Ask HN: Who are your favourite essayists?
Like many people, I discovered HN after reading several of PG's essays. I'd like to hear HNers recommendations for other essayists, especially essayists who aren't the usual tech suspects (PG, Clay Shirky, etc).<p>For example, a favourite essayist of mine is
John McPhee, a long-time New Yorker staff writer.  McPhee's writings don't seem to be online, but collections of his essays can be found in any good bookstore.  I especially enjoyed "A Roomful of Hovings", a superb profile of a former curator of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and "The Curve of Binding Energy", a profile of Ted Taylor, one of the most brilliant designers in the US nuclear weapon program, and also the visionary behind Project Orion (using nuclear power for interplanetary travel).  A good place to start is the "John McPhee Reader" (http://www.amazon.com/John-McPhee-Reader/dp/0374517193); I was skeptical when I picked it up on a friend's recommendation, but found that I couldn't put it down.