John McPhee

John Angus McPhee (born March 8, 1931) is a writer widely considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction. Like Tom Wolfe and Hunter Thompson, he helped kick-start the "new journalism" which, in the 1960s, revolutionized nonfiction by incorporating techniques from novels and other forms of fiction. McPhee avoided the attention-grabbing streams of consciousness of Wolfe and Thompson, but his detailed description of characters, insatiable appetite for details, and masterful style make his writing lively, readable, and personal, even when it focuses on obscure or difficult topics. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 529 pixelsFull resolution (2638 × 1743 pixel, file size: 742 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Photo by Office of Communications, Princeton University. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 529 pixelsFull resolution (2638 × 1743 pixel, file size: 742 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Photo by Office of Communications, Princeton University. ... is the 67th day of the year (68th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Creative nonfiction, also known as literary journalism and narrative journalism, is a type of writing which uses literary skills in the writing of nonfiction. ... Thomas Kennerly Wolfe (born March 2, 1931 in Richmond, Virginia), known as Tom Wolfe, is a best-selling American author and journalist. ... Hunter S. Thompson Hunter Stockton Thompson (born Louisville, Kentucky July 18, 1937) is an American journalist and author. ... New Journalism was the name given to a style of 1960s and 1970s news writing and journalism which used literary techniques deemed unconventional at the time. ...

Background

McPhee was born in Princeton, New Jersey, the son of the Princeton University team physician, Dr. Harry McPhee. John McPhee was educated at Princeton High School, then spent a postgraduate year at Deerfield Academy, before attending Princeton University and Cambridge University. Nassau Street, Princetons main street. ... Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States of America. ... Princeton High School (PHS) is a four-year comprehensive American public high school in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, United States. ... Deerfield Academy is a private, coeducational prep school located in Deerfield, Massachusetts. ... The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the worlds most prestigious universities. ...

Twice married, McPhee is the father of four daughters.

Writing career

His writing career began at Time magazine and led to a long association with The New Yorker beginning in 1965 and continuing to the present. Many of his twenty-nine books include material originally written for that magazine. A pocket watch, a device used to tell time Look up time in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. ...

He has received many literary honors, including the Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1999, awarded for Annals of the Former World. In 1978 McPhee received a Litt.D. from Bates College. American Academy of Arts and Letters is an organization whose goal is to foster, assist, and sustain an interest in American literature, music, and art. ... The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. ... Bates College is a private liberal arts college, founded in 1855 by abolitionists, located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. ...

McPhee's subjects, reflecting his personal interests, are highly eclectic. He has written pieces on lifting body development (The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed), the United States Merchant Marine (Looking for a Ship), farmers' markets (Giving Good Weight), the shifting flow of the Mississippi River (The Control of Nature), geology (in several books), as well as a short book entirely on the subject of oranges. One of his most widely read books is about the Alaskan wilderness (Coming into the Country). His newest book, Uncommon Carriers, published 16 May 2006, is about freight transportation. The lifting body is an aircraft configuration where the body itself produces lift. ... Source: This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain. ... For the river in Canada, see Mississippi River (Ontario). ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Orange blossoms and oranges on tree For other uses of orange, see orange (disambiguation) The Orange Citrus x sinensis is a Citrus tree, and the fruits of this tree. ...

McPhee has profiled a number of famous people, including conservationist David Brower and the young Bill Bradley, whom McPhee followed closely during Bradley's four-year basketball career at Princeton University. The resulting book, A Sense of Where You Are, is a classic of non-fiction writing -- a literary craftsman's admiring profile of a basketball craftsman. But some of McPhee's most memorable work describes people who work out of the limelight: a builder of birch bark canoes (Henri Vaillancourt), a bush pilot, and a French-speaking wine maker in the Swiss army. Almost all of his works have a human interest flavor, though their underlying topics are varied. David Ross Brower (July 1, 1912 – November 5, 2000) was the founder of many environmentalist organizations including the Sierra Club Foundation, the John Muir Institute for Environmental Studies, Friends of the Earth (1969), the League of Conservation Voters, Earth Island Institute (1982), North Cascades Conservation Council, and Fate of... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States of America. ... A wood-and-canvas canoe evokes the heritage of canoeing in North America. ... Human interest news articles are about particular individuals or groups of people. ...

