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 strageties 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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In The Control of Nature published in 1989 (paperback) by John McPhee combines three essays from the New Yorker. Each of the three topics deals with the relationship of man to earth processes. Geologically speaking the processes include in the First Topic fluvial geomorphology and delta mechanics of the Mississippi River. In the Second Topic volcanism and the formation of igneous rocks on an island, Heimaey - off the south coast of Iceland, dominate the discussion. There is also a small section on Hawaii. In the Third Topic the focus is on the slope processes (mass wasting - debris flows) on the rising and eroding San Gabriel Mountains, bounding Los Angeles on the north.
Also, in varying degrees, the essays deal with a spectrum of difficulty or success which man has had in confronting Nature. McPhee is an honest reporter, he finds facts, often reporting directly the words of people he has interviewed. He focuses on important crucial information. This work is valuable to both layman and expert. It is not just that he one of the best expository writers to confront geoscience, but that he had the intellect to recognize what is both important and interesting. In each circumstance he exposes the human history context. Along the Mississippi this history goes back at least as far as the War of 1812, and the transition from natural levees to the man-created levees which now dominate and shape the problems with living beside the third largest river system in the world. McPhee also develops the history of the Corp of Engineers with its influential and costly history to present day.
Heimaey history, pronounced "hay may" is short, recent history. Beginning in February, 1973, a volcanic eruption in the northern Atlantic begins and threatens the lively hood of a prosperous fishing community. What does man do? This is, perhaps, an economic success case of Man's control of nature.
In California the canyons and "foot-of-the-mountain" area of the southern San Gabriel Mountains are subject to a spectacular phenomena called debris flows. Clay, mud, sand, and enormous boulders are carried down slope through canyons in an ugly slurry-like form called debris flows destroying homes and buildings. Today at great expense to the taxpayer (state and national) man runs a complicated, high-cost, high-maintenance program to protect man from this natural geologic process. McPhee's delineation of the history of how we go to this present state of affairs reminds me of the story of the frog in the pot which is brought very slowly to a boil. Would we do it the same way if we had understood the result or geomorphic process.
In my paperback version of The Control of Nature there is only one figure on page 226, and a very schematic figure at that. McPhee flouts the dictum that a "picture is worth a thousand words." He is able to write in paragraphs that are truly graphic, taking three-dimensions and making the visual, verbal. The rest of us require diagrams and maps. As I was reading about the conurbation of the Atchafalaya, the Red River, the Mississippi River, the Old River, the old River Control Structure, and the Old River Control Auxiliary, I eventually had to break down, go out on the INTERNET and find some maps. It isn't just that these all have unique locations, but also that the locations evolve and have a history. For some things words alone will not suffice. That is this reviewers opinion.
Reviewer Opinion: This is a very important book from a technical geoscience point of view because it successfully integrates human history and geologic process. From a layman point of view it underlines the importance of geologic process to man. In my opinion the Core of Engineers is often given a bad rap for merely doing what we have asked them to do. Our representatives (Congress) not the Corps set the objectives.
I recommend this book. The Control of Nature deserves to be read and re-read and will not go out of date. -- Review of The Control of Nature by John McPhee
See the chapter: Los Angeles against the mountains for insights into the crisis currently in the new with flooding, mud slides, etc. -- This book illuminates the current crisis in California
McPhee manages to pinpoint and highlight controversies in such a way as to let us feel as though we are forming our own opinions and not being guided along into a particular viewpoint.
A good read for anyone who enjoys a decent piece of literary work, from above average high-school kids to distinguished scholars. If you enjoy learning something while you read, McPhee is for you. -- McPhee has it down, again
I concur with the majority of folks here, this book is outstanding. I see one person called in unfocused, well since it consists of three essays published in the New Yorker that happened to have a similar theme -- that of Man attempting to Control Nature be it preventing debris slides in the hills of LA or re-routing the Missippi River, I would not have expected it to read like a traditional book. He does not attempt to link these essays, he does not need to they are fascinating and likely will teach a lot of us things we do not know about the role of humans in altering our landscape. (how many of us knew that we have changed the coursre of the Missippi by at least 50 miles, likely a LOT more, look on a map, have you ever wondered about the 'crooked' end of that huge river?)McPhee brings in a human element to this, weaving micro and macro roles in these grand experiments expertly. From the moment he published A Sense of Where You Are, McPhee laid claim to being one of the best non-fiction writers of the last half century, and the period he became enamored of Geology is perhaps his strongest as a writer (from about the late 60's to the early 80's). -- Among his best work
McPhee's book may not be new, but his point - that trying to control nature leads to unintended consequences - is a important today as it was when it was published. The section on the Mississippi is especially poignant, considering the damage that the delta has experienced. Peg -- Relevant as ever!
