Status Updates From Nonconformity: Writing on W...

"The shortcut to comfort is called 'specialization' and in an eye-ear-nose-and-throat doctor this makes sense. But in a writer it is fatal. The less he sees of other writers the more of a writer he will ultimately become. When he sees scarcely anyone except other writers, he is ready for New York."

This is not so much a book on the craft of writing as it is Algren's critique of capitalism and modern society. He draws from many greats that proceeded him (Dickens, Kafka, Dostoyevsky, Whitman, etc.) and comes up with some pretty interesting ideas.