Interview with Author John McPhee - "The Pine Barrens" Reflection
Pinelands Alliance inducted John McPhee to the Pine Barrens Hall of Fame in 2025. In this interview, John McPhee reflects on his time writing “The Pine Barrens”.
John McPhee holds a special place in the hearts of those who know and love the Pine Barrens because he wrote The Pine Barrens, a book that is a joy to read, a still indispensable introduction to this unique corner of the world, and a work of art that had a real impact on the movement to create the Pinelands National Reserve. The Pine Barrens was published in book form in 1968, early in McPhee’s writing career. McPhee became friends with Brendan Byrne when he became governor of New Jersey in 1974. Governor Byrne told the story of how reading the book and talking with McPhee helped galvanize his determination to save the Pine Barrens through legislation that ultimately took the form of the Pinelands Protection Act of 1979.
McPhee is recognized as an important innovator in journalism as he developed his distinctive style of storytelling grounded in hearing and understanding the individuals who make a place, a profession, or an idea interesting – a style that is now ubiquitous in long-form nonfiction writing.
McPhee is the author of more than thirty books and many articles, nearly all for The New Yorker magazine, where The Pine Barrens first appeared in three consecutive issues. He received the Award in Literature from the Academy of Arts and Letters in 1977, and he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for Annals of the Former World in 1999. He taught writing at Princeton University for forty-five years and in 1982 was awarded Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson Award for service to the nation.
The Pine Barrens is still very much in print, and in 2024, McPhee donated all future royalties from sales of the book in all its forms to the Pinelands Alliance. We are very grateful for John’s support and all the work he did to help protect the Pine Barrens.
Watch John McPhee reflect on his time writing The Pine Barrens.
Credits:
Archival footage from the American Archive for Public Broadcasting and NJ PBS
Additional clips from “Sand in our Shoes” by NJ PBS “posttape,” and Produced by Richard Gibson and Directed by Martin Spinelli.
Additional Clips recorded by David Kessler in 2013 Pinelands Conference
Produced by Pinelands Alliance – filmed and edited by Jason Howell.
We have a copy of The Pine Barrens and a copy of Forgotten Towns of Southern New Jersey by Henry Charlton Beck, both have been with our family from my childhood. I read and re-read both time and time again. They sparked in me a fascination in me our history and natural wonders. The interview was enjoyable. Mr. McPhee’s book is a good one along with Mr. Beck’s, to introduce children to our state as my parent’s did with my brother and I.
I read the book last summer and have read several of his books over the years. Have driven through the Pine Barrens for many years on the way to LBI and never cease to be amazed and thankful that this large tract of undeveloped land still exists in NJ today and is protected for future generations.
I have lived near the Pine Barrens since 1973 . Preserving this land is the greatest piece of legislation to ever be written and passed in New Jersey!
I am truly interested in reading this book The Pine Warren’s I was in High School in Ohio when it was written. Good to know of the conservation result
Bravo, Jason and crew. What a loving legacy he is leaving. We all owe him so, so much.
Thank God for John McPhee. He preserved New Jersey’s gem in the minds of all who read is delightful book. I enjoy that book immensely and have read it many times. Would you like a touch of peace in your life? Read his book on the pine barrens. Thank you so much for this clip. I loved hearing how he developed his book.