, is his description of those to move to New York from somewhere else: "...the city of final destination, the city that is a goal. ...each embraces New York with the intense excitement of first love, each absorbs New York with the fresh eyes of an adventurer, each generates heat and light to dwarf the Co...more
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Beautifully written. He turns all the ordinary New York stuff into poetry. Really. Even though this essay was written in 1948, so much of the description could be applied today. It is so true that New York is “ever changing, never changed.”
Parts that I particularly liked? I like the description of the three cities contained in one. I like the description of a typical neighborhood. I like the end. I thought the end was very predictive, especially in light of what we saw happen afte...more
Parts that I particularly liked? I like the description of the three cities contained in one. I like the description of a typical neighborhood. I like the end. I thought the end was very predictive, especially in light of what we saw happen afte...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone
Don't tell New Yorkers I said so, but... I think I might like this book more than the city itself. Through E.B. White's eyes, NYC is a magical, romantic place. OK, OK--it is in real life too, but his words lend a certain amount of mystique that I haven't quite uncovered in the city itself. (Leave me alone. I'm a Bama girl and I like it.) I read the final pages of this book while sitting under a tree in Central Park, just as it started to rain. What could be better, seriously?!
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Read in October, 2007
One of the most perfect essays ever written about New York City. It's slightly odd that Roger Angell's introduction is about a fifth as long as the essay itself, but White's ode to the city is beautiful. It'll make you happy to be here, appreciate Gotham in a different light, and want to go for a walk in Manhattan. Every New Yorker should read this at least once, and every city should be so lucky as to have a book like this.
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For less than a hundred pages, this wonderful little book, definitely E.B. White's best, is a love letter to New York in its most romantic sense. Every street, every corner, and every tree in New York is ardently described; yet one gets a true and realistic sense of the uniqueness of this beautiful yet rugged city. The writing is so lyrical and so vivid that it emanates the scent of a love poem.
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Read in March, 2008
So good that I read it twice. White is a fantastic writer, with a old-school journalistic tone and lines so good that I wanted to knit and frame them. The essay is fairly short, so if you buy it, you might want to do so as part of the "Essays of E.B White" anthology. I don't know if the stand-alone copy (shown above) has anything different, though.
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Read in January, 2000
i love this little book; i wish it were longer. it contains some of my favorite quotes about new york ever, and i basically end up quoting the entire book.
small and brilliant, an honest ode to my favorite city.
but here's one for good measure: "It is a miracle that New York works at all. The whole thing is implausible."
small and brilliant, an honest ode to my favorite city.
but here's one for good measure: "It is a miracle that New York works at all. The whole thing is implausible."
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It's amazing to me that in 1949 one could (if one were E. B. White, I suppose) write 60 pages of musing on the city of New York and a publisher would still print it.
Ahh...nostalgia.
The city is no longer the same, but I imagine this love letter to the NTC remains in print because White's prose is immaculate.
Ahh...nostalgia.
The city is no longer the same, but I imagine this love letter to the NTC remains in print because White's prose is immaculate.
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Read in January, 2001
E.B. White so accurately and poetically describes the phenomenon of New York City: its quirks, its neighborhoods, its strengths and weaknesses. Even though it was written in the 1940's, it still reflects accurately the climate of a city of millions of people. It is even prophetic...see the last few pages.
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An amazing evocation of the city that once was and, in many ways, the city that still is. Easily read in one sitting, this is a beautiful love letter to a city whose only constant is change. The section on the dangers posed by airplanes being used as weapons (written in 1949!) is especially jarring.
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Another book that I read over and over. if you have an exra hour to kill this is a great "view" of NYC in the 40´s but is timeless. White spent a sweltering weekend in a hotel in Times Square and recorded his observations. I love this book and have given it often as a gift.
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Read in December, 2007
This is an article written by E. B. White about New York City. It is a small book, but very well written and it is neat to read about the attraction and pull New York had even many years ago. I thought it would be fun to read as there is a chance we will be moving there.
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I like the way E.B. focuses on the underlying destructive instinct that lurks in New York. He says it's a miracle the place hasn't destroyed itself by now or succumbed to a plague. Creepy ending about planes but I think he meant more nuclear holocaust than terrorism.
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Read in April, 2007
I picked it up because it is one of the few books of required by the columbia school of journalism for all students.
This is a quick love letter to the city of New York in the 40s. The ending thoughts are somewhat creepily clairvoyant.
This is a quick love letter to the city of New York in the 40s. The ending thoughts are somewhat creepily clairvoyant.
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Read in January, 2002
Description and travel; an E.B. White essay on New York City. An unforgettable, beautiful, remarkable, and witty love letter to the city, introduced in this edition by Roger Angell. The Little Bookroom did a great job with this print.
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recommends it for:
anyone who's moved to new york, or wanted to
I wish E. B. White'd join Bookster. I'd be afraid to be friends with him, though. It would make me self-conscious about my reviews, and I'd probably become one of those people who just gives the stars.
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Read in August, 2000
i read this book shortly after moving to new york and it was so perfect for that time. and then again when you want to remember that special someone, who happens to be the city that you live in.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.50 (239 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 4.50 (236 ratings) number of reviews: 49popular shelves
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quote
"It can destroy an individual, or it can fulfill him, depending a good deal on luck. No one should come to New York to live unless he is willing to be lucky."
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