The Pine Barrens [Paperback]

John McPhee (Author), James Graves (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1978

Most people think of New Jersey as a suburban-industrial corridor that runs between New York and Philadelphia. Yet in the low center of the state is a near wilderness, larger than most national parks, which has been known since the seventeenth century as the Pine Barrens.

The term refers to the predominant trees in the vast forests that cover the area and to the quality of the soils below, which are too sandy and acid to be good for farming. On all sides, however, developments of one kind or another have gradually moved in, so that now the central and integral forest is reduced to about a thousand square miles. Although New Jersey has the heaviest population density of any state, huge segments of the Pine Barrens remain uninhabited. The few people who dwell in the region, the “Pineys,” are little known and often misunderstood. Here McPhee uses his uncanny skills as a journalist to explore the history of the region and describe the people—and their distinctive folklore—who call it home.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Contrary to popular opinion, the whole of New Jersey is not a continuous Superfund site enlivened solely by poorly labeled Turnpike exits and skanky diners. In fact, the largest essentially untouched wilderness east of the Mississippi comprises nearly half the state: the New Jersey Pine Barrens. This more than 1,000-square-mile region has only a few thousand inhabitants--the Pineys, whose way of life has remained essentially unchanged since the 17th century. McPhee--one of the finest American essayists of the 20th century--has written an extraordinarily compelling, informative, and insightful book about the botanical, cultural, hydrological, and historical peculiarities of this region. He also details the efforts to save it from the creeping urbanization of nearby Philadelphia and New York City. Very Highly Recommended.

Review

“An outstanding reading experience.”—Natural History

 

“Using his fine eye, great ear and good heart" (Newsday), McPhee "tells how this geographic anomaly has come to be, describes its people and their distinctive folklore, and captures something of the dreamlike quality of this incredibly quiet land in the midst of the noisy clutter of mechanical civilization.”

—Kansas City Star

“It will be a long time before another book appears to equal the literary quality and human compassion of this one.”—The New York Times Book Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 157 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (May 1, 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374514429
• ISBN-13: 978-0374514426
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #21 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Forestry
  • #57 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Plants > Trees
  • #87 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Natural Resources

More About the Author

John McPhee was born in Princeton, New Jersey, and was educated at Princeton University and Cambridge University. His writing career began at Time magazine and led to his long association with The New Yorker, where he has been a staff writer since 1965. The same year he published his first book, A Sense of Where You Are, with FSG, and soon followed with The Headmaster (1966), Oranges (1967), The Pine Barrens (1968), A Roomful of Hovings and Other Profiles (collection, 1969), The Crofter and the Laird (1969), Levels of the Game (1970), Encounters with the Archdruid (1972), The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed (1973), The Curve of Binding Energy (1974), Pieces of the Frame (collection, 1975), and The Survival of the Bark Canoe (1975). Both Encounters with the Archdruid and The Curve of Binding Energy were nominated for National Book Awards in the category of science.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, rapturous book February 11, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

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.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book November 9, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

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.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Ballad of the Old Pineys June 15, 2006

By doomsdayer520 HALL OF FAME

Format:Hardcover

Those of us from the Northeast know that wilderness can be found if you're willing to hit the road and search for it, and also that it's precious and worth protecting from the onslaught of industry and sprawl. But even those familiar with the region's wilderness offerings will be surprised by the natural bounty and remoteness of New Jersey's Pine Barrens area. The masterful essayist John McPhee published this travelogue and study of the area back in 1967, when the depths of the Pine Barrens still offered genuine seclusion form the outside world, with hardy folks still living off the land by picking berries or making charcoal. And this beautiful area was surrounded on all sides by the most urbanized and industrialized blight on Earth. Things aren't quite so rustic there anymore, but reading McPhee's engaging treatise on the area should make modern folks wish to both visit the Pine Barrens area as a valuable slice of nature, and to protect it as a precious and dwindling resource. That's what makes this short but lovable book from the great McPhee a timeless classic for nature lovers. [~doomsdayer520~]