"Reissued in Harper Perennial 2016"--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [305]-309) and index.

The transaction -- Simplicity -- Clutter -- Style -- The audience -- Words -- Usage -- Unity -- The lead and the ending -- Bits & pieces -- Nonfiction as literature -- Writing about people: The interview -- Writing about places: The travel article -- Writing about yourself: The memoir -- Science and technology -- Business writing: Writing in your job -- Sports -- Writing about the arts: Critics and columnists -- Humor -- The sound of your voice -- Enjoyment, fear and confidence -- The tyranny of the final product -- A writer's decisions -- Writing family history and memoir -- Write as well as you can.

Warns against common errors in structure, style, and diction, and explains the fundamentals of conducting interviews and writing travel, scientific, sports, critical, and humorous articles.