McPhee has written 29 non-fiction books about topics ranging from geology to the Swiss Army, from cross country truckers to barge operators on the Illinois River, from Bill Bradley of Princeton, NJ to the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. In short, he’s the leading writer of long form non-fiction today. At 86, he’s taken a series of essays he wrote originally for the New Yorker and one from the Wall St. Journal and put together a book, subtitled, On the Writing Process, and it’s a beauty. The eight essays cover the topics Progression, Structure, Editors and Publishers, Elicitation, Frame of Reference, Checkpoints, Draft No. 4, and Omission and are filled with pearls for the aspiring writer. McPhee wrote the show business columns for Time in the 1950’s and joined the New Yorker in 1965 when William Shawn was the editor. He has since published dozens of pieces there, and the lessons he’s learned from which/that to how to accurately quote an interviewee are passed on to the reader with great skill and generosity. He draws heavily on his prior books, four of which I intend to read/reread: Oranges, Pine Barrens, Encounters with the Archdruid, and Birch Bark Canoe, though it would be worthwhile to read all 29 one year. A strong contender for the top 10 this year.