Everyone, say thank you, Katharine S. White! And you can also thank Amy Reading for introducing you to your next literary icon.

I initially sought out this book from my fascination (and a bit of blind loyalty) to the history and the creation of the New Yorker (I was personally devestated with the singular Salinger shout-out, the origin of my New Yorker affection, but it is truly easy to be lost in utter wave of literary phenomena Katharine gave voice and pages to in the storied beginnings of the New Yorker). I've read some background and other non-fiction on the creation which has alluded to Katharine, but never has anything quite given her the space and credit she is clearly due, and this book felt like a necessary addition to the history of the creation and curation of early 20th-century American fiction.

This book is easily one of the most fascinating biographies I've ever read. I've read quite a few memoirs and biographies of writers and artists and creators, but by far, reading about an editor and a curator of literature has been the most interesting and exciting insight into this world. Even amidst the many great names of writers that dipped in and out of New Yorker fashion (by Katharine's approval and admission), my attention never wavered from Katharine, always wanting to hear more from her (and anyway, can it really count as name-dropping when you made all the names droppable?)

Reading's storytelling was entirely compelling and readable. I never once wanted to stop reading, even amidst difficult or "less-than-thrilling" sections. The scope of Katharine's life and influence is magnificent when laid out so expansively and efficiently, and I am in awe of how well every nuance was rendered. I sincerely appreciate how Reading handled every single aspect, not only of life but society and culture, and how both Katharine and the New Yorker (didn't) handle it. Intrigues into troubling times (both of careers and cultures) in the New Yorker and its interaction with society at times was fascinating, and Reading did a fantastic job approaching such situations from modern and sympathetic ends.

The only sometimes laborious parts of the book (and likely indeed of Katharine's life) were the parts surrounding the disappointing and dispiriting men in her life, which would only come into focus when essential to contextualizing Katharine's life in real time. But I did indeed feel bogged down by such insights into the lives of the men surrounding Katharine when she was forced to share her own narrative with the men in her life, who often frustrated me and curtailed the unfolding of Katharine's career and life. Indeed, her capability to hold fast to so much of her life and career (when in reality, the book tells of how much she gave up and how often), is impressive not only for its time, but for Katharine's own views and sense of duty.

This book definitely feels its full weight at some 500 pages, but I also believe that anyone who would be interested enough to pick up and invest the time in this book would be hard-pressed to find too many properly extraneous entities. Indeed, on several occasions, I found happenstances or literary occurrences I would have enjoyed reading even more about!

I've been reading and watching and learning a lot about strong women of years' and worlds' past this year; Katharine S. White and The World She Edited have been my favorite finds thus far. I once again thank Katharine for establishing such a career, and the careers of so many others, and I thank Amy, for telling us all about it.

This book really surprised me in the best way. The World She Edited is a fascinating look at Katharine S. White, the first fiction editor at The New Yorker. I had no idea how much influence she had on some of the most well-known writers of the 20th century—and not just behind the scenes, but shaping the direction of modern literature.

Amy Reading writes in a way that feels smart but not overly academic. I especially appreciated how she highlighted Katharine’s support of women writers and her quiet strength in a male-dominated industry. Her relationship with E.B. White was interesting, but what stuck with me most was her dedication to the work and her evolving views on feminism.

If you enjoy biographies, literary history, or stories about strong women who paved the way, this one is worth reading.

This would be a fantastic book for anyone interested in the hustle and bustle of New York City. THE WORLD SHE EDITED is also a good peek inside the newspaper publishing industry. However, it is LONG and too detail-oriented.

Anyone who loves biographies, this is certainly a good one to grab a copy of.

For me, I found the pacing too slow and my interest was lost. When I say this is a slow burn, it is a s l o w burn.

Thank you NetGalley and Mariner Books for an e-copy of THE WORLD SHE EDITED to review.

I rate THE WORLD SHE EDITED two out of five stars.

Being a reader of “The New Yorker” is a marker of a certain kind of intellectualism. But in the early 20th century, the publication was actually a humor magazine with a very different reputation. This book gives the credit due to Katherine White, the fiction editor of the magazine from 1925 to 1959, for crafting its distinctive voice and legacy. In particular, White shaped the early careers of authors such as John Updike and Vladimir Nabokov, and championed women writers at the publication. (Review sent to WordSmarts.com email newsletter)

I really hoped for more from this book. It drags and is often dull; it is repetitive and ableist; and it's less about Katharine White and her work than it is about the author being unable to let go of unnecessary quotes that she somehow feels are important but which really aren't relevant. Reading offers little depth in her presentation of White's life, and while she does at times try to take on issues like how working women handled parenting, for example, the writing tends to be a little superficial, offering anecdotes rather than analysis. I was hoping for a biography of White that really dug into her editing practices, discussing her influences and style, but instead we get not much more than statistics about what authors she accepted, and how often she accepted their work, and how she didn't accept. There's a missed opportunity in Reading's take on White and Langston Hughes: we've already learned that the New Yorker was racist in almost all of its practices; here, Reading could have provided a much deeper reading of who was reading Hughes and publishing him, and what pieces, and why, and why White and the New Yorker couldn't see his importance and potential, and how White dealt with race in other ways--there's so much here that could have been really illuminating about White and the New Yorker and her peers there and the publishing world as a whole, but I'll have to find that somewhere else. While Reading has said in an interview about the book that "the author-editor relationship, which is rarely studied, can be quite crucial to literary culture," but she doesn't really write about that; she writes about how White was a friend to her writers, and we learn how she helped them through divorces and gave them advances, but there's so little of the "here's how the first draft was, and here's what White changed, and why, and here's how the author responded" that the editor-author relationship is almost entirely lost. Also: could an editor please get Reading to stop using words like "crippled" and "bedridden", please? It's ableist as fuck.