Teaching

McPhee is also a renowned nonfiction writing instructor at Princeton University, having taught generations of aspiring undergraduate writers, many of whom have achieved distinction in literature and journalism. Among his former students are David Remnick, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and current editor of The New Yorker; Richard Stengel and Jim Kelly, the current and former managing editors of Time Magazine; journalist Robert Wright, former senior editor at The New Republicand columnist for Time, Slate and the New York Times, and author of award-winning books; and Peter Hessler, The New Yorker's China correspondent. McPhee still teaches his writing seminar two years out of every three, and taught most recently during the spring 2006 semester. Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States of America. ... David Remnick is an American journalist, writer, and magazine editor. ... The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. ... Richard Rick Stengel is TIME’s 16th Managing Editor. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... Robert Wright. ... For other uses, see the New Republic disambiguation page. ... A pocket watch, a device used to tell time Look up time in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Slate Thick slate fragment Slate roof Slate is a fine-grained, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low grade regional metamorphism. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... Peter Hessler is an American writer and a journalist. ... The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. ...

Awards

• Pulitzer Prize (1999) for Annals of the Former World.
• Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1977).
• nominated, National Book Award (science) for The Curve of Binding Energy.
• nominated, National Book Award (science) for Encounters With the Archdruid.

The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. ... American Academy of Arts and Letters is an organization whose goal is to foster, assist, and sustain an interest in American literature, music, and art. ... The National Book Awards is one of the most preeminent literary prizes in the United States. ... The National Book Awards is one of the most preeminent literary prizes in the United States. ...

Books by John McPhee

John McPhee is widely recognized for his writing on geology. Four previous volumes, published together with new material as Annals of the Former World, were honored with the 1999 Pulitzer Prize.

A Sense of Where You Are (1965), John McPhee's first book, was a profile of Princeton senior (and future pro basketball star) Bill Bradley.

Oranges, published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 1967, was John McPhee's third book.

The Ransom of Russian Art (1994) tells the story of Norton Dodge, an American collector of Soviet dissident art. John McPhee's twenty-fourth book.

• A Sense of Where You Are (1965) ISBN 0-374-51485-2
• The Headmaster (1966) ISBN 0-374-16860-1
• Oranges (1967) ISBN 0-374-22688-1
• The Pine Barrens (1968) ISBN 0-374-23360-8.
• A Roomful of Hovings and Other Profiles ISBN 0-374-51501-8 (collection, 1969)
• Levels of the Game (1969) ISBN 0-374-51526-3. Explores the relationship between two champion tennis players.
• The Crofter and the Laird (1969) ISBN 0-374-13192-9
• Encounters with the Archdruid (1972) ISBN 0-374-14822-8.
• The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed (1973)ISBN 0-374-51635-9. Story of the Aereon, a combination aerodyne / aerostat a.k.a. hybrid airship.
• The Curve of Binding Energy (1974) ISBN 0-374-13373-5
• Pieces of the Frame (collection, 1975) ISBN 0-374-51498-4
• The Survival of the Bark Canoe (1975) ISBN 0-374-27207-7
• The John McPhee Reader (collection, 1977) ISBN 0-374-17992-1
• Coming into the Country (1977) ISBN 0-374-52287-1
• Giving Good Weight (collection, 1979) ISBN 0-374-16306-5
• Basin and Range (1981) ISBN 0-374-10914-1. Republished in Annals of the Former World.
• In Suspect Terrain (1983) ISBN 0-374-17650-7. Republished in Annals of the Former World.
• La Place de la Concorde Suisse (1984) ISBN 0-374-51932-3
• Table of Contents (collection, 1985) ISBN 0-374-52008-9
• Rising from the Plains (1986) ISBN 0-374-25082-0. Republished in Annals of the Former World.
• Heirs of General Practice (1986) ISBN 0-374-51974-9
• The Control of Nature (1989) ISBN 0-374-12890-1
• Looking for a Ship (1990) ISBN 0-374-19077-1
• Assembling California (1993) ISBN 0-374-52393-2. Republished in Annals of the Former World.
• The Ransom of Russian Art (1994) ISBN 0-374-24682-3
• The Second John McPhee Reader (1996) ISBN 0-374-52463-7
• Irons in the Fire (1997) ISBN 0-374-17726-0
• Annals of the Former World (1998) ISBN 0-374-10520-0. Compilation of five stories on geology. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1999.
• The Founding Fish (2002) ISBN 0-374-10444-1
• The American Shad: Selections from the Founding Fish (2004) ISBN 1-886967-14-8
• Uncommon Carriers (2006) ISBN 0-374-28039-8

