JOHN MCPHEE

Narrare la radicale stoltezza umana che muove alcune grandi imprese della tecnica: con questo scopo McPhee ha esplorato e studiato per anni i luoghi in cui l'uomo si e impegnato in una battaglia totale con la natura per conquistare cio che non e dato, per "accerchiare la base dell'Olimpo, reclamando e aspettando la resa degli dei". Un'analisi critica, con numerosi esempi reali, di come gli uomini mettano a repentaglio la loro stessa vita e non esitino ad affrontare spese colossali al solo scopo di continuare a vivere la dove la geologia e il clima sembrerebbero vietarlo.

Most people think of the American state of New Jersey as a suburban-industrial corridor that sits just west of New York City. But in the centre of the state lies a vast wilderness larger than most national parks which has been known since the seventeenth century as the Pine Barrens. The term refers to the predominant trees in the vast forests that cover the area and to the quality of the soils below, which are too sandy and acidic for farming. But below its soil rests a 17 trillion gallon aquifer which contains some of the purest water in the country, leading it to become reconginsed as both a national and an international preserve. Although New Jersey has the heaviest population density of any state in the US, huge segments of the Pine Barrens are uninhabited. The few people who do dwell in the region, the Pineys, are little known and often misunderstood. In The Pine Barrens, McPhee uses his uncanny skills as a journalist to explore the history of the region and to describe the people and their distinctive folklore who call it home. Including one who can navigate the immensely dense woods by sheer memory, and another who responds to McPhees knock on his door with a pork chop in one hand, a raw onion in the other, and the greeting Come in. Come in. Come on the hell in.

"Verano de 1968: mientras los conflictos raciales y la lucha por los derechos civiles agitan la vida de los Estados Unidos, se disputa el primer US Open de la historia. Es el nacimiento del tenis moderno y de la America contemporanea.A un lado de la red, Arthur Ashe: afroamericano, democrata, clase trabajadora, representa la nueva conciencia del pais. Su tenis es arriesgado e imprevisible. Del otro, Clark Graebner: blanco, republicano, clase alta: es la personificacion del viejo mundo que esta quedando atras. Su estilo es constante y seguro. Uno se convertira en leyenda del deporte, el otro sera olvidado. En la cumbre de sus carreras, lo unico que marcara la diferencia es el caracter de su juego: el estilo refleja al hombre, la pista es la vida y el terreno de juego de la historia."

John McPhee is celebrated in America and all but unknown in this country. The volume I love most is Coming into the Country, an account of Alaska and the Alaskans. His genius is that he can write about anything. - Robert Macfarlane In this unforgettable and astutely observed travel account, Pulitzer Prize-winner John McPhee journeys into the wild frontiers and frigid climate of Alaska - exploring the diverse terrain of this Northern US state. Travelling by foot and canoe, helicopter and dog team, McPhee traverses total wilderness, urban landscape, and the depths of the bush, drawing a rich and comprehensive history of this vast land and its varied inhabitants.With his keen eye and poetic sensibility at the helm, we paddle with McPhee through the salmon-filled waters of the Brooks Range Rivers, meet a young chief of the Athapaskan tribe, and become well-acquainted with the habits of the barren-ground grizzly bear. We encounter settlers along the way and discover the extraordinary dreams that impel them to survive in one of the most remote regions on Earth.McPhee is an endlessly curious adventurer and Coming into the Country is the work of a master storyteller. It is a reviewers greatest pleasure to ring the gong for a species of masterpiece. - New York Times Book Review McPhee has acted like an antenna in a far-off place that few will see. He has brought back a wholly satisfying voyage of spirit and mind. - Time With this book McPhee proves to be the most versatile journalist in America. - New York Times

The Pulitzer Prize-winning view of the continent, across the fortieth parallel and down through 4.6 billion years Twenty years ago, when John McPhee began his journeys back and forth across the United States, he planned to describe a cross section of North America at about the fortieth parallel and, in the process, come to an understanding not only of the science but of the style of the geologists he traveled with. The structure of the book never changed, but its breadth caused him to complete it in stages, under the overall title Annals of the Former World. Like the terrain it covers, Annals of the Former World tells a multilayered tale, and the reader may choose one of many paths through it. As clearly and succinctly written as it is profoundly informed, this is our finest popular survey of geology and a masterpiece of modern nonfiction.

Coming into the Countryis an unforgettable account of Alaska and Alaskans. It is a rich tapestry of vivid characters, observed landscapes, and descriptive narrative, in three principal segments that deal, respectively, with a total wilderness, with urban Alaska, and with life in the remoteness of the bush. Readers of McPhees earlier books will not be unprepared for his surprising shifts of scene and ordering of events, brilliantly combined into an organic whole. In the course of this volume we are made acquainted with the lore and techniques of placer mining, the habits and legends of the barren-ground grizzly, the outlook of a young Athapaskan chief, and tales of the fortitude of settlersordinary people compelled by extraordinary dreams. Coming into the Country unites a vast region of America with one of Americas notable literary craftsmen, singularly qualified to do justice to the scale and grandeur of the design.