McPhee may well be the finest (nonfiction) prose stylist alive. Maybe it's my food obsession, but I found this poss. his finest of many I've read.

The title of the book refers to the first story, about the New York green market, or farmer's market. McPhee works the booth of one of the farmers and captures the energy of the market through dialogue, descriptions of the clientele and time spent on the farm harvesting crops, touring the land and talking with the families. The dialogue at the market is especially effective at conveying the essence of working a booth.

Other stories in the book cover a plan to build a series of nuclear power plants off the coast of New Jersey, a canoe trip down the St. John's River in Maine, pinball philosophy and an extended story about a gourmet restaurant outside New York City. His range of interests and his curiosity drive each of the stories. I highly recommend this book. It is a quick read.

Especially liked the first and last essays, about a food market and a chef, respectively. Magical passages in a lot of the essays, though. Having just read some DFW, McPhee's vocabulary is clearly also quite good, but less forward and obstructive.

great book!

perfect book

I've read everything he's written. Whatever subject he chooses he makes his own. Always a great read!

Always a great read.  I've read most of John McPhee's work; not sure how I missed this one, till now.  The topics he chooses still interest me and his words and writing style  leave me asking for more.

John Mcphee does an outstanding job disecting human nature in this story of his adventures at the greenmarket. It is extremely funny! The additional stories in this collection are just icing on the cake.

Great

John McPhee was one of the New Yorker Magazine's brightest and creative writers and this anthology showcases his unique skills. HIs essay Brigade De Cuisine about a legendary dining mecca near New York, first published in 1979, lives on as one of the finests pieces of culinary literature ever. THis small book is a collector's treasure.

McPhee is, doubtless, the best essayist in America today.  This is a succinct and engaging analysis and background of farmers' markets.

John McPhee is a superb writer. His stories, may of which were published in The New Yorker Magazine, are great reads on a variety of subjects. One needn't be initially "interested" in the subject of an essay but soon will be because of his easy flowing style.