Word: silk
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...Silk Parachute,” John McPhee’s latest anthology of essays, is already a relic. A slender addendum to McPhee’s two previous collections of personal essays and literary journalism, this book evokes a rapidly fading epoch in which compendia of previously published works (not to mention books in general) could still turn a profit. Indeed, “Silk Parachute” often feels as though it was rushed to press too quickly. The highlight of the book, “Spin Right and Shoot Left,” which examines the history...
...eponymous essay, “Silk Parachute,” opens the collection. Despite being McPhee’s most anthologized piece, it mainly excels at its style, and its content is not as intellectually rich or complex as the later pieces. It serves as an adequate introduction to the book and establishes an introspective tone that will stand out to readers more accustomed to McPhee’s journalistic mode...
...some arrivals have been devastating. Gypsy moths, brought to Massachusetts in 1869 by a would-be silk farmer, managed to escape and strip the leaves from millions of acres of forest. Descendants of some 100 starlings unleashed in New York City in 1890 now number 200 million, crowding out native birds from coast to coast. The Japanese vine kudzu was transplanted to the U.S. to prevent erosion; it has since run roughshod over 10 million acres (4 million hectares) in the Southeast. Beginning with the Plant Quarantine Act of 1912, the U.S. has implemented a series of laws to strengthen...
...Dongria Kondh tribe of the eastern Indian state of Orissa gathers at the top of Niyamgiri mountain to celebrate the annual festival of Niyam Raja, the king of the mountain. This year's celebration began on Feb. 20 with a three-hour climb to the summit. Women in white silk saris danced and sang, adorned with wooden jewelry, flowers and tiny knives tucked into their hair as a reminder of their daily confrontation with the forest. Hundreds of Dongria then shared a communal feast of rice and lentils in honor of nature and their deity, the spirit of Niyamgiri...
Cortez returned and said, "If we are going to do this, let's go before I change my mind." He and Barker started changing their clothes, putting on their black, silk-weight Polartec tops and bottoms and balaclava thermal face masks to obscure their faces. They wanted to look like insurgents, they said, and ordered Spielman and Green to do the same. Green objected, saying he wasn't changing. At least take your patches off, Cortez said, which Green did. Spielman only wore his uniform bottoms and a T-shirt while Green kept his whole uniform on. Cortez insisted they...