Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1242838 in Books
• Published on: 1998-05-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .62" h x 5.46" w x 8.25" l, .55 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From Amazon.com
Master essayist John McPhee heard about vehicles in Nevada that resemble police cars, but the cop inside was actually a "brand inspector," a lawman charged with tracking cattle rustlers. Ever curious, McPhee left his home in New Jersey for Nevada and spent a few weeks in those cars. The title essay of this collection is, as we've come to expect from McPhee, well-reported and beautifully written. Also included are essays based on McPhee's observations of a stand of virgin forest in the middle of New Jersey, a huge pile of automobile tires in California, and a long and fascinating look at forensic geologists and how stones tell a story.

From Library Journal
Most people think cattle rustling belongs to the past or to Wild West movies, yet, as McPhee informs us, the practice still presents problems for cattle ranchers in Nevada, necessitating the state position of brand inspector. In addition to this title essay, McPhee's collection features other unusual topics, such as repairing the crack in Plymouth Rock and tracing murders through geological clues. McPhee, a prolific writer best known for his best-selling Coming into the Country (1977), employs an accessible journalistic style and a scientific sensibility that stimulate interest and understanding in his somewhat esoteric subjects. In the Plymouth Rock essay, for instance, he surrounds his description of the actual repair with a social and geological history of the famous landmark. This book will appeal to curious readers looking for something unusual, especially those interested in the West and the geological sciences. McPhee's essays are entertaining as well as enlightening. For all libraries.?Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Where can you find cattle rustlers, drug warriors and time-travelers together but in a book by essayist John McPhee! Unhurried and good-humored, Runger eases listeners into each nuance of feeling. Such a wide range of subject matter calls for some pretty tricky stepping. Runger gracefully handles it all. His friendly, flexible tones induct us into the activities of a cattle brand inspector, as well as introduce us to personalities as rich and varied as ranchers, geologists, car enthusiasts, FBI investigators and the mechanical voice of a computer that talks to its blind user. Whether charming or grim, McPhee's elegant phrases and marvelously choice words are aptly captured. S.B.S. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine