Steve's John McPhee page



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This page is a listing of articles and books written by John McPhee. Most of the page was shamelessly lifted from this Wikipedia page, but I did add specifics about the contents of collections, which was the reason for doing the page in the first place. Also, I added details to the articles regarding the books in which most of the articles now may be found.

About a quarter of the books on this list are collections, and almost all the books began as magazine articles. In fact, the full text of most of McPhee's books originally appeared in The New Yorker.

Books

 Book titles are italicized.
Collections are also boldfaced.
"Named chapters" of books, or "Titles of Articles" appear in quotes.
Named sections / within a piece / appear in a horizontal list / separated by slashes.

• A Sense of Where You Are (1965)
• The Headmaster (1966)
• Oranges (1967)
• The Pine Barrens (1968).
• A Roomful of Hovings and Other Profiles (collection, 1969)
       - "A Roomful of Hovings" Fifth Avenue / Edgartown / Rorimer / Schoolboy / Art & Forgery / Father & Son / Parks / Curator / Princeton / Seventy-Third Street / Eighty-Second and Fifth
       - "A Forager"
       - "Fifty-Two People On A Continent"
       - "Twynam of Wimbledon"
       - "Templex"
• Levels of the Game (1969)
• The Crofter and the Laird (1969)
• Encounters with the Archdruid (1972).
• The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed (1973).
• The Curve of Binding Energy (1974)
• Pieces of the Frame (collection, 1975)
       - "Travels In Georgia"
       - "Reading The River"
       - "The Search For Marvin Gardens"
       - "Pieces Of The Frame"
       - "Josie's Well"
       - "From Birnam Wood To Dunsinane"
       - "Basketball and Beefeaters"
       - "Centre Court"
       - "Firewood"
       - "Ranger"
       - "Ruidoso"
• The Survival of the Bark Canoe (1975)
• The John McPhee Reader (collection, 1977)
       - Excerpt from A Sense of Where You Are (1965)
       - Excerpt from The Headmaster (1966)
       - Excerpt from Oranges (1967)
       - Excerpt from The Pine Barrens (1968).
       - Excerpt from A Roomful of Hovings and Other Profiles (collection, 1969)
              - Full text of "A Roomful of Hovings."
       - Excerpt from Levels of the Game (1969)
       - Excerpt from The Crofter and the Laird (1969)
       - Excerpt from Encounters with the Archdruid (1972).
       - Excerpt from The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed (1973).
       - Excerpt from The Curve of Binding Energy (1974)
       - Excerpt from Pieces of the Frame (collection, 1975)
              - Full text of "Travels In Georgia"
              - Full text of "The Search For Marvin Gardens"
       - Excerpt from The Survival of the Bark Canoe (1975)
• Coming into the Country (1977)
       - "At The Northern Tree Line: The Encircled River"
       - "In Urban Alaska: What They Were Hunting For"
       - "In The Bush: Coming Into The Country"
• Giving Good Weight (collection, 1979)
       - "Giving Good Weight"
       - "The Atlantic Generating Station"
       - "The Pinball Philosophy"
       - "The Keel of Lake Dickey"
       - "Brigade de Cuisine"
• Basin and Range (1981) Republished in Annals of the Former World.
• In Suspect Terrain (1983) Republished in Annals of the Former World.
• La Place de la Concorde Suisse (1984)
• Table of Contents (collection, 1985)
       - "Under The Snow"
       - "A Textbook Place For Bears"
       - "Riding The Boom Extension"
       - "Heirs of General Practice." (Republished on its own as a book.)
       - "Open Man"
       - "Ice Pond"
       - "Minihydro"
       - "North of the C. P. Line"
• Rising from the Plains (1986) Republished in Annals of the Former World.
