A collection of essays that considers what gives writing lasting worth, arguing for simplicity, sincerity, and the personal element over novelty or ornament. It ranges from practical reflections on style, analogy, and criticism to discussions of democracy, poetry, and eloquence. Close readings and tributes examine figures associated with nature writing and American letters, including studies of Whitman, Emerson, and Thoreau, and essays on the presence of nature in literature. Shorter pieces treat re-reading, suggestiveness, the spell of the past, and the relation of literary taste to happiness and daily living.