Annals of the Former World

Posted on 21 August 2018 by John McPhee

The Pulitzer Prize winning view of the continent, across the fortieth parallel and down through 4.6 billion yearsTwenty 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 Annals of the Former World is the winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction. New Download Annals of the Former World By John McPhee For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr Absolutely, bar none, the finest work of American natural science that I ve ever read McPhee has the eye of a scientist and the soul of a poet, and it makes for truly astonishing writing I don t like to pile on the superlatives, but this is probably one of my ten favorite books of all time. If by some fiat, I had to restrict all this writing to one sentence this is the one I would choose the summit of Mount Everest is marine limestoneJohn McPhee, Annals of the Former WorldWhat I absolutely love about McPhee s nonfiction is his ability to write about place, people and ideas with both beautiful prose and amazing intimacy My favorite parts are where McPhee weaves place and people, or people and ideas together and establishes the grand metaphor for his book McPhee picks up pie If by some fiat, I had to restrict all this writing to one sentence this is the one I would choose the summit of Mount Everest is marine limestoneJohn McPhee, Annals of the Former WorldWhat I absolutely love about McPhee s nonfiction is his ability to write about place, people and ideas with both beautiful prose and amazing intimacy My favorite parts are where McPhee weaves place and people, or people and ideas together and establishes the grand metaphor for his book McPhee picks up pieces of conversation with geologists and their satelites that might get missed by most other writers, but manages to find, keep and eventually place these nuggets into his book written over 20 years in a way that works to support his big themes Seriously, this book is one of my favorite nonfiction works of all time You can see the mark McPhee left on his students writing if you ve ever read Robert Wright, Richard Preston or New Yorker editor David Remnick Some consider McPhee to be the godfather ...I m glad I m not beyond the age where books I read can change the way I see the world If that is an age you can reach, I don t want to I can t even drive down the highway now without seeing something as simple as roadcuts in a whole different light I ve said this before, but in another life, I must have been a geologist Or like McPhee, at least making a study...This was my first foray into John McPhee s work And a weighty foray it was This hefty tome consists of four previously published McPhee books assembled into one spine, augmented with a fifth chapter.McPhee s often staccato prose takes the reader on a tour of the geology of the lower 48, as seen largely in the roadcuts of Interstate 80, separated into five major segments the Appalachians, the Midwest, Wyoming, Nevada, and California Although I found myself lacking an understanding of variou This was my first foray into John McPhee s work And a weighty foray it was This hefty tome consists of four previously published McPhee books assembled into one spine, augmented with a fifth chapter.McPhee s often staccato prose takes the reader on a tour of the geology of the lower 48, as seen largely in the roadcuts of Interstate 80, separated into five major segments the Appalachians, the Midwest, Wyoming, Nevada, and California Although I found myself lacking an understanding of various exotic rock names as I read serpentine gabbro , McPhee successfully weaves into his description of the physical world a fantastic, much larger, andprofound story that s compelling and universal McPhee uses the rock in North America to motivate explorations of plate tectonics, the history of geology, and even to some extent the development...As a geology major, a former gold miner, and finally as a hydrogeologist, the earth and its water have always fascinated me Reading John McPhee is always a delight because he takes what remains mostly a poorly done body of work in mostly scientific terms and turns an explanation of how the earth came to be into a readable and engaging topic Something just about anyone can enjoy pro...It may seem odd, but this book takes my breath away and makes me feel alive It is about geology, and how McPhee spent years with geologists trying to make sense of the science and present it in an interesting and engaging way I think they call it big picture geology and it is one of my favorite topics in life I love most the paragraphs where he takes us from New Jersey to California say in Triassic time 250 million years ago and describes the terrain then turns us around 200 million year It may seem odd, but this book takes my breath away and makes me feel alive It is about geology, and how McPhee spent years with geologists trying to make sense of the science and present it in an interesting and engaging way I think they call it big picture geology and it is one of my favorite topics in life I love most the paragraphs where he takes us from New Jersey to California say in Triassic time 250 million years ago and describes the terrain ...I ve only read parts of this book, since there are many different books included in this version of his geologic exploration of a cross section of the US I have a few things to say 1 Read Rising from the Plains as you re driving in the Tetons 2 Read any other section as you re driving in the area described Your road trip will become something entirely different if you can see what you re reading about 3 Read these books when you re planning a trip to any of the areas discussed 4 Ju I ve only read parts of this book, since there are many different books included in this version of his geologic exploration of a cross section of the US I have a few things to say 1 Read Rising from the Plains as you re driving...A most excellent remedy for insomnia, and speaking as a sufferer I do not mean that pejoratively The perfect book for reading a little bit at bedtime every night, easy to pick up and put down, but still worth the reading It lasted me about 6 weeks not sure what I ll use now Well, I suppose there s still E O Wilson s The Ants, but I m...This book has a rhythm unlike anything else I ve read, just like geology has a timescale that takes some time to wrap your head around It s like an opera Geology and opera both have a reputation of being long and boring, but they are also majestic and complex This book is long, but it s not boring For a while, when I first started this book, my three year old wanted me to read every other page to her the wor...Probably one of the best books I have ever read Be prepared for some geologic rigamarole and a sense of patience and the timeline of ages will unfold Its a compilation of all of McPhee s writings about American continental Geology I know, sounds dull, but he uses the lives and characters of the Geologists whose work he is describing along with the massive narrative arc of plate tectonics and the history of the science itself The story of America s westward expansion along with the Romantic e Probably one of the best books I have ever read Be prepared for some geologic rigamarole and a sense of patience and the timeline of ages will unfold Its a compilation of all of McPhee s writings about American continental Geology I know, sounds dull, but he uses the lives and characters of the Geologists whose work he is describing along with the massive narrative arc of plate tectonics and the history of the science itself The story of America s westward expansion along with the Romantic era of northeastern Americ...

English
21 August 2018

John McPhee