• Heirs of General Practice (1986) Full text as it appears in Table of Contents.
• The Control of Nature (1989)
       - "Atchafalaya"
       - "Cooling the Lava"
       - "Los Angeles Against The Mountains"
• Looking for a Ship (1990)
• Assembling California (1993). Republished in Annals of the Former World.
• The Ransom of Russian Art (1994)
• The Second John McPhee Reader (collection, 1996)
       - Excerpt from Coming into the Country (1977)
       - Excerpt from Giving Good Weight (collection, 1979)
              - Excerpt from "Giving Good Weight."
              - Excerpt from "Brigade de Cuisine."
       - Excerpt from Basin and Range (1981)
       - Excerpt from In Suspect Terrain (1983)
       - Excerpt from La Place de la Concorde Suisse (1984)
       - Excerpt from Table of Contents (collection, 1985)
              - Full text of "Under The Snow"
       - Excerpt from "Heirs of General Practice"
       - Excerpt from "North of the C. P. Line"
       - Excerpt from Rising from the Plains (1986)
       - Excerpt from The Control of Nature (1989)
              - Excerpt from "Los Angeles Against The Mountains"
       - Excerpt from Looking for a Ship (1990)
       - Excerpt from Assembling California (1993).
       - Excerpt from The Ransom of Russian Art (1994)
• Irons in the Fire (Collection, 1997)
       - "Irons In The Fire"
       - "Release"
       - "In Virgin Forest"
       - "The Gravel Page"
       - "Duty of Care"
       - "Rinard at Manheim"
       - "Travels of the Rock"
• Annals of the Former World (1998). Compilation of five books on geology. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1999.
       - Basin and Range (1981)
       - In Suspect Terrain (1983)
       - Rising from the Plains (1986)
       - Assembling California (1993)
       - Crossing The Craton (1998)
• The Founding Fish (2002)
• The American Shad: Selections from the Founding Fish (2004)
• Uncommon Carriers (Collection, 2006)
       - "A Fleet of One"
       - "The Ships of Port Revel"
       - "Tight-Assed River"
       - "Five Days on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers"
       - "Out In The Sort"
       - "Coal Train"
       - "A Fleet of One II"
• Silk Parachute (Collection, 2010)
       - "Silk Parachute"
       - "Season on the Chalk"
       - "Swimming With Canoes"
       - "Warming The Jump Seat"
       - "Spin Right Shoot Left"
       - "Under The Cloth"
       - "My Life List"
       - "Checkpoints" (Also appears in Draft No. 4)
       - "Rip Van Golfer"
       - "Nowheres"
• Draft No. 4: On The Writing Process (Collection, 2017)
       - "Progression"
       - "Structure"
       - "Editors & Publisher"
       - "Elicitation"
       - "Frame of Reference"
       - "Checkpoints" (Also appears in Silk Parachute)
       - "Draft No. 4"
       - "Omission"
• The Patch (Collection, 2018)
       - "The Patch"
       - "Phi Beta Football"
       - "The Orange Trapper"
       - "Linksland and Bottle"
       - "Pioneer"
       - "Direct Eye Contact"
       - "An Album Quilt" --> 56 essentially random selections which have appeared in magazines but not in any book before now. The pieces vary in size and age, from a 12-line tongue-in-cheek definition of a Professional Writer (hilarious, btw!) to a 7+ page excursus on the all-around awesomeness of Richard Burton; from what might be outtakes from McPhee's most recent book, 2017's Draft No. 4 (the aforementioned definition?) to an excerpt of McPhee's 1961 Time magazine profile of Joan Baez. (I'm working on a table of contents for "An Album Quilt." Here's where things stand as of 22AUG21.)

Articles

- An article that either became—or later was reprinted in—a book will have the name of the book in brackets at the end of the entry.
- Two asterisks ** indicates an article that became—or later appeared in—a book of the same name.


