One Book New Jersey "The Pine Barrens" by McPhee

[bach2yoga]

One Book New Jersey has selected John McPhee’s venerable classic as their Book of the Year for 2004. This means that The Pine Barrens will be featured in public libraries throughout the state, the focus of many reading groups, and the source of many educational forums within the schools of New Jersey throughout the upcoming year.

PPA staff members will be making presentations at public libraries across the state in 2004, joining with One Book NJ to foster a statewide discussion of The Pine Barrens. We hope to see lots of our members at these events, and encourage them to tell their friends and neighbors to attend.

John McPhee’s The Pine Barrens is one of the very few examples I know of a book that is not only a joy to read, but is also a work of art that made a very real difference in the real world. Mr. McPhee and his book brought public attention to the Pine Barrens at a critical point in time and, just as important, helped persuade one individual, then-Governor Brendan Byrne, to lead the extraordinary legislative effort to save the Pine Barrens ecosystem from development. That effort culminated in the Pinelands Protection Act and the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan. The Pinelands Preservation Alliance is devoted to ensuring these laws were not enacted in vain, but will succeed in holding back the tide of development in this very beautiful corner of America .

Most of the people around whom Mr. McPhee wove his story may have passed away -- but, so far, most of the landscape in which they lived survives very much as it was 40 years ago. Given the pace of change our society has seen during that time, and the vast devastation of natural areas that has taken place around us, it is very nearly a miracle that so much of the Pine Barrens endures today. Places like the village of Chatsworth described in The Pine Barrens really have not changed much at all since the book was published, and most of the seemingly endless forests in which Fred Brown and Bill Wasovwich roamed is still there for us to explore.

It is fitting that One Book New Jersey should choose The Pine Barrens and encourage people all over New Jersey to read this book, because the Pine Barrens truly is both a treasure and a responsibility for the entire State.

Carleton Montgomery, PPA's executive director

Schedule of Events
(as of January 22, 2004)

March 2, West Windsor (Mercer), 7pm

http://www.mcl.org/westbr.html


March 17, Shrewsbury (Monmouth), 7pm

http://monmouth.lib.nj.us/branches.htm


April 13, Scotch Plains-Fanwood ( Union ), 7pm

http://www.scotlib.org/


April 14, Jackson (Ocean), 7pm

http://oceancounty.lib.nj.us/branches.htm#JA


April 21, Point Pleasant Boro (Ocean), 7pm

http://oceancounty.lib.nj.us/branches.htm#Boro


April 29, Paramus ( Bergen ), 7pm

http://www.bccls.org/paramus/


May 4, Pemberton ( Burlington ), 7pm

http://www.bcls.lib.nj.us/Branches/PB.html


May 6, Bridgewater ( Somerset ), 11 am & 7pm

http://www.somerset.lib.nj.us/bridgewater.htm


May 8, Brick (Ocean), 2pm

http://oceancounty.lib.nj.us/branches.htm#B


May 13, Lawrence (Mercer), 7pm

http://www.mcl.org/lawrbr.html


May 20, Westampton ( Burlington ), 7pm

http://www.bcls.lib.nj.us/Branches/

 

[whippoorbill]

Thanks for posting this, Renee. I think it's time for me to blow the dust off my copy of this book and re-read her. I'd love to attend one of the above-posted library events, as well.

Alfie, you wid me?

Of all authors adored, Mr. McPhee tops my list. I'm currently reading his most-recent effort, The Founding Fish, which, although relating to ocean-to-river (or anadromous) spawning fishes in general, focuses on the American shad. Everything you wanted to know about shad, and had no idea what to ask. It's the way of McPhee ... pick your poison ... oranges, geology, basketball, the barrens ... any of myriad topics that have piqued his interest ... open the book, laugh out loud and learn at the same time.

 

[bach2yoga]

Thanks for posting this, Renee. I think it's time for me to blow the dust off my copy of this book and re-read her. I'd love to attend one of the above-posted library events, as well.

Alfie, you wid me?

Of all authors adored, Mr. McPhee tops my list. I'm currently reading his most-recent effort, The Founding Fish, which, although relating to ocean-to-river (or anadromous) spawning fishes in general, focuses on the American shad. Everything you wanted to know about shad, and had no idea what to ask. It's the way of McPhee ... pick your poison ... oranges, geology, basketball, the barrens ... any of myriad topics that have piqued his interest ...

Love your description of McPhee!

A fellow McPhee fan,
Renee

 

[BarryC]

From the links section of my site: http://www.johnmcphee.com/index.htm Have you seen this?
Besides McPhee's book, another writing that got people's attention outside of NJ in those days was the big article on the Pines in the National Geographic of January 1974, also written by McPhee.
But I, unfortunately, knew little or nothing about the Pines before 1985 when we all moved here from Morris County.
Barry

 

[manumuskin]

wid ya B man,I"ll be therie or be a fairy.
Alfie

 

[njvike]

How about any of the books from Beck?

 

[bach2yoga]

How about any of the books from Beck?

No, I guess they pick one book a year and this year it is a Pine Barrens book, and it was McPhee they chose.
Renee

 

[irishman]

I own what has to be one of most sad and worn out copies of this book in existance. It's a little paperback, pages falling out, bent, broken, dog eared, marked and worked over. This poor little guy has been rode hard and put away wet. It has been on canoe trips, thrown in a pack, on the dash, in the glovebox, and read over and over again in quiet groves with the morning dew dampening me jeans and next to talkative little streams as I strained to complete one last passage by retreating light. Recently on a trip to "Buzby's", I noticed a new hardocver version and almost bought it. Another time I will, but for now I'll continue to fall back on a trusted old friend.
Brian

 

[crazyoz]

If you like that also check out Pine Barrens legands and lore by William Mcmahon

 

[Ben Ruset]

What's with everybody bumping such old threads?

 

[Teegate]

I did a double take with this one

I guess many of the new members are looking over old posts getting up to speed with what has gone on here. Once in a while they get our attention


Guy

 

[Rubibee]

What's with everybody bumping such old threads?

I think maybe there are quite a few newbies on the board, maybe just trying to participate ? I know when I first joined this board I read every single post there was - good stuff in here.

 

[Ben Ruset]

I think maybe there are quite a few newbies on the board, maybe just trying to participate ? I know when I first joined this board I read every single post there was - good stuff in here.

It's just odd to see Renee's post bumped like that.