- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Pimlico; New edition edition (8 Aug 1991)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 071265030X
- ISBN-13: 978-0712650304
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 892,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Concentrating on three contemporary stories of peoples battling against the earth and its elements, this book examines humankind's attempts to tame the forces of nature.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Writing at the peak of his form, McPhee carries us to the front lines of the still-raging battle between man and nature. Unflinchingly honest yet unashamedly editorial, these three long stories (they're far too engrossing to be labelled mere essays) pit relentless nature against upstart mankind in a clash of wills reminiscent of Greek tragedy. What emerges are tales of determination, folly and grim triumph; a modern mythology where nature supplies the gods and man plays himself at his imperfect best.
McPhee doesn't just write about science, he writes about people who apply and sometimes defy science in their struggle to control nature and protect themselves from the inevitable. Blending the best of Sunday-paper feature writing with the drama and penetrating insight of a fine novelist, his style is instantly addictive and immensely appealing. Timely in its science yet timeless in its depiction of the nature of man, "The Control of Nature" is exemplary writing and classic McPhee.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having completed my Master's thesis on a 300 year flood, I picked up this book to read about Old River and the Corps' struggle to hold its position. However, I found myself even more fascinated with the struggle of the Icelandic people against essentially the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (good luck) and the head-in-the-sand mentality of Southern Californians when it comes to mudslides. McPhee is as artful in explaining geology as geology is complex. When I read his descriptions of complex geological situations put into simple terms, I smile, chuckle, shake my head, and read the line over and over. I just can't believe such complex concepts can be explained so simply using the same language I use everyday.
The man is good.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
38 reviews
42 of 42 people found the following review helpful
WARNING: Approach with care -- you'll be hooked.
19 Aug 2000
Format:Paperback
A fairly detailed investigation and explanation of three locations where Man is attempting to prevent the course of Nature. The first, the attempt, so far successful, to prevent the Mississippi from changing its exit to the Gulf (it wants to go through the Atchafalaya River, substantially shorter and more attractive to the water), which change would utterly negate the entire economic geography of lower Louisiana. The second, the use of seawater pumped by the hundreds of thousands of gallons onto fresh, hot lava, to prevent said lava from overrunning and destroying the harbour and town of Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland. The third, the ongoing attempt to preserve Los Angeles from the self-destruction of the San Gabriel Mountains. All three goals are fully understandable in economic terms; what is not so clear, at least with the first and third, is how long the effort can be kept up. McPhee makes a good case that in human times, not geologic, Nature will win in both cases. One leaves the book with a feeling of excitement and pleasure in the Icelandic battle, a wonder at the power of the Mississippi and the stubbornness of the Army Corps of Engineers, and a sense of amazement at the futility and blindness of people who continue to live under the San Gabriels and hold the City liable for their foolish choices.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
An unexpected learning experience
18 Nov 1998
Format:Paperback
Having completed my Master's thesis on a 300 year flood, I picked up this book to read about Old River and the Corps' struggle to hold its position. However, I found myself even more fascinated with the struggle of the Icelandic people against essentially the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (good luck) and the head-in-the-sand mentality of Southern Californians when it comes to mudslides. McPhee is as artful in explaining geology as geology is complex. When I read his descriptions of complex geological situations put into simple terms, I smile, chuckle, shake my head, and read the line over and over. I just can't believe such complex concepts can be explained so simply using the same language I use everyday.
The man is good.
30 of 33 people found the following review helpful
My first John McPhee...and definitely won't be the last
10 Jan 2000
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
When I learned that John McPhee won a Pulitzer Prize for ANNALS OF THE FORMER WORLD, I blanched a bit at buying and reading that weighty tome. I wasn't sure about tackling it, no matter how highly recommended. Thus, I looked for a smaller volume of his to "test the waters" since I have never read anything written by him before.
I chose, almost at random, this volume, and fell in love with the man's work. McPhee definitely has a talent for writing, both in describing the often unusual people he meets in the three locales depicted, and his intelligent and witty turns of phrase.
This definitely won't be my last John McPhee book.
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