If you enjoy reading books by John McPhee then you might also like the following authors:
Joan Didion writes in a clear, precise, and reflective style. She examines American culture, personal loss, and change with both sensitivity and sharp observation. Her essays often have a subtle intimacy and emotional depth.
If you like John McPhee's careful attention to detail, you'll appreciate Didion's thoughtful insights in The White Album, a collection of essays that explore the turbulent events and cultural shifts of the late 1960s.
Gay Talese is a reporter with a careful eye for the smallest details and a talent for painting vivid, close-up portraits of his subjects. His meticulous research and clear style resonate with readers who value John McPhee's approach.
A great example of Talese’s work is The Kingdom and the Power, a revealing look inside the operations and personalities behind The New York Times, full of colorful characters and precise observations.
Tom Wolfe often dives right into American society and culture, capturing its energy and contradictions with vivid descriptions and a playful sense of language.
His approach uses storytelling to expose the details and characters behind major cultural trends, like in his book The Right Stuff, which examines the early days of space travel and the personalities of the fearless test pilots.
If you enjoy the environments McPhee creates from real-life experiences, you'll like Wolfe's ability to immerse you fully in a scene or moment.
Annie Dillard explores nature, spirituality, and the meaning hidden in ordinary moments. Her style is reflective, observant, and poetic, with a strong emphasis on connecting personal experience to larger truths.
Her book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, brings the natural world alive through attention to detail and a curious, questioning perspective.
Readers who enjoy how McPhee clearly and thoughtfully uncovers unexpected information will likely appreciate Dillard's thoughtful look at the natural world.
Edward Hoagland offers clear, powerful observations about the natural environment, travel experiences, and the intricacies of human emotion. His essays combine careful descriptions with insightful reflections about human connections to nature and place.
For instance, in Notes from the Century Before, Hoagland paints immersive scenes of remote British Columbia. Those who admire McPhee’s thoughtful observations and informative, engaging writing style will also enjoy Hoagland’s approach.
Barry Lopez writes with a deep curiosity about nature, place, and human connection to the environment. His storytelling brings readers into the wilderness and makes complex ecological ideas relatable and fascinating.
In his award-winning book, Arctic Dreams, Lopez takes readers through the vast, challenging landscapes of the Arctic, blending science, Indigenous cultures, and personal reflection in beautiful clear prose.
Ian Frazier is a writer who combines humor, keen observation, and a sense of adventure in his essays and travel narratives. His casual style captures fascinating details about ordinary people and overlooked places, making you feel as if you're right there alongside him.
In Great Plains, he explores the sprawling grasslands of the American heartland. He shares history, reflects on everyday encounters, and captures the quiet beauty of landscapes many people overlook.
Mark Kurlansky dives into surprising topics like food, history, and again and again shows how small things can shape large parts of human life. He makes readers see familiar things in a totally new way.
In Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, Kurlansky looks into how one seemingly humble fish has influenced exploration, trade, wars, and cultural traditions across centuries in a conversational and thoughtful style.
Susan Orlean brings seemingly ordinary subjects vividly to life by paying close attention to details, context, and personalities. Her engaging storytelling style feels immersive, highlighting intriguing people and situations that might otherwise go unnoticed.
In The Orchid Thief, Orlean explores the quirky and passionate subculture surrounding orchid enthusiasts, offering a look into obsession, crime, and the peculiar nature of desire.
Tracy Kidder offers authentic portrayals of people engaged in purposeful, compelling real-life stories. He clearly admires his subjects and explores their work thoughtfully, keeping an eye on ethics, challenges, and humanity.
In his book Mountains Beyond Mountains, Kidder portrays Dr. Paul Farmer's tireless drive to provide healthcare to the poor worldwide—highlighting compassion, determination, and the power of human effort.
Bill Bryson has a friendly, witty style, making complex subjects approachable and entertaining. He often mixes personal anecdotes with detailed research, showing his curiosity and humor in exploring everything from travel to science.
In A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bryson covers topics like geology, biology, and cosmology, making science feel understandable and fun.
Robert Macfarlane writes beautifully and thoughtfully about nature, landscapes, and our relationship with the environment. His writing combines careful observation with lyrical prose, urging readers to reconnect with the natural world.
A great example is The Old Ways, where he travels ancient paths in Britain and abroad, exploring how landscapes shape people's lives and stories.
Elizabeth Kolbert clearly and compellingly explores environmental issues, focusing particularly on climate change and human impacts on the planet. Her writing is well-researched and easy to follow, highlighting critical issues without sensationalizing them.
In The Sixth Extinction, Kolbert shows readers how we're losing species across the planet and what that means for ecosystems—and for us.
Michael Lewis writes clearly about complicated subjects like finance, economics, and sports, making even technical information engaging and understandable. He combines research, character-driven storytelling, and sharp insight into how systems really work.
His book, Moneyball, describes how baseball teams began using data analysis to question traditional scouting and transform the sport.
David Grann tells true adventure stories with journalistic precision and vivid narratives. His style is concise and fast-moving, maintaining pace and suspense as he explores unusual events or historical mysteries.
His book, The Lost City of Z, investigates the disappearance of British explorer Percy Fawcett and his quest to uncover a hidden civilization in the Amazon.