The McPhee Shelf

I have read every book John McPhee has written. I just finished his latest collection, which you can see is holding up the previous 7 books, which are in front of the first 19.

I prefer his books that are on one subject rather than his collections of miscellany, which this latest one is, because he approaches his stories from so many different angles.  Although I must admit that after a while, his obsession with geology did seem to become the "History of Dirt." The shorter forms often feel half-hearted, flimsy.

That's especially true of this collection--in the piece on Lacrosse he fills pages with just the names of high schools, colleges, cities, and states that have taken up the game in the last century. Other pieces recycle text from earlier books.  It feels like he's running out of steam. I want him to go out and find another big subject.

And then I realize--the guy is 79 years old by my calculations. Of course he's running out of steam!