The six authors in this book originally were asked by the Book-of-the-Month Club, Inc., to present talks at The New York Public Library in the winter of 1989. The editor, William Zinsser, adapted the tape recordings of the talks to make them work on the printed page, but did his best to preserve the voice of each author. A couple of the things that impressed me:

Jack Prelutsky: As many of the best things are discovered in life, I discovered my gift through serendipity. I was looking for one thing and found something else, but only because I was looking for that first thing. [p. 100]

Rosemary Wells: My worst nightmares are still those dreams in which I haven't gone to class and there's a final exam in an hour. [p. 136]

Each author was asked to provide a bibliography.