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The narratives in this book are of journeys made in three wildernesses - on a coastal island, in a Western mountain range, and on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. The four men portrayed here have different relationships to their environment, and they encounter each other on mountain trails, in forests and rapids, sometimes with reserve, sometimes with friendliness, sometimes fighting hard across a philosophical divide.
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This was the best nonfiction book I've ever read and I want to read more.
One, the topic was of huge interest to me: somehow this author is able to get into the same room (in most cases, not a room, but land rover, or raft, or backpacking trek, or plane, etc.) as famous conservationists (david brower, whose name i didn't know before this book but now i definitely know) and celebrity mining scientists, dam builders, land developers, and captures their interactions with each other. The interactions are super interesting because the perspectives are so superficially opposite at the get go. Then, McPhee goes and captures moments of understanding, agreement, resignation between these people. It's nice.
Two, the writing is great. Somehow he made a page turner out of these climaxless trips. He structures the stories and commentary really well, so the reader never gets bored, so the events don't become predictable.
I liked this book a lot. I'm gonna read his other books.
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