I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13877104

A collection of varied essays on subjects as wide ranging as farmer's markets, pinball, the St. John River, and a world class chef (unnamed).

Collection of articles written during the late 1970's. Time of environmental movement and oil embargos (then Northeast depended on oil heating). Also when food choice (natural vs. processed) was becoming important. McPhee immerses himself in these articles while giving profiles of interesting, albeit anonymous, people, a great deal of information about truck farming, nuclear power stations, canoeing on a wild river, gourmet cooking, food shopping and pinball. And lists, lots and lots of lists.

Fine writing and a slice of the 1970s. McPhee goes all-in when he tackles a story. The last story, in the collection, Brigade de Cuisine, reads like a novel, all the way to the end.

His writing, as always, enlivens the commonplace while illuminating it: farmers' markets, nuclear power research, pinball, canoeing in northern Maine, and a New York chef.

Marvelous descriptions of diverse peoples and places in the melting pot of America.
Diverse and mind-opening. Enjoyable reading!

Typical John McPhee, which I like, going into great detail about farmers markets in the New York City area.

I picked up this collection of John McPhee essays this summer because I'd seen the title essay quoted a couple times in current periodicals. Forty years after they were written, they did not disappoint.

John McPhee is a great writer - pure and simple. His style is that of a reporter. One that enmeshes himself in his subject and writes from the heart. This book is diverse and always interesting. From farmer's markets in New York City, to the possibility of creation of a floating nuclear reactor off of New Jersey, to a chef at a small inn in New York. Fabulous writing. (Oh, and from the 1970's...)

7 / 10

Inconsistent, but when it works it truly is great. While I found the middle three stories to be mostly aimless and forgettable, the first and last were phenomenal. McPhee has a totally distinct voice that, when it seems like he's passionate about the subject matter, can create something beautiful.

The title story is scattershot in a wonderfully rewarding way. The frequent jumps between place and subject, with the seemingly never ending din of demanding customers is a perfect fit with the subject matter itself. McPhee is able to capture the actual feeling of a farmer's market, while also exploring the stories and history of those involved. It's a perfect opening and a fantastic introduction to McPhee as a writer.

Brigade de Cuisine, the final and my favourite of the stories, narrows its focus slightly, but loses nothing for it. This is as true a depiction I've ever seen of genuine artistic and creative passion that, by necessity, is expressed in an almost overwhelmingly stressful way. The final, extended section focusing on one specific night in the kitchen with Otto is both beautiful and tense, and really is one of those moments that makes you question this being non-fiction. McPhee just manages to express something that he presumably has no real experience in with such depth, it really is remarkable.

It's a shame that the other three stories didn't land for me, because if they had reached similar heights of the ones that did, this would be among my favourite reads of the year. But still, 150ish pages of great writing was well worth my time.

Like many of McPhee's books this is a group of sketches about people or things that under normal circumstances go unexplained. A nuclear power plant to be built on an island, a Maine River, the NY Greenmarket, and a nameless chef. His writing is so crystalline that I often find myself trying to craft sentences in McPhee-esque clarity.

Thinning my book shelves I got sidetracked re-reading a book I read many years ago. I still enjoyed most of it though I've grown a bit less patient with some of the detail. The title essay Giving Good Weight, about an early farmer's market in 1970's NYC is still my favorite. At the time of first reading I worked in at the Pike Place Market here so it resonated deeply with me.
My other favorite Brigade to Cuisine was still interesting though my fantasy of having such a restaurant as described has long faded. Too much work!