Book #9: The Control of Nature - by John McPhee

• Trevor Jones
• 9/29/15
• 
  
• File Size: 825 KB
• Print Length: 290 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Reprint edition (April 1, 2011)
• Publication Date: April 1, 2011
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005E8AJT0

Professional Review: 

"Some of his passages left me gasping for breath…This book gave me more pure enjoyment than anything I've read in a long time."

--Christopher Shaw, The Washington Post Book World

Customer Review: 

"The Control of Nature is a collection of three long esssays about people trying to engineer their way around forces of nature. The first one about control of the Mississippi river to keep it in the current streambed, the second about anticipating volcanic activity in Iceland and the last one dealing with the literal moving of mountains as Los Angeles population pressure pushes people to bulid in the San Gaberial Mountains of California. McPhee, as always, tries to stay in the background and let the participants speak on the page, but there is no mistaking his memorably vivid descriptions of people or nature. His prose are first rate with an eye for compelling detail. The book itself is a quick, thrilling read that leaves the reader with a better understanding of unsung heroes and follies. My favorite McPhee. A warning about some of McPhee's other books: My eyes seem to always glaze over when I attempt one of his "rock talk" full length books on geology."

Why I chose this book:

I chose this book because it tells of the many ways that people have tried to control nature. This book teaches the readers about the strategies that humans used over the years in order to make use out of, and control the environment.