THE SECOND JOHN McPHEE READER Part 2

Author’s collections don’t always make for fascinating reading, mostly because there’s no story to follow. Readers can struggle as they try to unify disparate themes and subjects. But here is a wonderful example of how a narrator’s voice and written text complement each other. Nelson Runger captures the book’s tone and brings it to life. He’s alternately informative, playful, witty or sober, depending on the piece. That the listener could be enticed, then hooked, by such varied subjects as geology, bears, merchant marines, the California Gold Rush, dissident Soviet art, and the “other” John McPhee is testament to Runger’s performance. He tells McPhee’s stories as they were meant to be told. R.I.G. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 98]