JOHN MCPHEE

Narrare la radicale stoltezza umana che muove alcune grandi imprese della tecnica: con questo scopo McPhee ha esplorato e studiato per anni i luoghi in cui l'uomo si e impegnato in una battaglia totale con la natura per conquistare cio che non e dato, per "accerchiare la base dell'Olimpo, reclamando e aspettando la resa degli dei". Un'analisi critica, con numerosi esempi reali, di come gli uomini mettano a repentaglio la loro stessa vita e non esitino ad affrontare spese colossali al solo scopo di continuare a vivere la dove la geologia e il clima sembrerebbero vietarlo.

Coming into the Countryis 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 McPhee's 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 America's notable literary craftsmen, singularly qualified to do justice to the scale and grandeur of the design.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning view of the continent, across the fortieth parallel and down through 4.6 billion years Twenty 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.

"Verano de 1968: mientras los conflictos raciales y la lucha por los derechos civiles agitan la vida de los Estados Unidos, se disputa el primer US Open de la historia. Es el nacimiento del tenis moderno y de la America contemporanea.A un lado de la red, Arthur Ashe: afroamericano, democrata, clase trabajadora, representa la nueva conciencia del pais. Su tenis es arriesgado e imprevisible. Del otro, Clark Graebner: blanco, republicano, clase alta: es la personificacion del viejo mundo que esta quedando atras. Su estilo es constante y seguro. Uno se convertira en leyenda del deporte, el otro sera olvidado. En la cumbre de sus carreras, lo unico que marcara la diferencia es el caracter de su juego: el estilo refleja al hombre, la pista es la vida y el terreno de juego de la historia."