This image is a book cover. ... This image is a book cover. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... See also: 1998 in literature, other events of 1999, 2000 in literature, list of years in literature. ... The Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction has been awarded since 1962 for a distinguished book of non-fiction by an American author that is not eligible for consideration in any other category. ... This image is a book cover. ... This image is a book cover. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This image is a book cover. ... This image is a book cover. ... See also: 1966 in literature, other events of 1967, 1968 in literature, list of years in literature. ... This image is a book cover. ... This image is a book cover. ... See also: 1993 in literature, other events of 1994, 1995 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Founder of the Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection of Soviet Nonconformist Art, Norton Townshend Dodge was born in Oklahoma City in 1927. ... is a book by John McPhee profiling Frank Boyden, the headmaster of Deerfield Academy, which grew out of a magazine profile in The New Yorker. ... The Pine Barrens is a 1968 book by John McPhee about the history, people, and biology of the New Jersey Pine Barrens that originally appeared in The New Yorker in 1967. ... Levels of the Game is a 1969 book by John McPhee, nominally about tennis and tennis players, but exploring deeper issues as well. ... Encounters with the Archdruid is a book by environmentalist author John McPhee. ... The AEREON 26 was an experimental aircraft developed to investigate lifting body design with a view to using its shape to create hybrid designs, part airship, part conventional aircraft. ... An aerodyne is a heavier-than-air aircraft with a lifting body; as opposed to an aeroplane (which uses wings for lift) or an aerostat (which uses buoyancy, such as a balloon). ... USS Akron (ZRS-4) in flight, November 2, 1931 An airship or dirigible is a buoyant lighter-than-air aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Scars formed by debris flow in greater Los Angeles during the winter of 1968-1969. ... The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. ...

