The Pine Barrens

Rating:
Summary: I spent many years living near the Pine Barrens...
Review: ...and for years after moving away, I often found myself struggling to explain their incredible beauty to those I met. Now I just hand them a copy of McPhee's book. He says it all, in a style that is at once understated and powerful. I cherish this book.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating topic; elegant, yet sparse prose.
Review: Ecological, both natural and social, books abound these days, but that wasn't the case back in 1967 when this book was first published. Hopefully in the intervening years, McPhee's elegant but spare prose has helped remove or at least, temper the damage done early in the Twentieth Century to the reputation of the Pine Barrens and its denizens by well-meaning, if arrogant, social scientists. The Barrens is truly a glorious piece of nature and those who dwell there have their own unique charm and grace. McPhee, a consummate raconteur, reveals both with intelligence and a warm empathy. It's still hard to believe that the Barrens exist, mere miles from the rambunctious urbanity of Philadelphia and New York City, but McPhee's book, still vital and relevant after all these years, truly makes you want to visit and maybe even stay.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating topic; elegant, yet sparse prose.
Review: Ecological, both natural and social, books abound these days, but that wasn't the case back in 1967 when this book was first published. Hopefully in the intervening years, McPhee's elegant but spare prose has helped remove or at least, temper the damage done early in the Twentieth Century to the reputation of the Pine Barrens and its denizens by well-meaning, if arrogant, social scientists. The Barrens is truly a glorious piece of nature and those who dwell there have their own unique charm and grace. McPhee, a consummate raconteur, reveals both with intelligence and a warm empathy. It's still hard to believe that the Barrens exist, mere miles from the rambunctious urbanity of Philadelphia and New York City, but McPhee's book, still vital and relevant after all these years, truly makes you want to visit and maybe even stay.

Rating:
Summary: it is so boring
Review: i had to read this book for school. it kept putting me to sleep. unless you like boring, descriptive writing, i wouldn't recommend it. i wouldn't even give it one star!

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book
Review: I live out west now. I just returned to the east for a visit. I drove down to the NJ Pine Barrens and I camped out one night in the Plains (the dwarf forest), no doubt in violation of millions of New Jersey rules and regulations. The benign peacefulness of the place, the smell of the pines, the sound of the wind, all swept over me. I used to live in Manhattan. I'd often make the 2 1/2 or 3 hour drive to hike and canoe and camp in the Barrens. I love that magical forest, the dark bogs, the open plains, the pure rivers, the endless sandy roads. John McPhee's book truly captures the atmosphere of this very special place in the world.

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Summary: Non-Fiction for Fiction Readers
Review: I really dislike non-fiction. In general, I read sci-fi, mysteries and horror. A friend of mine handed me this book and insisted that I read it. I finally gave in, read it and loved it. This book is superbly written, moves quickly, and gives a wonderful glimpse into the history and people of a region without getting overly sentimental or mushy. Very nice. I read this book over and over again and would recomend it to anyone. This book will let you learn more about blueberries, cranberries, the New Jersey Devil, charcoal-making and many other interesting topics. Run out and read this book!

Rating:
Summary: Non-Fiction for Fiction Readers
Review: I really dislike non-fiction. In general, I read sci-fi, mysteries and horror. A friend of mine handed me this book and insisted that I read it. I finally gave in, read it and loved it. This book is superbly written, moves quickly, and gives a wonderful glimpse into the history and people of a region without getting overly sentimental or mushy. Very nice. I read this book over and over again and would recomend it to anyone. This book will let you learn more about blueberries, cranberries, the New Jersey Devil, charcoal-making and many other interesting topics. Run out and read this book!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful writer
Review: I was introduced to the author when I was in college, in a class
about journalism and literature. McPhee isn't as well-known as he should be (unless you read _The New Yorker_). He is truly a
wonderful stylist, whose style is so smooth you barely know it's there. And his subjects! Here he deals with a huge forest--the "Pine Barrens" of the title--and those who live in it. And yet he is able to make this slim book fascinating from the first
page to the last (one of the reasons is because he digresses so much, and his digressions are engrossing). Pick up nearly
anything by McPhee. You won't be disappointed, I promise.

Rating:
Summary: "Pine Barrens" by John McPhee
Review: I would give this book 10 stars if I could. John McPhee is a writer of unparalleled talent. How could anyone else tackle the subjects that he does and make them so interesting? That being said, this book is a great read, regardless of where you hail from. If you are interested in nature, in history, in sociology, this book covers all of these subjects.

Oh, the way McPhee talks about the Barrens is intoxicating! Could you imagine being somewhere where all the water is potable, and when there is heavy rain, you can see the sand floor of deep, clear brooks? Or walking through a forest where the trees grow to 4-5 feet, so if you walked in them you would be a giant? Or witnessing the bloom unique flowers that grow in the Barrens every spring? Admittedly, this book was written in the 60's, so things are not as pristine as they once where, as the last sentence in the book darkly foreshadows--"at the rate of...a mile or so each year, the perimeter of the pines contracts."





Rating:
Summary: A beautiful, rapturous book
Review: I'm a big fan of McPhee (I think the "Curve of Binding Energy" is his best work) and this is one of his absolute best. I lived in New Jersey for most of my life but was unaware of what the Pine Barrens had been. McPhee's description of the natural wonders of the place is compelling and I was utterly fascinated by his stories of the pre-colonial settlers there. After reading the book, I've taken the long drive down Route 202 to visit and it is an other-worldly place to this day. Just as he described it years earlier, I found myself swimming in crystal clear, deep burgundy spring water, turned red by the rich iron deposits in the soil.

Do yourself and favor and read this book.