Cape Cod

by Henry David Thoreau

Overview

"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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781420927122
Publisher:	Neeland Media
Publication date:	01/01/2006

About the Author

Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts in 1817. He graduated from Harvard in 1837, the same year he began his lifelong Journal. Inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thoreau became a key member of the Transcendentalist movement that included Margaret Fuller and Bronson Alcott. The Transcendentalists' faith in nature was tested by Thoreau between 1845 and 1847 when he lived for twenty-six months in a homemade hut at Walden Pond. While living at Walden, Thoreau worked on the two books published during his lifetime: Walden (1854) and A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849). Several of his other works, including The Maine Woods, Cape Cod, and Excursions, were published posthumously. Thoreau died in Concord, at the age of forty-four, in 1862.

Paul Theroux, an internationally acclaimed travel writer, is also the author of over two dozen novels and works of non-fiction. He divides his time between Cape Cod and the Hawaiian Islands.

Date of Birth:

July 12, 1817

Date of Death:

May 6, 1862

Place of Birth:

Concord, Massachusetts

Place of Death:

Concord, Massachusetts

Education:

Concord Academy, 1828-33); Harvard University, 1837

Table of Contents

I. The Shipwreck
II. Stage-coach Views
III. The Plains of Nauset
IV. The Beach
V. The Wellfleet Oysterman
VI. The Beach Again
VII. Across the Cape
VIII. The Highland Light
IX. The Sea and the Desert

Editorial Reviews

"Cape Cod is Thoreau's sunniest, happiest book. It bubbles over with jokes, puns, tall tales, and genial good humor. . . . 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

From the Publisher

Cape Cod is Thoreau's sunniest, happiest book. It bubbles over with jokes, puns, tall tales, and genial good humor. . . . 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.

The Days of Henry Thoreau - Walter Harding

Cape Cod is Thoreau's sunniest, happiest book. It bubbles over with jokes, puns, tall tales, and genial good humor. . . . 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