Thoreau's classic account of his meditative, beach-combing walking trips to Cape
Cod in the early 1850s, reflecting on the elemental forces of the sea, with an
introduction by Paul Theroux
"Cape Cod "chronicles Henry David Thoreau s journ
ey of discovery along this evocative stretch of Massachusetts coastline, during
which time he came to understand the complex relationship between the sea and th
e shore. He spent his nights in lighthouses, in fishing huts, and on isolated fa
rms. He passed his days wandering the beaches, where he observed the wide variet
y 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 fam
ous work, "Walden," "Cape Cod" is full of Thoreau s unique perceptions and preci
se descriptions. But it is also full of his own joy and wonder at having stumble
d across a new frontier so close to home, where a man may stand and put all Amer
ica behind him.
