Coming Into the Country
This is the story of Alaska and the Alaskans. Written with a vividness and clarity which shifts scenes frequently, and yet manages to tie the work into a rewarding whole, McPhee segues from the wilderness to life in urban Alaska to the remote bush country.
Stats for nerds
5recommend
5mentions
5people
2014–2023years
100% recommend
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- McPhee's Coming into the Country?
One of his better books--which is saying a lot--though it's been years since I read it.
- I get frustrated with the reaction to New Yorker pieces on here. Yes, a New Yorker piece is going to be long and have backstory.
Their feature pieces are like novellas of non-fiction. Many get republished into books, that receive acclaim like the amazing Coming into the Country[1].
It doesn't skim as well as some business insider article that is just a list of bullet points, but it was never meant to.
https://www.amazon.ca/Coming-into-Country-John-McPhee/dp/037...
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1977/06/20/coming-into-th...
- I'm going to plug a few great non-fiction books that are easy(ish) to read and deep on content. I'm sure there are a lot more out there.
Thinking, Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman
Coming Into the Country - John McPhee
The Unwinding - George Packer
Anything by James C Scott (Thinking Like a State, The Art of Not Being Governed)
The Righteous Mind - John Haidt
The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins (Regardless of how you feel about his current public persona, this book published in 1976 is an absolute classic)
- I really enjoy anything from John McPhee, especially Coming Into The Country.
- This article began with John McPhee, who begins many great things. Somers' article is the most practical single bit of writing advice I've seen in a long time (it even includes software you can install).
If you're not familiar with McPhee, you're missing out. He's one of the greatest English-language essayists of the 20th century. My favorite is "Coming into the Country" (on Alaska), but the Hacker News set in general may prefer "The Control of Nature".
