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E. B. White

E. B. White Quotes

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Famous E. B. White Quotes

“New York blends the gift of privacy with the excitement of participation; and better than most dense communities it succeeds in insulating the individual (if he wants it, and almost everybody wants or needs it) against all enormous and violent and wonderful events that are taking place every minute.”

IfsWantNeedsIndividualCommunityWonderfulMinutesEventsNew YorkSucceedViolentEnormousExcitementPrivacyParticipationDense
Book:Here is New York
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“There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born here, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size and its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter — the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is the New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something.”

MenGivingFirstsPersonsNightPassionThreeBornNaturalCitiesAcceptingNew YorkThirdsSizeGrantedInevitableEach DayQuestsSomewhere ElseContinuityRestlessnessTurbulenceSettlersSpatsSolidity
Author:E. B. White
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“The subtlest change in New York is something people don't speak much about but that is in everyone's mind. The city, for the first time in its long history, is destructible. A single flight of planes no bigger than a wedge of geese can quickly end this island fantasy, burn the towers, crumble the bridges, turn the underground passages into lethal chambers, cremate the millions. The intimation of mortality is part of New York now: in the sound of jets overhead, in the black headlines of the latest edition. (Written in 1949, 22 years before the World Trade Center was completed.)”

PeopleWorldYearsMindFirstsLongEndsTurnsSpeakSoundBlackCitiesMillionsFantasyWrittenNew YorkFirst TimeBiggerTradeFlightBridgesPlanesIslandsMortalityPassagesTowersChamberJetHeadlinesGeeseOverheadWorld TradeWorld Trade CenterWedges
Author:E. B. White
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“A single flight of planes no bigger than a wedge of geese can quickly end this island fantasy, burn the towers, crumble the bridges, turn the underground passages into lethal chambers, cremate millions... Of all targets New York has a certain clear priority. In the mind of whatever perverted dreamer might loose the lightning, New York must hold a steady, irresistible charm.”

MindEndsMightCertainTurnsMillionsFantasyClearNew YorkBiggerPrioritiesFlightBridgesPlanesIslandsCharmTargetPassagesDreamerSteadyLightningTowersChamberIrresistibleGeeseWedges
Author:E. B. White
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