Looking for a Ship (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: John McPhee
- First Published: 1990
- Type of Work: Travel
- Time of Work: The late 1980’s
- Setting: Charleston, South Carolina; New York; aboard the on a run through the Panama Canal and along the Pacific coast of South America
- Principal Characters: John McPhee, Andy Chase, Captain Paul McHenry Washburn
- Genres: Nonfiction, Travel writing
- Subjects: Voyages, 1980’s, Ships, Sea or seafaring life, South America or South Americans, Pirates, Panama or Panamanians, Panama Canal
- Locales: New York, Oceans, Charleston, SC, Panama Canal
Admirers of John McPhee have noticed a common element in his many books, as well as in his regular articles in The New Yorker: McPhee likes to write about people who are confident that their work is important and are determined to do their jobs well. The canoemaker in The Survival of the Bark Canoe (1975), the vegetable-growers and the chef in Giving Good Weight (1979), the geologist in Basin and Range (1981), and the men of the merchant marine in Looking for a Ship are all enthusiastic about what they do. When McPhee moves into the various worlds...
[The entire page is 2157 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