• "Whiff." The New Yorker (10 November 2003), 50.
• "The Tee Room." The New Yorker 79:6 (31 March 2003), 49-52, 54-8.
• "A Fleet of One." The New Yorker 79:1 (14-21 February 2003), 48-63. [Uncommon Carriers]
• "Sapidissima." The New Yorker 78:24 (19 August 2002), 80 ff.
• "Absent Without Leave." The New Yorker 78:15 (10 June 2002), 40-47.
• "A Selective Advantage." The New Yorker 76 (11 September 2000) 70-82.
• "They're in the River." The New Yorker 76:7 (10 April 2000), 72 ff.
• "The Control of Nature: Farewell to the Nineteenth Century -
       - The Breaching of Edwards Dam." The New Yorker 75:28 (27 September 1999), 44-53.
• "Catch-and-Dissect." The New Yorker 74:32 (19 October 1998), 58ff.
• "The Ships of Port Revel." Atlantic Monthly, 282: 4 (October 1998) 67ff. [Uncommon Carriers]
• "Swimming with Canoes." The New Yorker, 74:23 (10 August 1998) 33ff.
• "Warming the Jump Seat." Deerfield Magazine 54:3 (Summer 1997), 20.
• "Silk Parachute." The New Yorker, 73:11 (12 May 1997), 108 ff.
• "The Gravel Page." The New Yorker 71:46 (29 January 1996), 44ff. [Irons in the Fire]
• "Other Snows." The New Yorker 71:45 (22 January 1996), 90ff.
• "New Yorker Index 1992: Opening the Stacks." The New Yorker 69 (22 February 1993), 83ff.
• "The Ransom of Russian Art." The New Yorker, 70:33 (17 October 1994), 78ff. **
• "Irons in the Fire." The New Yorker 69:43 (20 December 1993), 94ff. **
• "Don't Scare Them Off." Discover 14:11 (November 1993), 95ff.
• "Duty of Care." The New Yorker 69:19 (28 June 1993) 72ff. [Irons In The Fire]
• "Water War." The New Yorker 69:10 (26 April 1993), 120ff.
• "Arthur Ashe Remembered." The New Yorker 69:2 (1 March 1993), 57ff. [Levels Of The Game?]
• "Remembering Mr. Shawn." The New Yorker (December 28 1992), 137.
• "Annals of the Former World: Assembling California -
       - III." The New Yorker 68:31 (21 September 1992), 39ff. **
• "Annals of the Former World: Assembling California -
       - II." The New Yorker 68:30 (14 September 1992), 44ff. **
• "Annals of the Former World: Assembling California -
       - I." The New Yorker 68:29 (7 September 1992), 36ff. **
• "Outcroppings." National Parks 65 (September / October 1991), 54-5.
• "Looking for a Ship, Part I." The New Yorker 66 (26 March 1990) 40-4. **
• "Looking for a Ship, Part II." The New Yorker 66 (2 April 1990) 46-8. **
• "Looking for a Ship, Part III." The New Yorker 66 (9 April 1990) 40-4. **
• "Travels of the Rock." The New Yorker 66 (26 February 1990) 108-17. [Irons In The Fire]
• "Rinard at Manheim." The New Yorker 65 (4 December 1989), 150-2. [Irons In The Fire]
• "Los Angeles Against the Mountains -
       - I." The New Yorker 64 (26 September 1988), 45-8. [The Control Of Nature]
• "Los Angeles Against the Mountains -
       - II." The New Yorker 64 (3 October 1988), 72-90. [The Control Of Nature]
• "The Control of Nature: Cooling the Lava -
       - I." The New Yorker 64 (22 February 1988), 43ff. **
• "The Control of Nature: Cooling the Lava -
       - II." The New Yorker 64 (29 February 1988), 64ff. **
• "Release." The New Yorker (New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1997), 57-67. [Irons In The Fire]
• "In Virgin Forest." The New Yorker (6 July 1987), 21-23. [Irons In The Fire]
• "Atchafalaya." The New Yorker 63 (23 February 1987), 39-44. [The Control of Nature]
• "Rising From the Plains -
       - I." The New Yorker 62 (24 February 1986), 38-42. **
• "Rising From the Plains -
       - II." The New Yorker 62 (3 March 1986) 41-2. **
• "Rising From the Plains -
       - III." The New Yorker 62 (10 March 1986), 70-82. **
