actually, McPhee is one of my favorite non-fiction writers (...can't think of any fiction he's written off the top of my head) -- he has written extensively for the New Yorker and published those articles in collections or stand-alones.
three of my favorites: Coming Into the Country, a great, big book about Alaska; The Control of Nature, diverting the Mississippi; Looking for a Ship, life on board a container ship -- oh, and another: The Ransom of Russian Art, very short and very entertaining. McPhee is really a wonderful writer who takes on a wide variety of topics.