Search for the Genuine, The: Nonfiction, 1970-2015 Spiral-Bound | September 13, 2022
Jim Harrison
★★★★☆+ from 101 to 500 ratings
Search for the Genuine, The: Nonfiction, 1970-2015
The first general nonfiction title in thirty years from a giant of American letters, The Search for the Genuine is a sparkling, definitive collection of Jim Harrison's essays and journalism—some never before published
New York Times–bestselling author Jim Harrison (1937–2016) was a writerwith a poet’s economy of style and a trencherman’s appetites. Praised as a“national treasure” (Chicago Tribune) and published in twenty-seven languages, he was one ofthis country’s most beloved and critically acclaimed authors. Best known forhis poetry and fiction such as Legends of theFall, Dalva, and Returningto Earth, Harrison was also a prolificnonfiction writer, with columns running in SportsIllustrated and Esquire,and work in Outside, Field & Stream, and others. The first collection of Harrison’s generalnonfiction in thirty years, TheSearch for the Genuine is asparkling, definitive volume of essays and journalism—from the near-classic tothe never-published.
With his trademark ribald humor,compassion, and full-throated zest for life, TheSearch for the Genuine paystribute to writers from Bukowski to Neruda to Peter Matthiessen, and examinesthe distance between literary reputation and the work itself; he attainssomething like satori in the field hunting grouse; he reports on Yellowstonefor the park’s hundredth anniversary, when he was merely a tourist to the partof Montana he would eventually call home; he takes to the open sea in pursuitof roosterfish, marlin, tarpon, and, once, to observe a scientific missiontagging sharks; he delivers a heartbreaking essay on life—and, for thoseattempting to cross in the ever-more dangerous gaps, death—on the US-Mexicoborder. Always he comes back to the spirit and to connection with the naturalworld and the people who sustained him; throughout the book his feeling for theAmerican landscape rings out.
Lovingly introduced by acclaimednovelist, poet, and essayist Luis Alberto Urrea, The Search for the Genuine is a feast that captures a lifetime of reading, writing,and living to the fullest, from a true “American original” (San Francisco Chronicle).
Praise for The Search for the Genuine:
“Harrison may be gone, but his writing speaks to a force larger than life: it continues to teach and inform years later, which is all a writer could ever really dream of.” —Literary Hub
“Spanning 45 years, this new bevy of essays and musings bursts withinsight, adventure, and well-lived experiences . . . his writing is always andtruly ‘genuine.’ Forthright, perpetually curious, and compassionate, Harrisonremains wholly compelling and readers will be grateful that this buoyant,observant, and caring writer took time away from his sublime poetry to createthese enriching essays.” —Booklist, starred review
“Endlessly charming . . . An essential installment in the Harrison canon.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Harrison devotees will eat this up.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“A rollicking but sentimental tribute to a life whollylived.”—CJ Lotz, Garden & Gun
“Harrison’spoetic voice and storyteller’s gift are strong in each of these pieces. Withsections on writing and writer friends; hunting and hunting dogs; Michigan,Montana, and other favorite haunts; and, of course, fishing, the book makes thereader feel like they are sitting on the next barstool, listening to a masterraconteur weave his tales. Harrison’s voice is, as always, filled with such apassion for living that it’s difficult to believe he’s gone. This collection isa welcome addition to the disbelief.” —Marc Beaudin, Big SkyJournal
“[The] greatchronicler of America and her natural beauty . . . [Harrison] lived a singularlife, a true American original, and The Search for the Genuine offers aglimpse into a life lived on the margins but at the center of what matters.” —AlexPerez, Return
“Over the course of his long career as a writer, Jim Harrison wroteeloquently about the American outdoors in countless ways. The Search for theGenuine assembles 45 years’ worth of his nonfiction, covering subjectsranging from Yellowstone National Park to searching for sharks. Looking for alyrical, meditative take on the grandest subjects out there? Look no further.”—Tobias Carroll, InsideHook
“Richwith Harrison’s consummate humor and characteristic empathy.”—Jana Hoops, JacksonClarion-Ledge
“Harrison was one of America’s most genuinewriters and his “Search” ruminates about love, literature, hunting, fishing,border life and the magic of place.”—Bruce Dinges, Arizona Daily Star
“Youwill see the world in a different light and soon realize you are reading thework of a genius. Many readers will also learn he was a lot like you (and me).”—Bill Castanier, CityPulse
“TheHarrison who emerges here is recognizable, but also useful, reminding readersof the value of curiosity and range, whether in miles or mindset.” —GlenYoung, Petoskey News-Review
Praise for Jim Harrison:
“Among the most indelible American novelists of the last hundred years.”—Dwight Garner, New York Times
“Harrison is truly one of those writers whose books are hard to put down.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review
“One of the few truly high-test males who’ve passed through the eye of the needle.”—Louise Erdich, MS.
“[Harrison] can sweep a reader off her feet with his wordplay, even if he is just describing the weather.”—Bernadette Murphy, Los Angeles Times
“Extravagantly talented, critically adored, more famous than most literary novelists . . . Jim Harrison gave his life to [writing], and American literature is richer as a result.”—Gregory Cowles, New York Times Book Review
JIM HARRISON (1937-2016) was the author of thirty-nine other works of poetry, nonfiction, and fiction, including Legends of the Fall, The Road Home, Returning to Earth, and The English Major. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship, he had work published in twenty-seven languages.