THE WORLD SHE EDITED is a book for a particular audience. Literary types interested in THE NEW YORKER and its many famous contributors and in the works of Katharine and Andy (E. B.) White will find it an interesting read.

If you love shows like Gilmore Girls, The Bold Type, Nora Ephron, you'll love this book. it tells the story of Katherine Sergeant Angell White and how she created a plethora of opportunities for women writers over 36 years in her tenure. She was a trailblazer who left her mark on her industry and those that came after her.

Reading’s brilliant biography takes the reader through the life of the iconic but frequently forgotten first fiction editor of The New Yorker, Katharine S. White. The intricacy of this biography is first-rate and you finish the book having observed an in-depth portrait of a complex figure. This is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to know more about the importance of women in twentieth-century literature. As someone currently researching The New Yorker, I loved seeing how Reading used the archives to find new insights into White’s career and legacy. This immersive biography is truly a work to be admired.

I thoroughly enjoyed this expansive, well-researched biography of one of my personal niche obsessions, the great Katharine S. White. Anyone like me who loves great stories of literary history, like the battle over Katharine's husband EB White's book Stuart. Little, will eat this up. Like any true nerd, my favorite part of this book was the extensive footnotes. I already have several of White's New Yorker articles on request through my university's interlibrary loan. Bravo to Amy Reading for highlighting this under-appreciated literary giant!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Mariner Books for an advance copy of this biography about an editor who was at the perfect place to mentor and foster many literary careers, as well as live a life that was uniquely her own.

If one believes the writer Hunter S. Thompson and his comic book doppelgänger Spider Jerusalem editors are the scum of the earth, one step below politicians and child murderers. Editors get in the way of the artist, changing the words, their meanings, and adding commas where commas shouldn't be. Though, without editors Thompson never would have published anything, as editors typed his copy, listened to his rantings, and put him in the seat to get the ideas down. Taking the work of others and making is better takes skill, tact and an ability to see not only the work, but to get that work to others. An editor is both parent, pal, pusher and a means to publication. A good editor mentors talent, and knows that something the talent isn't there yet, it just needs a little help. This talent was something that Katharine Sergeant Angell White had, one she brought to The New Yorker for almost forty years. In her time she worked with famed authors, but more importantly championed the works of women, who might have been lost in the boys club that was and is the literary world. As good an editor as she was White was probably best at editing her own life, cutting characters and changing points of view to hide things that might effect her narrative. The World She Edited: Katharine S. White at The New Yorker by Amy Reading is a look at this woman the life she created for herself, and those she helped along the way.

Katharine Sergeant, always Katharine never Kate nor Kay was born in Massachusetts, the third and last child, in 1892. Katharine's mother passed away when Katharine was young, leaving her to be raised by a distant father who gave her a love of flowers, and an aunt, who lived her life the way she wanted it. Katharine was a reader devouring anything around her, especially scary books or books she did not understand, calling them the books that meant the most to her while growing up. After college Katharine married early to Ernest Angell, a corporate attorney. With two children, money was soon a little short, as was their relationship. Ernest was having numerous affairs, and so was Katharine. A chance mention got Katharine a job at a magazine that was not doing well at the time, The New Yorker. Katharine charmed Harold Ross, the editor and founder, and though the magazine was losing money, Ross hired Katharine as an editor in charge of going through the slush piles. Katharine was so good that soon she was in charge of a few sections, as well as finding writers for the magazine. One of these was a young writer, E. B. White, who soon became more to Katharine. Divorcing Angell, White and Katharine married, spending the rest of their lives together. Katharine's time at the magazine was one of discovery mentoring authors, pushing established ones out of ruts, or to create something new, or just helping authors find themselves.

A very enjoyable and informative book about a woman who did much for the arts, and yet does not seem to get the praise or appreciation Katharine White deserves. This is a well written book about a woman, who loved writers, and editing, however this is not a hagiography. Reading points out a lot of troubling things in White's career, her lack of minority writers in the magazine. White's ability to write people out of her life without a thought, nor a look back. The writing is really quite good, as is the research, which must have been hard, as White had also no problem changing the record, or erasing uncomfortable reminders. Reading is also very good about the literary aspects, detailing changes in various works, discussing the relationship White had with writers, and the little things that White would do to help people.

A book that is not only a biography, but a look at the literary world of the mid-20th century. White was an amazing woman, who was dealt a rough hand, losing her mother early, health issues, bad choice in a first husband. However, Katharine White never gave up on herself, thinking she was worth it, and unlike many others, proved it in many ways. A great read, one perfect for fans of strong women, strong people, or people who enjoy well written books.