Cape Cod

by Henry David Thoreau, Paul Theroux (Introduction)

Overview

Cape Cod chronicles Henry David Thoreau's journey of discovery along this evocative stretch of Massachusetts coastline, during which time he came to understand the complex relationship between the sea and the shore. He spent his nights in lighthouses, in fishing huts, and on isolated farms. He passed his days wandering the beaches, where he observed the wide variety of life, and death, offered up by the ocean. Through these observations, Thoreau discovered that the only way to truly know the sea - its depth, its wildness, and the natural life it contained - was to study it from the shore. Like his most famous work, Walden, Cape Cod is full of Thoreau's unique perceptions and precise descriptions. But it is also full of his own joy and wonder at having stumbled across a new frontier so close to home, where a man may stand and "put all America behind him."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780140170023
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/03/1987
Series:	Classic, Nature, Penguin
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	1,047,321
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.75(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

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.

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

Illustrates the qualities that define [Thoreau’s] greatest works: his clarity and ease of style, and his concreteness as a naturalist and observer of nature and society. Patrick Cullen’s unforced and straightforward delivery…conveys both Thoreau’s strengths as a reporter and the secret of handling this author successfully in the audio format.”

AudioFile

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

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