Book : Coming Into The Country - McPhee, John

-Titulo Original : Coming Into The Country

-Fabricante :

Farrar, Straus And Giroux

-Descripcion Original:

Review Residents of the Lower 48 sometimes imagine Alaska as a snow-covered land of igloos, oil pipelines, and polar bears. But Alaska is far more complex geographically, culturally, ecologically, and politically than most Americans know, and few writers are as capable of capturing this complexity as John McPhee. In Coming into the Country, McPhee describes his travels through much of the state with bush pilots, prospectors, and settlers, as well as politicians and businesspeople who have their eyes set on a very different future for the state. Coming into the Country is 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 settlers ordinary 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. Review “It is a reviewers greatest pleasure to ring the gong for a species of masterpiece.” Edward Hoagland, The New York Times Book Review“Justly celebrated…By showing us what Alaska is like, McPhee reminds us of what we have become.” The Washington Post Book World“What is really in view in Coming into the Country is a matter not usually met in works of reportage . . . nothing less than the nature Of the human condition.” Benjamin De Mott, The Atlantic Monthly“McPhee has acted as an antenna in a far-off place that few will see. He has brought back a wholly satisfying voyage of spirit and mind.” Paul Grey, Time“With this book McPhee proves to be the most versatile journalist in America.” Editors Choice, The New York Times About the Author John McPhee was born in Princeton, New Jersey, and was educated at Princeton University and Cambridge University. His writing career began at Time magazine and led to his long association with The New Yorker, where he has been a staff writer since 1965. Also in 1965, he published his first book, A Sense of Where You Are, with Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and in the years since, he has written over 30 books, including Oranges (1967), Coming into the Country (1977), The Control of Nature (1989), The Founding Fish (2002), Uncommon Carriers (2007), and Silk Parachute (2011). Encounters with the Archdruid (1972) and The Curve of Binding Energy (1974) were nominated for National Book Awards in the category of science. McPhee received the Award in Literature from the Academy of Arts and Letters in 1977. In 1999, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Annals of the Former World. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Coming into the CountryBy John McPheeFarrar, Straus and GirouxCopyright © 1977 John McPheeAll rights reserved.ISBN: 978-0-374-52287-2ContentsTitle Page, BOOK I-AT THE NORTHERN TREE LINE - THE ENCIRCLED RIVER, BOOK II-IN URBAN ALASKA - WHAT THEY WERE HUNTING FOR, BOOK III-IN THE BUSH - COMING INTO THE COUNTRY, BY JOHN MCPHEE, Copyright Page, CHAPTER 1AT THE NORTHERN TREE LINETHE ENCIRCLED RIVERMy bandanna is rolled on the diagonal and retains water fairly well. I keep it knotted around my head, and now and again dip it into the river. The water is forty-six degrees. Against the temples, it is refrigerant and relieving. This has done away with the headaches that the sun caused in days before. The Arctic