Order of Book Series
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Peter Matthiessen Books in Order

Peter Matthiessen has written 41 books, published between 1957 and 2014. The first book is The Year of the Tempest (1957) and the newest is In Paradise (2014). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
41
Published
1957–2014
Pages on record
8,909 in 29 of 41 books
Reading time
148–223 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 8,909 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 29 of 41 titles with a page count on record.

See all 41 books in order Printable Peter Matthiessen checklist
Photo of Peter Matthiessen, author

Peter Matthiessen is the only writer to win the National Book Award in both nonfiction, for The Snow Leopard in 1979, and fiction, for Shadow Country in 2008. Matthiessen, an American novelist, naturalist, wilderness writer, Zen teacher and one-time CIA agent, was born May 22, 1927, died April 5, 2014, and co-founded The Paris Review. Nonfiction covered nature, travel and American Indian history, including In the Spirit of Crazy Horse (1983) on the Leonard Peltier case, and Matthiessen was also a prominent environmental activist. The catalogue lists 41 books from The Year of the Tempest (1957) to In Paradise (2014), including Wildlife in America (1959), The Cloud Forest (1961) and At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1965).

How many Peter Matthiessen books are there?

Peter Matthiessen has 41 books, released between 1957 and 2014. They include 2 series and 33 titles listed outside any series.

Peter Matthiessen Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 41 Peter Matthiessen books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Wildlife in America by Peter Matthiessen (1959)
  2. Cover of Raditzer by Peter Matthiessen (1961)
  3. Cover of Race Rock by Peter Matthiessen (1969)
  4. Cover of Sal Si Puedes by Peter Matthiessen (1970)
  5. Cover of Blue Meridian by Peter Matthiessen (1971)
  6. Cover of The Tree Where Man Was Born by Peter Matthiessen, book 1 of the African Trilogy (1972)
  7. Cover of The Wind Birds by Peter Matthiessen (1973)
  8. Cover of Far Tortuga by Peter Matthiessen (1975)
  9. Cover of The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen (1978)
  10. Cover of Sand Rivers by Peter Matthiessen, book 2 of the African Trilogy (1981)
  11. Cover of In the Spirit of Crazy Horse by Peter Matthiessen (1983)
  12. Cover of Indian Country by Peter Matthiessen (1984)
  13. Cover of Nine-Headed Dragon River by Peter Matthiessen, book 1 of the Shambhala Dragon Editions series (1986)
  14. Cover of Men's Lives by Peter Matthiessen (1986)
  15. Cover of Partisans by Peter Matthiessen (1987)
  16. Cover of On the River Styx and Other Stories by Peter Matthiessen (1989)
  17. Cover of African Silences by Peter Matthiessen, book 3 of the African Trilogy (1991)
  18. Cover of Baikal: Sacred Sea of Siberia by Peter Matthiessen (1992)
  19. Cover of Shadows of Africa by Peter Matthiessen (1992)
  20. Cover of Lost Man's River by Peter Matthiessen, book 2 of the Shadow Country series (1997)
  21. Cover of No Boundaries by Peter Matthiessen (1997)
  22. Cover of Bone by Bone by Peter Matthiessen, book 3 of the Shadow Country series (1999)
  23. Cover of Zen and the Writing Life by Peter Matthiessen (1999)
  24. Cover of The Peter Matthiessen Reader by Peter Matthiessen (2000)
  1. 1
    The Year of the Tempest1957 · confirmed 1/4
    1957–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Wildlife in America1959 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1959304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Raditzer1961 · 152 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1961152
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Cloud Forest1961 · 280 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1961280
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Under The Mountain Wall1962 · confirmed 1/4
    1962–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    At Play in the Fields of the Lord1965 · confirmed 1/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Oomingmak1967 · confirmed 1/4
    1967–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Race Rock1969 · 306 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1969306
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Sal Si Puedes1970 · 392 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1970392
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Blue Meridian1971 · 202 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1971202
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Tree Where Man Was BornAfrican Trilogy #11972 · 276 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1972276
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Seal Pool1972 · confirmed 1/4
    1972–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Wind Birds1973 · 168 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1973168
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Far Tortuga1975 · 408 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1975408
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Snow Leopard1978 · 338 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1978338
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Sand RiversAfrican Trilogy #21981 · 213 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1981213
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    In the Spirit of Crazy Horse1983 · 646 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1983646
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Indian Country1984 · 338 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984338
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    1000 Adventures1984 · 115 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984115
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Nine-Headed Dragon RiverShambhala Dragon Editions #11986 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1986304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Men's Lives1986 · 335 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1986335
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Partisans1987 · 184 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987184
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 24
    Killing Mister WatsonShadow Country #11990 · confirmed 1/4
    1990–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 25
    African SilencesAfrican Trilogy #31991 · 225 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1991225
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 26
    Baikal: Sacred Sea of Siberia1992 · confirmed 1/4
    1992–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 27
    Shadows of Africa1992 · 120 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1992120
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 28
    Red and Blue Days1993 · confirmed 1/4
    1993–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 29
    Conversations with Peter Matthiessen1994 · confirmed 1/4
    1994–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 30
    East of Lo Monthang1995 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1995192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Peter Matthiessen books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Shadow Country in order

4 books
  1. 1. Killing Mister Watson
  2. 2. Lost Man's River
  3. 3. Bone by Bone
  4. 4. Shadow Country

African Trilogy in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Tree Where Man Was Born
  2. 2. Sand Rivers
  3. 3. African Silences

Shambhala Dragon Editions in order

1 book
  1. 1. Nine-Headed Dragon River

Standalone books

33 books

33 Peter Matthiessen titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Peter Matthiessen books in order?

You only need to read Peter Matthiessen books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Peter Matthiessen

Start with The Year of the Tempest (1957), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Peter Matthiessen book?

In Paradise (2014) is the newest Peter Matthiessen book released so far.

Is there a new Peter Matthiessen book coming?

No next Peter Matthiessen book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Peter Matthiessen has won

Wikidata records 7 awards and 3 nominations for Peter Matthiessen. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • William Dean Howells Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters2010Won
  • National Book Award2008Wonfor Shadow Country
  • Society of American Historians Prize for Historical Fiction2001Wonfor Bone by Bone
  • Helmerich Award1993Won
  • John Burroughs Medal1982Won
  • National Book Award1980Wonfor The Snow Leopard
  • National Book Award for Nonfiction1979Wonfor The Snow Leopard
  • National Book Award for Fiction2008Shortlistedfor Shadow Country
  • Neustadt International Prize for Literature2002Shortlisted
  • National Book Award for Fiction1966Shortlistedfor At Play in the Fields of the Lord

Peter Matthiessen at a glance

Died
Peter Matthiessen died in 2014, according to Wikidata.
Last book
The newest book credited to Peter Matthiessen on record dates from 2014.
Release pace
Peter Matthiessen books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
8,909 pages across the 29 of 41 books with a recorded length, a median of 288 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Peter Matthiessen books, 11 of 41, were published in the 1990s.

What the Peter Matthiessen books are about

31 of the 41 Peter Matthiessen books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: travel is tagged on 6 of 31. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.