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The Gospel According<br />
to Zinsser<br />
William Zinsser is the author of 18 books and countless articles and essays. His<br />
formal education includes Deerfield Academy and Princeton University. But he<br />
was also a sergeant in the U.S. Army during WWII who served in North Africa<br />
and Europe. His book, On Writing Well, has sold over 1.5 million copies and<br />
is widely considered to be one of the best how-to guides on writing non-fiction.<br />
O-Dark-Thirty editor Ron Capps sat down for a chat with him at Zinsser’s office<br />
in New York. Here is Capps’ impression of the man.<br />
Bill Zinsser was in his sophomore year at Princeton when<br />
the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. University administrators<br />
and service representatives told students to stay<br />
in school instead of rushing out to enlist. The thinking at<br />
the time was that it would be a while before the armed forces were really<br />
ready for the millions of men needed to fight the war and the young Ivy<br />
Leaguers would better serve the nation if they waited until the officer<br />
candidate programs were better established.<br />
A WASP-y young man from an established east coast family,<br />
Zinsser longed to distance himself from his background. So he ignored<br />
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