• "Heirs of General Practice." The New Yorker (23 July 1984), 40-85. [Table of Contents]
• "Our Far-Flung Correspondents: Open Man." The New Yorker 59 (10 October 1983), 108 ff. [Table of Contents]
• "Riding the Boom Extension." The New Yorker (4 August 1980) 36-48. [Table of Contents]
• "Annals of the Former World
       - I." The New Yorker (20 October 1980), 58-136. **
• "Annals of the Former World
       - II." The New Yorker (27 October 1980), 57-155. **
• "The Upper 1." Vogue (April 1979), 248, 315.
• "The Encircled River." Living Wilderness 41 (October 1977), 24-41. [Coming Into The Country]
• "Brigade de Cuisine." The New Yorker (19 February 1979), 43 ff. [Giving Good Weight]
• "A Reporter at Large: Giving Good Weight." The New Yorker 54 (3 July 1978), 36-8+. [Giving Good Weight]
• "The Encircled River." Living Wilderness 41 (July 1977), 44-60. [Coming Into The Country]
• "Pine Barrens." Horticulture (January 1977), 57-63. **
• "A Reporter at Large: The Encircled River
       - I." The New Yorker 53 (2 May 1977) [Coming Into The Country]
• "A Reporter at Large: The Encircled River
       - II." The New Yorker 53 (9 May 1977) [Coming Into The Country]
• "A Reporter at Large: Coming into the Country
       - I." The New Yorker 53 (20 June 1977) **
• "A Reporter at Large: Coming into the Country
       - II." The New Yorker 53 (27 June 1977) **
• "A Reporter at Large: Coming into the Country
       - III." The New Yorker 53 (4 July 1977) **
• "A Reporter at Large: Coming into the Country
       - IV." The New Yorker 53 (11 July 1977) **
• "Pine Barrens." Horticulture 55 (January 1977) **
• "The Keel of Lake Dickey." Living Wilderness 40 (October-December 1976) [Giving Good Weight]
• "A Reporter at Large: The Keel of Lake Dickey." The New Yorker 52 (3 May 1976) [Giving Good Weight]
• "A Reporter at Large: What They Were Hunting For
       - I." The New Yorker 52 (27 September 1976) [Coming Into The Country]
• "A Reporter at Large: What They Were Hunting For
       - II." The New Yorker 52 (4 October 1976) [Coming Into The Country]
• "Our local correspondents: The Pinball Philosophy." The New Yorker 52 (30 June 1975) [Giving Good Weight]
• "The Keel of Lake Dickey." The New Yorker (3 May 1976), 43-73 [Giving Good Weight]
• "The Forager." The New York Times (10 January 1976), 25. [A Roomful of Hovings and Other Profiles]
• "A Reporter at Large: The Atlantic Generating Station." The New Yorker 51 (12 May 1975) [Giving Good Weight]
• "A Reporter at Large: Survival of the Bark Canoe
       - I." The New Yorker 51 (24 February 1975) **
• "A Reporter at Large: Survival of the Bark Canoe -
       - II." The New Yorker 51 (3 Mr 1975), 41-8ff. **
• "Ruidoso." The New Yorker (29 April 1974), 83-112. [Pieces Of The Frame]
• "Firewood." The New Yorker 50 (25 March 1974) [Pieces Of The Frame]
• "People of New Jersey's Pine Barrens." National Geographic 145 (January 1974), 52-77. **
• "The Curve of Binding Energy
       - I." The New Yorker (3 December 1973), 54-145. **
• "The Curve of Binding Energy
       - II." The New Yorker (10 December 1973), 50-108. **
• "The Curve of Binding Energy
       - III." The New Yorker (17 December 1973), 60-97. **
• "Thrilling Sights: Love Games of Birds." Vogue 162 (July 1973) 67
• "Tennis." New York Times Book Review (10 June 1973), 1, 14, 16.
• "Profiles: Travels in Georgia." The New Yorker 49 (28 April 1973) [Pieces Of The Frame]
• "The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed
       - I." The New Yorker (10 February 1973) 40-73. **
