With a new foreword by Iain Sinclair
Most people think of the American state of New Jersey as a suburban-industrial corridor that sits just west of New York City. But in the centre of the state lies a vast wilderness - larger than most national parks - which has been known since the seventeenth century as the Pine Barrens.
In The Pine Barrens, McPhee uses his uncanny skills as a journalist to explore the history of the region and to describe the people - and their distinctive folklore - who call it home. Including one who can navigate the immensely dense woods by sheer memory, and another who responds to McPhee's knock on his door with a pork chop in one hand, a raw onion in the other, and the greeting 'Come in. Come in. Come on the hell in.'
New Jersey's Pine Barrens remain largely uninhabited, amidst the highest population density of any state, but for a few mysterious and misunderstood 'Pineys'. McPhee immerses himself in Piney culture, folklore and day-to-day reality, achieving a quality of travel writing comparable to Paul Theroux.
