John McPhee revisits story ideas he had but never pursued
“Tabula Rasa” is an insightful book by a master of literary non-fiction
To ferret out the best talent, ask practitioners in that field. Attend the doctors’ doctor, seek counsel from the lawyer other lawyers retain. So it goes with journalism. John McPhee, aged 92, is a writer’s writer. A father of literary non-fiction, he has tackled subjects as varied as fishing and oranges in his 32 books and 60 years writing articles for the New Yorker. His book on geology, “Annals of the Former World”, won the Pulitzer prize for non-fiction in 1999. (He has been a finalist for the prize four times.)
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Chronicle of stories not told”
Culture August 12th 2023
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- In Japan “Oppenheimer” is causing consternation
- How Provençal rosé became the summer tipple par excellence
- John McPhee revisits story ideas he had but never pursued
- Hip-hop’s future will be less American and more global
- An infamous murderer and the truth about true crime
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