How did I get this far along in my life without discovering John McPhee? Just in time for a locked-down reading binge!

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...

I enjoyed the portions pertaining to geology.

Maybe it's the unappealing cover or maybe it's the writing style, but this book didn't appeal to me. I really wanted to like it but just couldn't get there. I quit after 3 chapters/stories.

All around a joy to read. Sparks inquisitiveness and awe toward the world around us.

Selections from stories about the Swiss Army, farmers markets in New York, and the geology of New Jersey. Reading McPhee is always educational.

Want to read more of The Control of Nature.

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.

"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

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!

A pleasant collection of charming passages.

THis guy is a great observer and writer.