• "The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed
       - II." The New Yorker (17 February 1973), 42-77. **
• "The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed
       - III." The New Yorker (24 February 1973), 48.79. **
• "A Reporter at Large: The Search for Marvin Gardens." The New Yorker 48 (9 September 1972) [Pieces Of The Frame]
• "Profiles: Ranger." The New Yorker 47 (11 September 1971) [Pieces Of The Frame]
• "Centre Court." Playboy (June 1971), 102-104, 246, 248, 250. [Pieces Of The Frame]
• "Profiles: Encounters With the Archdruid I: A Mountain." The New Yorker 47 (20 March 1971) **
• "Profiles: Encounters With the Archdruid II: An Island." The New Yorker 47 (27 March 1971) **
• "Profiles: Encounters With the Archdruid III: A River." The New Yorker 47 (3 April 1971) **
• "Reading the River." The New Yorker (21 March 1970), 126-123. [Pieces Of The Frame]
• "Our Far-Flung Correspondents: From Birnam Wood to Dunsinane." The New Yorker 46 (10 October 1970) [Pieces Of The Frame]
• "Good Scotch Needs Gloom, Fog, Rain, but What About Josie's Well?" Holiday (January 1970), 66, 70-73 [Pieces Of The Frame]
• "The Island of the Crofter and the Laird
       - I." The New Yorker (6 December 1969), 69-165. **
• "The Island of the Crofter and the Laird
       - II." The New Yorker (13 December 1969), 61-112. **
• "Pieces of the Frame." Atlantic Monthly 225 (January 1970), 42-47. **
• "Levels of the Game
       - I." The New Yorker (7 June 1969) 45-111. **
• "Levels of the Game
       - II." The New Yorker (14 June 1969) 44-81. **
• "Profiles: A Forager." The New Yorker 44 (6 April 1968) [A Roomful of Hovings and Other Profiles]
• "Profiles: The Lawns of Wimbledon." The New Yorker 44 (22 June 1968), 32-57. [A Roomful of Hovings and Other Profiles]
• "Ruth, the Sun is Shining." Playboy (April 1968), 114-116, 126, 186.
• "Templex." The New Yorker (6 January 1968), 32-67. [A Roomful of Hovings And Other Profiles]
• "Eucalyptus Trees." Reporter 37 (19 October 1967), 36-9.
• "Profiles: The Pine Barrens
       - I." The New Yorker 43 (25 November 1967), 67-8ff. **
• "Profiles: The Pine Barrens
       - II." The New Yorker 43 (2 December 1967), 66-8ff. **
• "A Reporter at Large: Fifty-two People on a Continent." The New Yorker 42 (5 March 1966) [A Roomful of Hovings And Other Profiles]
• "A Reporter at Large: Oranges
       - I." The New Yorker 42 (7 May 1966) **
• "A Reporter at Large: Oranges
       - II." The New Yorker 42 (14 May 1966) **
• "The Headmaster." The New Yorker 42 (19 March 1966) **
• "A Sense of Where You Are." The New Yorker 40 (23 January 1965) **
• "Speaking Out: Burn Those Worthless Cookbooks". Saturday Evening Post 237 (3 October 1964)
• "Basketball and Beefeaters." The New Yorker (16 March 1963) 186-194. [Pieces of the Frame]
• "The Fair of San Gennaro." Transatlantic Review (Winter 1961) 117-128.
• "It's Collegiate -
       - but is it Humor?" New York Times Magazine (25 May 1952), 17, 58.

[8/21/21, NOTE: I put this page together fifteen years ago and cannot for the life of me recall where I found all these article citations. I'm assuming they were on the above linked Wikipedia page; the foregoing list of books still is, thankfully! I was thinking maybe I'd reformatted the comprehensive checklist you'll find in the back of The [first] John McPhee Reader but the most recent item listed there is from 1976, so if that's one of my sources it can't be the only one; the most recent article on my list is Nov. '03.]

17JUL06
russillosm@gmail.com

Modified: Aug. 2021 (added the three books after Uncommon Carriers.)