ON DEMOCRACY

One of the great narrators, Arthur Morey takes the simple beauty of White’s well-wrought words and delivers them eloquently. John Meacham’s introduction to this essay collection is a love song to the excellence of the author’s achievement. The title piece exemplifies this happy meeting of writer and narrator. Morey’s tone, tempo, and style are pitch perfect for White, who lucidly enumerates those elemental matters that make a democracy—from the letter to the editor to waiting until the bell sounds before fighting. In short, pithy essays White takes on the bigoted (the House Un-American Activities Committee) and the boorish (America Firsters). White’s wit is ever present, and Morey artfully captures his plainspoken humor. Few have put prose to better use. A.D.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2019 Best Audiobook © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2019]