Vollume 1. Trujillo -- Thornton Wilder at the century -- The moons of Methuselah -- "Hitler youth" -- The Bridges of Christian men -- The airplane that crashed in the woods -- On the campus -- The guilt of the U.S. male -- Extremadura -- Zoom Laude -- The delta islands of the Great Valley -- Time-out on the floor -- Outcrops of Washington Road -- Blind skier -- Writing about science -- Meredith Willson -- The impostor syndrome -- Sloop to Gibraltar -- The valley -- December 19, 1943 -- The dutch ship tyger -- Ray brock -- Writer -- Beelining -- Walking the Province line -- The safe houses of suburbia -- Joseph Henry House -- Workouts with Princeton coaches -- The commemorations of Woodrow Wilson -- Back up the riverbank -- World premiere -- The leghorn syndrome -- North East rising sun -- Dams 2020 -- Breaking away -- The eunuch of Talcott hall -- Hyperlincs, the Gettysburg addresses, or the shot heard round the web -- Not that one -- Night watchman -- George Recker and Dr. Dick -- Dinners with Henry Luce -- Bourbon and bing cherries -- Dropped antaeus -- Generation P -- The monks of pharma -- O Beautiful for stripes and stars -- Highlander -- La Torre Pendente -- Beantown -- Deep insight.
Summary
"A collection of essays and essay fragments John McPhee wrote over the course of his career, stressing the work he never completed, and why"-- In a series of essays and essay fragments-- some less than one page long-- McPhee looks back at his career from the vantage point of his desk drawer, reflecting upon projects he began but never completed or published. These pieces form a "reminiscent montage" of a writing life. Touching on a myriad of subjects, from Thornton Wilder to fireworks over the East River, and teaching during the pandemic, he provides a fresh survey of a singular planet through his eyes. -- adapted from jacket
Volume 1. McPhee has signed a contract for volumes 2, 3, and 4, and is currently working on the next volume. Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/07/15/1187929941/writer-john-mcphee-on-his-book-tabula-rasa Description based on surrogate.
