Hogs Wild: Selected Reporting Pieces

Frazier (staff writer, The New Yorker; Travels in Siberia) creates compelling reportage, and the 23 pieces collected here reveal his eclectic choice of topics. The stories vary in length; while some can be read in a few minutes, others, such as those typically encountered in The New Yorker, are the sort that tend to give one pause, forcing the reader to debate the merits of a 30-page article on feral pigs. The book-length format somehow takes away the longer pieces' ability to intimidate. This is a good thing, as Frazier has made all of the writings interesting, a testament to his curiosity, engaging style, and abiding sensitivity to the dignity of the people about whom he writes. His diverse subjects include shrapnel, fly fishing, criminals of hip-hop royalty, meteors, horseshoe crabs, drug overdose, Strandbeests, and a soup kitchen, yet recurring themes are apparent. They frequently explore death (both human and animal), or the consequences (both good and bad) of humanity's impact on the environment.