Oranges (Penguin Modern Classics)
by John McPhee
published
2000
(first published 1967)
by Penguin Putnam~trade
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binding
Paperback, 160 pages
isbn
0141182032
(isbn13: 9780141182032)
description
While many readers are familiar with John McPhee's masterful pieces on a large scale (the geological history of North America, or the nature of Alaska...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 325)
Read in May, 2008
This book is intriguing both for it's history of Oranges and its snapshot of the time in which it was written. Originally published in the mid-1960's, it captures a time when the citrus industry was working like made to accommodate the demands of the concentrate industry, frozen canned juice becoming wildly popular among "Midwestern housewives." Growers speak of the "good old days" of fresh fruit with nostalgia. It's fascinating to see this transition to the prepackaged co...more
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Read in August, 2008
I went through a phase a few years ago when I read a lot of books that were written to delve deeply into a single, simple thing. I finally stopped because for the most part the books were not that well written. (I think there was one on the history of the color mauve that finally did me in).
I should have started and probably finished with John McPhee. He manages to devote equal time to oranges and the people who grow them and think about them. I learned a lot about citrus reading this bo...more
I should have started and probably finished with John McPhee. He manages to devote equal time to oranges and the people who grow them and think about them. I learned a lot about citrus reading this bo...more
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Read in August, 2005
Of course, I learned a tremendous amount about oranges. Anythign John McPhee writes is worth reading. Anything. Who else could make an entire book about oranges so fascinating? One of my favorite authors, by a long shot.
Not even just about oranges, it also deals with the recent history of orange growing states, and how the orange continues to sheape them.
This book covers the history of oranges, and examines their hybridization. In one part, it discusses the taste of orange juice, and how ev...more
Not even just about oranges, it also deals with the recent history of orange growing states, and how the orange continues to sheape them.
This book covers the history of oranges, and examines their hybridization. In one part, it discusses the taste of orange juice, and how ev...more
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My very favorite American non-fictionist. During the periodic fits of anxiety I have concerning the English language and whether humans can keep finding ways to string the same words into new sentences and sentences into new paragraphs, I like to return to McPhee. He is, for me, the literary equivalent of milky tea and a backrub, only the kind of backrub you can feel in your synapses. As usual, I - and the language seat of my brain – leave perfectly refreshed and reassured. Sit down, have ...more
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A friend (thank you, Keith!) once gave me this book to read when I was ill and I sat in a tub and marveled at McPhee's gift for nonfiction. He has this knack of being able to make any subject matter totally enthralling. Check out his biography or lists of published works. Then read one of his little encylopedic studies. You'll see what I mean. I'm sure his books are used rather universally to teach students how to write clearly and beautifully on the most mundane matters. If they are not, they s...more
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Read in January, 1995
Only John McPhee could write a whole book about citrus fruit and make it so interesting that I bought copies for years just to give away. Seriously, the man's a genius, and this is one of his best books, for the sheer frivolity of it all - and yet, it's relevant to almost everyone. We all eat oranges, drink orange juice. McPhee makes a plebian subject come alive; he's a master of it, though I haven't managed to love geology despite his work in that area. Oranges, though, he excels at those.
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Read in April, 2007
recommends it for:
Nonfiction Nuts
Whenever I hear "John McPhee" and "slender volume" I get that frisson of short-reading delight. The author, a New Yorker vet, will pick a random subject and fly with it. Hence we have a book about oranges, and it's rapturously entertaining.
Strongly recommended -- as are any of McPhee's works, including his longer ones. Gratuitous trivia fu. (Most oranges are grown on lemon roots?!) Four stars. Joe Bob says check it out.
Strongly recommended -- as are any of McPhee's works, including his longer ones. Gratuitous trivia fu. (Most oranges are grown on lemon roots?!) Four stars. Joe Bob says check it out.
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Such a delicious book, NOT! Haha, this author is really famous in writing books just about/around one thing. In this book, he wrote about ORANGES o.o What was really interesting was that he wrote in each country, people use it each in a very unique way. Did you know that people in Jamaica takes one halve of orange in each hand and wash the floor with it. This is because oranges are acidic o_o and wash floors well.
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You could easily read this in a day. It's all about oranges. It will make you laugh. You will learn a lot. If you know me, you must read this. It's a top-five book for me. I love John McPhee's topics and style of writing - he can make anything interesting and worth learning about. Another must-read of his is "Coming Into the Country."
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Read in May, 2008
what is with all the 5-star ratings? underwhelming. so much of this book is line after line of trivia which, while interesting, doesn't flow well. it might be useful as a snapshot of the industry in the 60s, but if you're looking for some kind of actual technical information about oranges, i'd recommend looking elsewhere.
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Read in January, 1975
A good compendium of essays... Typical McPhee: well written and enganing even given mundane topics... I seem to recall that after reading this and learning that most of the articles were from the NYer, Carol and I decided to subscribe... and 30+ years later its still the best magazine I get
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"...a quick read and a quirky subject, and McPhee’s research is to be commended, although much of the journalistic writing –reading it forty years on from publication - has soured.
Read my full review here.
Read my full review here.
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Read in August, 2008
This reads more like a Wm. S. Burroughs cut-up than a piece of contemporary reporting. AT times McPhee uncomfortably spews a page-ful of facts, unable to place them in the context of a vignette or an interview; his writing suffers measurably because of this.
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Read in July, 1996
It would be interesting if McPhee were to revisit this book. Since the sixties, much have the industry must have changed to accommodate a growing demand for fresh orange juice, twelve months a year; and an influx of oranges from other countries.
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Read in October, 2008
This book is well-researched and the info is interesting. I learned a lot. But I didn't feel the writing was particularly compelling. As my friend Stephanie said, there wasn't really a narrative arc, just a bunch of facts strung together.
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Read in April, 2008
This was recommended -- along with many other great books -- on Lawrence Weschler's reading list: http://www.themillionsblog.com... It's an interesting list and worth your attention... whoever you are.
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Read in January, 2006
this was a BRILLIANT, and captivating book on (what do you think?) oranges. He made oranges as fascinating to me as a pile of glittering gold and money to a venture capitalist (no offense of course to my VC friends).
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I bought this after enjoying his geology series but have never read it. Fourteen years this book has been waiting to be read!!! I'm going to try and read it before its fifteenth anniversary on my shelves.
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All of John McPhee is terrific. Oranges is a perfect first book to start your McPhee habit - short and fascinating. Anyone who can write a page-turner about a citrus fruit has got to be a supernatural writer...
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what's with the current popularity of books about the history of common comestibles? (the history of salt, etc.) at any rate, could be an interesting diversion as long as it is not too long.
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