The Second John McPhee Reader (John McPhee Reader, #2) By John McPhee
McPhee is one of my favorite nonfiction writers, partly for his topical excursions and partly for his beautiful language. This collection culls selections from many of his books. He surely is the only person I could think of that could write something interesting about being a green grocer. I wasn't wild about the geography stuff. Hanging with the Swiss army was cool. A good introduction, especially to older work, if you consider trying him. John McPhee Any time I read John McPhee I come away feeling informed, entertained and possibly a better writer. Among the memorable stories in this collection dating from John McPhee Nothing in the world is like reading John McPhee. One of the most extraordinary writers in the world. Highly recommended. John McPhee John McPhee is a recent find for me. He has been writing a column for the New Yorker for over forty years, and has numerous books based on his adventures published from these columns.
This book contains snippets from many of his books written in the later years. From his adventures in Alaska, to the job he took after burning out (working with farmers selling produce in the open air markets in Manhattan), McPhee can make anything sound exciting. He is truly a magnificent writer and this is a good primer for introducing one to his world. John McPhee I love hiking, canoeing, and just hanging out with McPhee. There's not much page turning narrative to be had here, or ever, by McPhee, but the guy can take me to places any time. John McPhee
summary Ý E-book, or Kindle E-pub ´ John McPhee
This second volume of The John McPhee Reader includes material from his eleven books published since 1975, including Coming into the Country, Looking for a Ship, The Control of Nature, and the four books on geology that comprise Annals of the Former World. The Second John McPhee Reader (John McPhee Reader, #2)
★★★★☆ From Coming into the Country ( 1977 )
Giving Good Weight ( 1979 )
★★★★☆ From Good Weight
★★★★☆ From Brigade De Cuisine
★★★★☆ From Basin and Range ( 1981 )
★★★★☆ From In Suspect Terrain ( 1983 )
★★★★☆ From La Place de la Concorde Suisse ( 1984 )
Table of Contents ( 1985 )
★★★★★ Under the Snow
★★★★★ From Heirs of General Practice
★★★★★ From North of the C.P. Line
★★★★★ From Rising from the Plains ( 1986 )
The Control of Nature ( 1989 )
★★★★☆ From Los Angeles Against the Mountains
★★★★★ From Looking for a Ship ( 1990 )
★★★★★ From Assembling California ( 1993 )
★★★★☆ From The Ransom of Russian Art ( 1994 ) John McPhee Quotable:
So impressed are the Swiss with the accomplishments of Swiss in the United States that the entire top floor of the Musee des Suisses a I'Etranger, outside Geneva, is given over to the subject. There is a lovely framed photograph of the basketball team of Berne High School, in Indiana. There are snapshots, newspaper pages, and so forth from Switzerland County, Indiana... John McPhee With his detailed, on-site interviews, careful research and pinpoint writing, John McPhee can make the most mundane topic enchanting. If you don't believe me, consider what he did with flood control on the Red and Atchafalaya rivers in Louisiana, the latter a distributary of the Mississippi, in one of the chapters here. (It's pretty scary, too: without browbeating us, McPhee makes us realize that those who would control nature are in danger of having nature unexpectedly seize that control right back.) If you want to witness some really fine writing, and along the way learn about things you never realized were so important, pick up THE SECOND JOHN McPHEE READER. If anything, it's better than the first!
John McPhee Serviceable reading, though this is just part one of the second reader. I think the geology extracts would have been more comprehensible with illustrations, since he uses a lot of technical language--but the parts about greenmarkets in NYC, the Swiss army, and the haute cuisine chef at work were entertaining and informative both. The extracts from COMING INTO THE COUNTRY, about Alaska and its natives and settlers, had some high spots too. McPhee's writing comes off as well in audio as it does on the page.
Finished listening to part two of the second reader 6/1/16. Again, generally absorbing, particularly when he's talking about people. The one dud, to me, was the extract about the Loma Prieta earthquake--which was a long recitation of fragments of individual experiences....might be better on the page, but in audio it grew tedious after the first couple of dozen. John McPhee One of my favorite all time authors of non fiction. Everything he writes about, even subjects I wouldn't consider reading about and didn't know I might be interested in, are enjoyable to discover through his words! John McPhee
