Giving Good Weight

John McPhee is a superb writer. His stories, may of which were published in The New Yorker Magazine, are great reads on a variety of subjects. One needn't be initially "interested" in the subject of an essay but soon will be because of his easy flowing style.

Always a great read. I've read most of John McPhee's work; not sure how I missed this one, till now. The topics he chooses still interest me and his words and writing style leave me asking for more.

John Mcphee does an outstanding job disecting human nature in this story of his adventures at the greenmarket. It is extremely funny! The additional stories in this collection are just icing on the cake.

perfect book

McPhee is, doubtless, the best essayist in America today. This is a succinct and engaging analysis and background of farmers' markets.

great book!

Great

I don't think I've read this one before. Five New Yorker articles from the mid-70s. Great stuff, and really hasn't dated. No surprises there: I'm a serious John McPhee fanboy. You should be, too.1. New York's Greenmarket, a big farmer's market, is the title article, back when farmer's markets were new. McPhee talks to the farmers/vendors, mostly, and works for a couple of them for awhile. The farmers generally like the black people best as customers, finding them less fussy. Then the Spanish, and the wealthy whites are the least popular: fussy and rude. The farmers like getting paid much more than wholesale, and the customers like good produce at reasonable prices. Win-win, and 4 stars. 73 pp.2. New Jersey Public Service had a serious proposal to build a large, floating nuclear power plant 3 miles offshore, in the early 70s. McPhee talked to the engineers, the biologists, and the oceanographers studying the proposal. The utility seemed to be doing a careful and methodical job , and the scientists appreciated the work. The biologists were more dubious about the project, the oceanographers more supportive. No fatal technical issues were found -- the design was tested for a simulated million-year storm (a super-hurricane) and a simultaneous shipwreck of a supertanker on the enclosing breakwater. Citizen opposition had begun, but no permits had been granted when the project was put on indefinite hold in 1978. 5 stars, 44 pp.3. McPhee meets one New York's 2 pinball wizards, tries out his favorite Bally machine, then the two wizards meet at the Circus Circus off Times Square. Short, sweet, very entertaining. I was never very good at pinball. McPhee's piece makes me want to play a game or three. 4 stars, 12 pp.4. A canoe trip down Maine's St. John River, in Aroostook County, almost to Canada. McPhee's companions include a Saltonstall, a Cabot from Boston, and a Byrd, a descendant of the polar explorer. At the time, there was an active proposal to build Lake Dickey, a large hydropower pool, but the Maine river remains largely a wilderness waterway today. 3.5+ stars, 47 pp.5. "Brigade de Cuisine" is a article about a chef-owner and his wife, the pastry chef, who operated a restaurant in the wilds of upstate NY, and insisted on anonymity for both themselves and their restaurant, which was about to move anyway. "Otto", trained in Switzerland, grew up in Spain and worked there again later, where he met "Anne", his wife. McPhee spent considerable time with them, much of it in the kitchen, listening and eating -- McPhee says that the 20 or 30 best meals in his life were at the couple's rural restaurant. There might be more lists of ingredients and dishes here than I really needed to know, but this is also the most entertaining essay in the book. Here's "Anne", who's served a Chivas to a customer, who accuses her of subbing something cheaper: "You get out of here and you *never* come back!" The woman ran for her car. 5 stars, 60 pp.Happy reading--Peter D. Tillman

John McPhee was one of the New Yorker Magazine's brightest and creative writers and this anthology showcases his unique skills. HIs essay Brigade De Cuisine about a legendary dining mecca near New York, first published in 1979, lives on as one of the finests pieces of culinary literature ever. THis small book is a collector's treasure.