The Prophet of Dry Hill: Lessons From a Life in Nature - Hardcover

Gessner, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0807085685 ISBN 13: 9780807085684

Publisher: Beacon Press, 2005

Synopsis

David Gessner had always known of John Hay. A nature writing legend, Hay was a hero to the younger writer. But it wasn't until Gessner returned to his childhood home on Cape Cod that he befriended the older man. At first, Gessner thought he might write Hay's biography. But that idea gradually changed as the two talked and walked through the fifty acres surrounding Hay's house on Dry Hill. The book that resulted is a dramatic record of what the younger man learned from his elder.

The Prophet of Dry Hill is the compelling story of two men and the year they spent together. But more than a book about friendship, it's a lyrical primer on the importance of living a life connected to the wild. John Hay has lived deeply on one piece of land for sixty years. As a consequence, he has much to tell Gessner-and us-about the importance of creating a strong relationship with the land we live on. His words speak to our forgotten need for space and for reaching beyond ourselves to the world outside. Seeing is the great discipline that nature teaches, Hay proclaims. Nature, not psychology, is the path to our true selves.

In our split-second world, a life like John Hay's-rooted, connected to nature-provides a radical counterpoint to our technology-filled indoor existences. Gessner learned much from this man on the hill. We too will be challenged and changed.

About this title

About the Author

David Gessner is the author of several books, including most recently Sick of Nature. His Return of the Osprey was chosen by the Boston Globe as one of the top ten nonfiction books of the year. Gessner is currently the editor of Ecotone, a literary journal, and teaches at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He lives in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, with his wife and daughter.

Reviews

In an era when the average person moves every 3.5 years, the notion of a man living 60 years on one piece of land is as quaint and anachronistic as button-hook shoes and the Pony Express; yet that's just what the legendary naturalist John Hay did on the 50-acre Cape Cod wilderness he called home. Fellow nature writer Gessner grew up on the Cape and returned there, planning to write Hay's biography. What emerged instead is an ardent memoir of the year they spent sharing the joys, wonders, secrets, and treasures of a landscape quickly succumbing to developers' bulldozers. As they explored surf and stream, observed spawning herring and diving gannets, an abiding friendship evolved between the revered octogenarian and the man young enough to be his grandson, a relationship as benevolent, fundamental, and momentous as any other in nature. Sharing a philosophy of life and living, Gessner eloquently reacquaints readers old and new to Hay's magnificent contributions to the art of nature writing. Carol Haggas
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Edition details

• Publisher: Beacon Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807085685
• ISBN 13: 9780807085684
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192