New York:: Farrar, Straus & Giroux,, 1989.. Hardcover -. Fine in fine dust jacket.. 3rd printing. Accounts of three struggles against the forces of nature: the Atchafalaya and the tendency of the Mississippi River to change courses, a volcanic eruption and lava flow in Iceland which were threatening the second largest fishing harbor in the country, and the constant debris and mud slides in Los Angeles which are caused because the San Gabriel and San Bernadino Mountains are 'incompetent'. The title was inspired by the unintended ambiguity McPhee noted in a motto etched on the engineering building at the University of Wyoming: 'Strive on - the control of nature is won, not given.' The result is one of his most entertaining and vivids books: the images of the Icelanders fighting the lava flow by pumping water on it and of the trucks that carry the debris caught in the basins above the subdivisions of Los Angeles back up the mountain are ones that will stay with you. 272 pp.

Synopsis

The Control of Nature is John McPhee's bestselling account of places where people are locked in combat with nature. Taking us deep into these contested territories, McPhee details the strategies and tactics through which people attempt to control nature. Most striking is his depiction of the main contestants: nature in complex and awesome guises, and those attempting to wrest control from her - stubborn, sometimes foolhardy, more often ingenious, and always arresting characters.

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Details

Bookseller: Bookfever.com, IOBA (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #: 88958
Title: THE CONTROL OF NATURE.
Author: McPhee, John
Format/Binding: Hardcover -
Book Condition: Used - Fine in fine dust jacket.
Jacket Condition: fine
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0374128901
ISBN 13: 9780374128906
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux,
Place of Publication: New York:
Date Published: 1989.
Keywords: los angeles, iceland, vulcanology, geology, atchafalaya
Bookseller catalogs: Essays;

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Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Jacket: Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
Fine: A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...