Author of:
- Encounters with the Archdruid (1971): Narratives about a conservationist and three of his 'natural' enemies ISBN 0374514313
- The Survival of the Bark Canoe (1975): A 150 mile journey with Henri Vaillancourt who makes birch bark canoes using the same tools as originally used by Native Americans
- Basin and Range (1980): Travels with a geologist across the western US Basin and Range ISBN 0374516901
- The Control of Nature (1989): Three long essays on places in the world where men are battling to keep natural forces at bay ISBN 0374522596
- Irons in the Fire (1997): A collection of short pieces about diverse topics: cattle brand inspectors in Nevada, the world's largest tire dump, the travels of Plymouth Rock, and "forensic geologists" who use their knowledge of geology to solve crimes ISBN 0374525455
- Annals of the Former World (1998): an omnibus edition of his four books on North American geology: Basin and Range, In Suspect Terrain (about the Appalachians), Rising from the Plains (about the Rockies), and Assembling California (about the geologic history of that state). Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction. ISBN 0374518734
- La Place de la Concorde Suisse (1988): a look at Switzerland through its army. ISBN 0374519323
- Looking For a Ship : This is an extraordinary tale of life aboard what may be one of the last American merchant ships. Hardcover: ISBN 0374190771 , Paper: ISBN 0374523193
Possibly his most important book, since 9/11, is The Curve of Binding Energy ISBN 0374515980
20 years ago, he explored with physicist and nuclear weapons designer Ted Taylor how easy it would be for a terrorist to construct such a compact weapon, given some competence and a lot of perseverance. One of the scenarios discussed is bringing down WTC with a small nuke -- ClaudeMuncey
He has a web site: http://www.johnmcphee.com/
JohnMcPhee is my favorite author. He seems to deliberately challenge himself by choosing topics that most people would find dull; he finds ways to make them interesting. He knows something that the BBC also knows: to make a topic interesting, find someone who is fascinated with that topic and let them go. McPhee's books usually turn out to be partly an exposition of the topic at hand, and partly a profile of one or a few people he encountered whose lives revolve around that topic. The people are fascinating, and their love for the topic is usually infectious. -- GlennVanderburg
La Place de la Concorde Suisse is the only one of his books that I have read but it is a wonderful piece of writing, informative and insightful. -- RobertField
CategoryAuthor PleaseMoveThisToTheAdjunct?
John Mc Phee