Articles by John McPhee

• Rip Van Golfer -- Notes from Oakmont. The New Yorker (6 August 2007), 26-34.
• Season on the Chalk. The New Yorker (12 March 2007), 58-71.
• Land of the Diesel Bear. The New Yorker (28 November 2005), 116ff.
• Coal Train -- II. The New Yorker (10 October 2005), 62ff.
• Coal Train -- I. The New Yorker (3 October 2005), 72ff.
• Out in the Sort. The New Yorker (18 April 2005), 161ff.
• Tight-Assed River. The New Yorker (15 November 2004), 80ff.
• 1839/2003. The New Yorker (15 December 2003), 71ff.
• Whiff. The New Yorker (10 November 2003), 50.
• The Tee Room. The New Yorker 79:6 (31 March 2003), 49-52, 54-8.
• A Fleet of One. The New Yorker 79:1 (14-21 February 2003), 48-63.
• Sapidissima. The New Yorker 78:24 (19 August 2002), 80 ff.
• Absent Without Leave. The New Yorker 78:15 (10 June 2002), 40-47.
• A Selective Advantage. The New Yorker 76 (11 September 2000) 70-82.
• They're in the River. The New Yorker 76:7 (10 April 2000), 72 ff.
• The Control of Nature: Farewell to the Nineteenth Century -- The Breaching of Edwards Dam. The New Yorker 75:28 (27 September 1999), 44-53.
• Catch-and-Dissect. The New Yorker 74:32 (19 October 1998), 58ff.
• The Ships of Port Revel. Atlantic Monthly, 282: 4 (October 1998) 67ff.
• Swimming with Canoes. The New Yorker, 74:23 (10 August 1998) 33ff.
• Warming the Jump Seat. Deerfield Magazine 54:3 (Summer 1997), 20.
• Silk Parachute. The New Yorker, 73:11 (12 May 1997), 108 ff.
• The Gravel Page. The New Yorker 71:46 (29 January 1996), 44ff.
• Other Snows. The New Yorker 71:45 (22 January 1996), 90ff.
• New Yorker Index 1992: Opening the Stacks. The New Yorker 69 (22 February 1993), 83ff.
• The Ransom of Russian Art. The New Yorker, 70:33 (17 October 1994), 78ff.
• Irons in the Fire. The New Yorker 69:43 (20 December 1993), 94ff.
• Don't Scare Them off. Discover 14:11 (November 1993), 95ff.
• Duty of Care. The New Yorker 69:19 (28 June 1993) 72ff.
• Water War. The New Yorker 69:10 (26 April 1993), 120ff.
• Arthur Ashe Remembered. The New Yorker 69:2 (1 March 1993), 57ff.
• Remembering Mr. Shawn.The New Yorker (December 28 1992), 137.
• Annals of the Former World: Assembling California -- III. The New Yorker 68:31 (21 September 1992), 39ff.
• Annals of the Former World: Assembling California -- II. The New Yorker 68:30 (14 September 1992), 44ff.
• Annals of the Former World: Assembling California -- I. The New Yorker 68:29 (7 September 1992), 36ff.
• Outcroppings. National Parks 65 (September / October 1991), 54-5.
• Looking for a Ship, Part I. The New Yorker 66 (26 March 1990) 40-4.
• Looking for a Ship, Part II. The New Yorker 66 (2 April 1990) 46-8.
• Looking for a Ship, Part III. The New Yorker 66 (9 April 1990) 40-4.
• Travels of the Rock. The New Yorker 66 (26 February 1990) 108-17.
• Rinard at Manheim. The New Yorker 65 (4 December 1989), 150-2.
• Los Angeles Against the Mountains -- I. The New Yorker 64 (26 September 1988), 45-8.
• Los Angeles Against the Mountains -- II. The New Yorker 64 (3 October 1988), 72-90.
• The Control of Nature: Cooling the Lava -- I. The New Yorker 64 (22 February 1988), 43ff.
• The Control of Nature: Cooling the Lava -- II The New Yorker 64 (29 February 1988), 64ff.
• Release. The New Yorker Reprinted in Irons in the Fire (New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1997), 57-67.
• In Virgin Forest. The New Yorker (6 July 1987), 21-23.
• Atchafalaya. The New Yorker 63 (23 February 1987), 39-44.
• Rising From the Plains -- I. The New Yorker 62 (24 February 1986), 38-42.
• Rising From the Plains -- II. The New Yorker 62 (3 March 1986) 41-2.
• /Rising From the Plains -- III. The New Yorker 62 (10 March 1986), 70-82.
• Heirs of General Practice. The New Yorker (23 July 1984), 40-85.
• Our Far-Flung Correspondents: Open Man. The New Yorker 59 (10 October 1983), 108 ff.
• Riding the Boom Extension. The New Yorker (4 August 1980) 36-48.
• Annals of the Former World -- I. The New Yorker (20 October 1980), 58-136.
• Annals of the Former World -- II. The New Yorker (27 October 1980), 57-155.
• The Upper 1. Vogue (April 1979), 248, 315.
• The Encircled River. Living Wilderness 41 (October 1977), 24-41.
• Brigade de Cuisine. The New Yorker (19 February 1979), 43 ff.
• A Reporter at Large: Giving Good Weight. The New Yorker 54 (3 July 1978), 36-8+.
• The Encircled River. Living Wilderness 41 (July 1977), 44-60.
• Pine Barrens. Horticulture (January 1977), 57-63.
• A Reporter at Large: The Encircled River -- I. The New Yorker 53 (2 May 1977)
• A Reporter at Large: The Encircled River -- II. The New Yorker 53 (9 May 1977)
