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A review by darwin8u
Annals of the Former World by John McPhee
5.0
If by some fiat, I had to restrict all this writing to one sentence; this is the one I would choose: the summit of Mount Everest is marine limestone.”
― John McPhee, Annals of the Former World
What I absolutely love about McPhee's nonfiction is his ability to write about place, people and ideas with both beautiful prose and amazing intimacy. My favorite parts are where McPhee weaves place and people, or people and ideas together and establishes the grand metaphor for his book. McPhee picks up pieces of conversation with geologists and their satelites that might get missed by most other writers, but manages to find, keep and eventually place these nuggets into his book (written over 20 years) in a way that works to support his big themes.
Seriously, this book is one of my favorite nonfiction works of all time. You can see the mark McPhee left on his students' writing if you've ever read [a:Robert Wright|57798|Robert Wright|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1242994827p2/57798.jpg], [a:Richard Preston|9996|Richard Preston|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1328565865p2/9996.jpg] or New Yorker editor [a:David Remnick|29303|David Remnick|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1337904071p2/29303.jpg]. Some consider McPhee to be the godfather of New New Journalism, but he is much more than that. IMHO, he is the godfather of modern nonfiction writing, period.
― John McPhee, Annals of the Former World
What I absolutely love about McPhee's nonfiction is his ability to write about place, people and ideas with both beautiful prose and amazing intimacy. My favorite parts are where McPhee weaves place and people, or people and ideas together and establishes the grand metaphor for his book. McPhee picks up pieces of conversation with geologists and their satelites that might get missed by most other writers, but manages to find, keep and eventually place these nuggets into his book (written over 20 years) in a way that works to support his big themes.
Seriously, this book is one of my favorite nonfiction works of all time. You can see the mark McPhee left on his students' writing if you've ever read [a:Robert Wright|57798|Robert Wright|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1242994827p2/57798.jpg], [a:Richard Preston|9996|Richard Preston|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1328565865p2/9996.jpg] or New Yorker editor [a:David Remnick|29303|David Remnick|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1337904071p2/29303.jpg]. Some consider McPhee to be the godfather of New New Journalism, but he is much more than that. IMHO, he is the godfather of modern nonfiction writing, period.