Two must-have classics together in one volume, On Writing Well and How to Write a Memoir, from acclaimed writer, editor, and scholar William Zinsser

"On Writing Well is a bible for a generation of writers looking for clues to clean, compelling prose." –New York Times

On Writing Well, which grew out of a course that William Zinsser taught at Yale, has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity, and for the warmth of its style. It is a book for anybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get through the day, as almost everybody does. Whether you want to write about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts, or about yourself in the increasingly popular memoir genre, On Writing Well offers you both fundamental principles as well as the insights of a distinguished practitioner. With over a million copies in print, this volume has stood the test of time and remains a valued resource for writers and would-be writers.

Whether you're a professional writer or just want to write a personal or family reminisce, Zinsser explains, in warm anecdotal detail in How to Write a Memoir, how a memoir is different from an autobiography; what makes a good memoir and a bad memoir; how to decide what part of your life to write about, and how to be true to your own personality and voice. Throughout he cites examples from the work of successful memoir writers including Annie Dillard, Frank McCourt, and Eudora Welty, demonstrating how they solved problems of compression, focus, and tone, often overcoming early mistakes that took them in the wrong direction.