• A Reporter at Large: Coming into the Country -- I. The New Yorker 53 (20 June 1977)
• A Reporter at Large: Coming into the Country -- II. The New Yorker 53 (27 June 1977)
• A Reporter at Large: Coming into the Country -- III. The New Yorker 53 (4 July 1977)
• A Reporter at Large: Coming into the Country -- IV. The New Yorker 53 (11 July 1977)
• Pine Barrens. Horticulture 55 (January 1977)
• The Keel of Lake Dickey. Living Wilderness 40 (October-December 1976)
• A Reporter at Large: The Keel of Lake Dickey. The New Yorker 52 (3 May 1976)
• A Reporter at Large: What They Were Hunting For -- I. The New Yorker 52 (27 September 1976)
• A Reporter at Large: What They Were Hunting For -- II. The New Yorker 52 (4 October 1976)
• Our local correspondents: The Pinball Philosophy. The New Yorker 52 (30 June 1975)
• The Keel of Lake Dickey. The New Yorker (3 May 1976), 43-73
• The Forager. The New York Times (10 January 1976), 25.
• A Reporter at Large: The Atlantic Generating Station. The New Yorker 51 (12 May 1975)
• A Reporter at Large: Survival of the Bark Canoe -- I. The New Yorker 51 (24 February 1975)
• A Reporter at Large: Survival of the Bark Canoe -- II. The New Yorker 51 (3 Mr 1975), 41-8ff. Ruidoso. The New Yorker (29 April 1974), 83-112.
• Firewood. The New Yorker 50 (25 March 1974)
• People of New Jersey's Pine Barrens. National Geographic 145 (January 1974), 52-77.
• The Curve of Binding Energy -- I. The New Yorker (3 December 1973), 54-145.
• The Curve of Binding Energy -- II. The New Yorker (10 December 1973), 50-108.
• The Curve of Binding Energy -- III. The New Yorker (17 December 1973), 60-97.
• Thrilling Sights: Love Games of Birds. Vogue 162 (July 1973) 67
• Tennis. New York Times Book Review (10 June 1973), 1, 14, 16.
• Profiles: Travels in Georgia. The New Yorker 49 (28 April 1973)
• The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed -- I. The New Yorker (10 February 1973) 40-73.
• The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed -- II. The New Yorker (17 February 1973), 42-77.
• The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed -- III. The New Yorker (24 February 1973), 48.79.
• A Reporter at Large: The Search for Marvin Gardens. The New Yorker 48 (9 September 1972)
• Profiles: Ranger. The New Yorker 47 (11 September 1971)
• Centre Court. Playboy (June 1971), 102-104, 246, 248, 250.
• Profiles: Encounters With the Archdruid I: A Mountain. The New Yorker 47 (20 March 1971)
• Profiles: Encounters With the Archdruid II: An Island. The New Yorker 47 (27 March 1971)
• Profiles: Encounters With the Archdruid III: A River. The New Yorker 47 (3 April 1971)
• Reading the River. The New Yorker (21 March 1970), 126-123.
• Our Far-Flung Correspondents: From Birnam Wood to Dunsinane. The New Yorker 46 (10 October 1970)
• Good Scotch Needs Gloom, Fog, Rain, but What About Josie's Well? Holiday (January 1970), 66, 70-73
• The Island of the Crofter and the Laird -- I. The New Yorker (6 December 1969), 69-165.
• The Island of the Crofter and the Laird -- II. The New Yorker (13 December 1969), 61-112.
• Pieces of the Frame. Atlantic Monthly 225 (January 1970), 42-47.
• Levels of the Game -- I. The New Yorker (7 June 1969) 45-111.
• Levels of the Game -- II. The New Yorker (14 June 1969) 44-81.
• Profiles: A Forager. The New Yorker 44 (6 April 1968)
• Profiles: The Lawns of Wimbledon. The New Yorker 44 (22 June 1968), 32-57.
• Ruth, the Sun is Shining. Playboy (April 1968), 114-116, 126, 186.
• Templex. The New Yorker (6 January 1968), 32-67.
• Eucalyptus Trees. Reporter 37 (19 October 1967), 36-9.
• Profiles: The Pine Barrens -- I. The New Yorker 43 (25 November 1967), 67-8ff.
• Profiles: The Pine Barrens -- II. The New Yorker 43 (2 December 1967), 66-8ff.
• A Reporter at Large: Fifty-two People on a Continent. The New Yorker 42 (5 March 1966)
• A Reporter at Large: Oranges -- I. The New Yorker 42 (7 May 1966)
• A Reporter at Large: Oranges -- II. The New Yorker 42 (14 May 1966)
• The Headmaster. The New Yorker 42 (19 March 1966)
• A Sense of Where You Are. The New Yorker 40 (23 January 1965)
• Speaking Out: Burn Those Worthless Cookbooks. Saturday Evening Post 237 (3 October 1964)
• Basketball and Beefeaters. The New Yorker (16 March 1963) 186-194.
• The Fair of San Gennaro. Transatlantic Review (Winter 1961) 117-128.
• It's Collegiate -- but is it Humor? New York Times Magazine (25 May 1952), 17, 58.

External links

• publisher's official web site

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

John McPhee