On Democracy audiobook

White is a national treasure. His writing is some of the finest ever published by The New Yorker.This collection of thoughts “On Democracy” primarily resulted from the events in Europe that led to the Second World War and what followed. It now has an introduction by the noted historian, Jon Meacham, whose own thoughts on democracy are, perhaps, best expressed in his recent book, The Soul of America. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...Most of what constitutes this collection are essays but there are a few poems and some letters, as well. Here is an example of Meacham quoting White:“White described a day spent on the waters in Maine. “It struck me as we worked our way homeward up the rough bay with our catch of lobsters and a fresh breeze in our teeth that this was what the fight was all about,” he wrote. “This was it. Either we would continue to have it or we wouldn’t, this right to speak our own minds, haul our own traps, mind our own business, and wallow in the wide, wide sea.” That fight seems to be unfolding still in the first decades of the twenty-first century, a time when an opportunistic real estate and reality TV showman from White’s beloved New York has risen to the pinnacle of American politics by marshaling and, in some cases, manufacturing fears about changing demography and identity in the life of the Republic. We can’t know for certain what White would have made of Trump or of Twitter, but we can safely say that E. B. White’s America, the one described in this collection, is a better, fairer, and more congenial place than the forty-fifth president’s.”What struck Meacham I think will be evident to many readers: Many of White’s thoughts are still relevant for the 21st century. I will leave you with a final insight from Mecham:'The common denominators in White’s thinking about democracy were a sense of fair play and a love of liberty. He was for that which defended and expanded freedom, and he was against that which did not. “If it is boyish to believe that a human being should live free,” he wrote in September 1940, “then I’ll gladly arrest my development and let the rest of the world grow up.”'

Any book that includes "Bedfellows," one of the best essays ever written on the American experiment (and dachshunds), is a must-read. This book, featuring essays and commentaries that were written 50 years ago and more, is designed to serve as a commentary on our current state of affairs. In that regard, it rarely disappoints. Indeed, White somehow anticipated so many of the issues currently at the forefront of our daily concerns about the survival of our democracy. A welcome addition to any E.B. White collection.

White is undoubtedly a great writer, as is presaged by being coauthor on the immortal The Elements of Style, not to forget Charlotte’s Web of course. It is instructive to read the writings of someone over five decades, and thereby see his evolution of deeper insight into what freedom, liberty and democracy actually mean and act in practice. He moves from a relatively simplistic, middle class view of unvarnished freedom, bold as it may be, and over time develops the necessary subtlety to understand what Elizabeth Anker calls “ugly freedoms”, the freedom for some that is a prison and injustice for others. If someone is exploring how democracy and freedom work, or don’t work, for the most disadvantaged and those who would be trampled by the majority, then White was onto something ahead of his time, especially in the conforming 1950s.

One has to continuously remind themselves that Mr. White is of a truly different era, born only a bit more than 100 years after the signing of the constitution.I say this because these essays and letters, all beautifully written by a first-rate mind, oscillate between incisive analysis of multipolar agreements and international law to facepalm-y tutting about the specter of Communism. They are at times redolent of what appears to be a simpler world where patriotism was both noble and somehow “obvious”. Where you can talk about American exceptionalism without irony or disgust.Mr. White is not selling us anything, and he is not naive. He knows the US is corrupt and that other nations are venal and led by scoundrels. Yet he offers a light touch that is pleasing even as a reminder of what has been lost, like a photomontage in a post-apocalyptic movie of a couple running with kids along a beach at sunset.We had it good then, didn’t we!But if it were only that, this book would quickly become treacly and unreadable, so thankfully there are essays where White digs into real issues with no lack of confidence and no ambiguity. He calls b.s. on the silly platitudes of JFK and his ilk for bringing the rule of law to mankind, because he knows that our rule of law needs the point of a gun, and that we would never allow an international body to hold that gun. He knows that Goldwater is dangerous, because of his certainty as well as his detest for the free press.These moments make this book worth reading. We live in a time of despair over our institutions, and it is nice to hear from someone who has Hope even though they are smart enough to see through the veil.

“Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time.” E B White’s small tome, On Democracy, is as pertinent today as when each essay was written. This collection of essays, poems and letters, edited by his granddaughter Martha, spans the era from the late ‘20s to the late ‘70s. While reading the beautiful prose and thoughtfully advanced ideas on liberty, government and the free press, I could imagine sitting around the kitchen table discussing current events with Mr. White. This book is an excellent reflection for our times.

(3 1/2). I have to mark this little book up to 4 stars for its importance, as well as its literary worth. White’s outlook on Democracy, government, the world, and especially war is very needed in these divisive times. He explains his version of the real cornerstones for the preservation of society as Americans know and understand it. I am concerned that many today would call him a fanatical liberal but I say they are not trying to understand what he is saying. Compromise, negotiation and defending liberty is a good thing. Strong stuff.

Short and powerful. White's essays have as much meaning today as when they were written between the 1930s though 1960s. I plan on buying a physical copy of this book. It is one that should be read frequently.How did I come to read this book: I had recently read Charlotte's Web and Cloud Library had this as a suggestion for me. I read quite a few political books too. Or maybe it was on a list in Cloud Library and I had White's name in my head. I'm glad that Cloud Library pointed my way to this book.

Nicely crafted set of essays and letters to the editor spanning roughly 50 years. A distressing number could have been written about the state of US politics and the world today.White is an elegant writer, concise, powerful and persuasive. A few seem a bit naive or simplistic, particularly those calling for a new supranational world order but the majority provoke the reader into a carful assessment of how the world does, doesn't, should and shouldn't work.

In essays spanning nearly fifty years, White explores democracy and his complicated relationship with it. Some, including the last entry from the the date of the Bicentennial of the U.S.A., address issues so familiar that you could believe that they were written last week. As always, White’s writing is clever and pointed (in a meandering sort of way). This is a reminiscence and an exploration well worth taking.

I’m glad I read it. This is a beautiful collection of mostly small pieces written by E. B. White over the years about the Red Scare, democracy, the freedom of the press, fear, the nature of the world and human beings. These pieces are extraordinary and timely for today. I will come back to his rich mine of wisdom and beautiful writing.

E. B. White was a wise man. I encourage you to sit with this collection of his essays. Don't rush through them they're worth ruminating on. I particularly liked his letter to the Bangor Daily News dated October 8,1964 entitled "Democracy is Destructible."As I write this I realize it was 55 years ago today and it could not be more timely.Mr. White's voice is one for the ages.

Great writer on a great subject

Collection of wonderful essays by E.B White that still ring true today in 2021.