A Roomful of Hovings and Other Profiles

by John McPhee

250 pages, Hardcover

Published October 17, 1968

About the author

John Angus McPhee is an American writer. He is considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction. He is a four-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the category General Nonfiction, and he won that award on the fourth occasion in 1999 for Annals of the Former World (a collection of five books, including two of his previous Pulitzer finalists). In 2008, he received the George Polk Career Award for his "indelible mark on American journalism during his nearly half-century career". Since 1974, McPhee has been the Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University.

Reviews

[Myles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contains two of the best New Yorker profiles around. The title essay on longtime Director of the Met, Thomas Hoving, and a second on Temple Fielding, international bon vivant who's all style and no substance, make for incredible diversions.

[Faith Zack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this collection of profiles by John McPhee that were first published in the 60's in the New Yorker. The profiles are varied and maybe no longer relevant 60 years later, but McPhee has an uncanny ability to get into the place of a person in such an engaging way, that I loved each of them. I especially enjoyed Euell Gibbons, perhaps because he is the only one of them I was already familiar with. But his weeklong trek with Gibbons through the Appalachians, living on foraged food and enjoying the land and adventure together was just wonderful. Still not sure I would enjoy White Pine Needle Tea, but he makes it sound transcendent.

I also really liked the profile of Robert Twynam, groundskeeper of Wimbledon.

[Ci · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't recall the exact date of reading these profiles. But obviously none of the persons profiled by McPhee made lasting impression in my memory. I plan to donate my copy to the local public library. (Just a note for future reference)

[LDuchess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paperback (1979) with this cover. Some of his earliest.