Cape Cod - Softcover

Thoreau, Henry David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0486434931 ISBN 13: 9780486434933

Publisher: Dover, 2004

Synopsis

"Unquestionably the best book that has ever been written about Cape Cod, and it is the model to which all new books about the Cape are still compared." — Walter Harding, The Days of Henry Thoreau
The man whose name is synonymous with contemplative rural life took a series of beach-combing walking trips around Cape Code in the early 1850s. These trips to the Cape, Thoreau wrote, were intended to afford "a better view than I had yet had of the ocean." The success of the great naturalist's expeditions lies in this compelling account of the region's plants, animals, topography, weather, and people.
Encounters with the ocean dominate Cape Cod, from the opening episode's dramatic shipwreck to later reflections on the Pilgrims' historic arrival. Along the way, Thoreau recounts the experiences of fishermen and oystermen, farmers and salvagers, lighthouse-keepers, and ship captains. These chronicles of exploration, settlement, and survival constitute a fascinating history of New England. Equally captivating as a travel guide or at-home entertainment, this volume offers convivial and authoritative companionship.

About this title

About the Author:

Essayist, poet, and philosopher, Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) ranks among America's foremost nature writers. The Concord, Massachusetts native spent most of his life observing the natural world of New England, and his thoughts on leading a simple, independent life are captured in his best-known work, Walden.

From AudioFile:

This relatively minor work by Thoreau illustrates the qualities that define his greatest works: his clarity and ease of style, and his concreteness as a naturalist and observer of nature and society. Compiled from magazine articles published in the 1850s after his death, these chapters detail several short trips Thoreau made to "the bare and bended arm of Massachusetts" between 1849 and 1855. Patrick Cullen's unforced and straightforward delivery treats the text as journalism and travelogue, rather than lyrical prose, and thus conveys both Thoreau's strengths as a reporter and the secret of handling this author successfully in the audio format. In addition to its literary merit, this book is also an effective evocation of Cape Cod a century and a half ago, when the old ways were being both lost and preserved against the encroachments of civilization, technology, and inexorable modernity. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Dover
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0486434931
• ISBN 13: 9780486434933
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208