Book Study Stroll - The Control of Nature

We’ll be focusing on the book The Control of Nature by John McPhee, published in 1989. It was recently recommended to us by the geology instructor at Mendocino College.

This week (Feb. 25, 2026), join us as we talk about the Army Corps of Engineers and their attempts to control nature. The section we’re reading looks at the course of the Mississippi River. The original piece first appeared in The New Yorker.
David’s photo feels especially fitting. The Army Corps also controls the release of water from Coyote Valley Dam at Lake Mendocino.

Many of us regularly watch the inflow and outflow there and think about the balance between the needs of farmers and the homes along the river. It makes the book feel close to home.
Back in December 2025, I found a copy at a used bookstore on Fourth Street in Santa Rosa for $7. The library and local bookstores are also great places to look, and there may even be a free PDF online.
Thank you all for reading along with me—and for strolling those Low Gap hills.

The photo is one David Nelson took while he was kayaking near our own local example of the Army Corps trying to guide nature, 30 miles below Coyote Valley Dam.