The Peter Matthiessen Reader: Nonfiction, 1959-1991

by Peter Matthiessen

"Our greatest modern nature writer in the lyrical tradition." -- The New York Times Book Review"Matthiessen is a great travel companion. . . . His knowledge of plants, animals and people is breathtaking." -- The Boston GlobePerhaps no writer has better articulated our relationship to the environment than Peter Matthiessen. From Wildlife in America to Men's Lives , his work has captured the wonder of the natural world--and the horrors of resource exploitation, with its violent effects on traditional peoples and the poor.In The Peter Matthiessen Reader , editor McKay Jenkins presents a single-volume collection of this distinguished author's nonfiction. Here are essays and excerpts that highlight the spiritual, literary, and political daring so crucial to Matthiessen's vision. Matthiessen chronicles his 250-mile trek across the Himalaya to the Tibetan Plateau in a selection from the National Book Award winner The Snow Leopard . Wild peoples, wilderness, and wildlife--common themes throughout Matthiessen's oeuvre--are examined with grace and power in The Tree Where Man Was Born . Here too are excerpts from Indian Country and In the Spirit of Crazy Horse , Matthiessen's stunning exposé of the Leonard Peltier case and the ongoing conflict between the U.S. government and the American Indian Movement. Comprehensive and engrossing, The Peter Matthiessen Reader celebrates an American voice unequaled in its commitment to literature's noblest to challenge us to perceive our world--as well as ourselves--truthfully and clearly.

Genres: Travel, Nature, Natural History

Paperback

First published January 4, 2000

About the author

Peter Matthiessen is the author of more than thirty books and the only writer to win the National Book Award for both non-fiction (The Snow Leopard, in two categories, in 1979 and 1980) and fiction (Shadow Country, in 2008). A co-founder of The Paris Review and a world-renowned naturalist, explorer and activist, he died in April 2014.

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read up to The Snow Leopard, and, you know, I've read enough of his full works to know that Matthiessen is just not suitable for Readers Digestization this drastic. The quiet moments and self-reflection, not so much the action, are where his talents lie. I think this book will turn people off him, rather than make people want to read more.

Skip this, and go directly to Wildlife in America (if you want to be depressed about extinction), The Snow Leopard (if you want to know what blue sheep have to do with zen), or The Cloud Forest (if you want some high adventure and can put up with queasiness-inducing cultural condescension).

[Bob Sandberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of America's greatest author. nice collection.

[Wendelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an aggregate of the meatier chapters selected from Peter Matthiessen's books. Mr. Matthiessen is a nature/travel writer, not a science writer so one wouldn't really get explanations of scientific processes in his books. What one gets is an incredibly rich record of his travels, including ripe descriptions of the flora and fauna he encounters, in sufficient detail as to put the reader within the place. In this book, one gets to journey with him through the ocean, through Africa, Brazil, Borneo, etc. and it is truly wonderful to adventure through all these places.

[Donn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on a couple interviews I've seen, I've been wanting to read Peter Matthiessen for some years now. Instead of committing to a complete work, as I am always reluctant to do, this collection seemed like a good start.

I'm currently reading an excerpt from "The Cloud Forest: A Chronicle of the South American Wilderness." What an arduous chapter! His depiction of the jungle is as vivid as Herzog's "Aguirre," and is a little less painful to read as it was to experience (ha!). Matthiessen can really take you in there, and even this early work is enjoyable to read. As noted by the editor, McKay Jenkins, it is also reminiscent of Conrad's "Heart of Darkness."

I have some attraction to jungle narratives, and I don't know why. Next I will return to Oliver Sack's "Oaxaca Journal" where I hope to read about more of someone else's hardship in pursuing something wild, unique, and totally out of the way.

[Mary Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Matthiessen is a naturalist who has traveled all over the world. This book excerpts from his many non-fiction books and covers trips to the Himalayas, South America, Africa and shark-filled waters. His writing and sensitive and beautifully descriptive.

[stephanie cassidy · Rating 4 out of 5]

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