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Cape Cod Audiobook
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(3.05) - 354 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Compiled from magazine articles published in the 1850s after his death, Cape Cod details several short trips Thoreau made to "the bare and bended arm ofMassachusetts" between 1849 and 1855. "He went to the Cape out of curiosity," explains Paul Theroux, "but in the course of his travel a great thing happened: Thoreau, the woodsman and landlubber, discovered the sea."
Encounters with the ocean dominate the book, from the fatal shipwreck of the opening episode to the late reflections on the Pilgrims' Cape Cod landing and reconnaissance. Along the way, Thoreau relates the experiences of fishermen and oystermen, lighthouse keepers and ship captains, and their chronicles of exploration, settlement, and survival on the Cape against the threats of the wild sea and of encroaching modernity.
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""Take all the graveyards together, they are always the majority. It is the individual and private that demands our sympathy." (LoA 857)"Nothing remarkable was ever accomplished in a prosaic mood." (933) "
— Liam (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“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 -
“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 Listener Reviews
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" Ok, I admit it, I didn't read the entire book, but I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful Thoreau's writing is. Honestly, if you're not interested in nature and the mundane observations of a man walking in the woods or on the beach, then go watch paint dry and it'll be more interesting. I, however, indulged the nerd in myself with this book :) "
— Leah, 2/14/2014 -
" Easier to get through than The Maine Woods, maybe not as easy to get through as Walden. I don't know why I keep reading these "classic" books when I hate them so much. All this tells me is that anyone with a pen and an idea could be an author back then. I have no idea why these are supposed to be such intellectually stimulating books. I must be dumber than I think I am. "
— Jennifer, 2/8/2014 -
" I wish I could have said that I "loved" this book, but really, it was just a pleasant, relaxing, occasionally humorous essay that it might be tough to get someone else excited about. I'm glad I decided to read it, I learned a lot, and a few of the stories made me laugh, but it's also sad to think about how much the region must be changed since Thoreau's visit. If you're interested in themes of nature, the sea, shipwrecks, lighthouses, etc., I'd definitely recommend it (and in fact, I'd like to own a copy of it for my own library of those topics). If you need your reading to include murders and mayhem, it's probably not the book for you :) "
— Leigh-ann, 1/28/2014 -
" Nice description and history of Cape Cod. I read it while I was on the Cape and liked it. "
— Barbara, 1/25/2014 -
" An interesting account of Cape Cod. I appreciated the history lesson written as a contemporary account. The final chapter contains some great history of Cape Cod and its earliest explorers. "
— Justin, 1/23/2014 -
" Great book...Thoreau's record of his travels through the Cape is both informative, sometimes humorous, in it's description of nature, people and events and interesting as a historical snapshot of Cape Cod in the mid-1800s... "
— Neil, 1/20/2014 -
" Loved Thoreau's writings on Cape Cod. So much detail and the natural surroundings so beautifully described. "
— Brenda, 1/19/2014 -
" I got bored and stopped reading this about half way through. Maybe it's me. "
— Christen, 1/16/2014 -
" Lovely though hard-to-read book about the history of Cape Cod and the way it looks & feels. "
— Sabine, 1/3/2014 -
" This had more humor in it than I was expecting. The reader of the audio had an appropriately New England accent, but droned a bit, so I do admit to tuning out portions, especially in the second half of the book. Having a connection to the Cape helped. "
— Meredith, 12/25/2013 -
" Well it was very dry for a book about the sea but the imagery and lofty language was beautiful enough to make me enjoy it. "
— Austin, 12/19/2013 -
" Recent interest. Thoreau being a time-to-time interest himself. A very well written account- a throwback if you will. A good escape, a vacation in itself. "
— Stephen, 12/4/2013 -
" Step-by-step account of Thoreau's journey by foot across the back side of Cape Cod. I enjoyed best his alternately droll and profound musings on the landscape and encounters with the natural and human residents of the Cape. "
— K, 11/29/2013 -
" It was a little long winded, but I liked his views of the cape. Since I spend time there, I felt like I could relate a little. "
— Kevin, 11/21/2013 -
" Every place he visited carried not just a story of the surroundings but also a view of people's thoughts and their reactions to beauty. "
— Jeanne, 11/10/2013 -
" Living on Cape Cod, I could appreciate that which he wrote. "
— Kelly, 9/23/2013 -
" Worth a read, but only because I love Cape Cod. "
— Michael, 4/24/2013 -
" As good the second time as the first. Cape Cod could never be described this way in modern times. "
— Robert, 1/25/2013 -
" Ordered on ebay after first trip to Cape Cod -- amazing insight to the land/sea-scape of that beautiful land off Massachusetts' shore! "
— Mrs., 6/29/2012 -
" This was a wonderful "walk" around Cape Cod many years ago. Calm and lovely book. "
— Elisabeth, 6/13/2012 -
" lovely nature writing on my favorite place in the world "
— Koren, 1/5/2012 -
" I read it on Cape Cod, so it was interesting to read about the different areas described by Thoreau while I was visiting them 150 years later. Otherwise, it is basically a textbook about the local plants and people. "
— Ross, 12/3/2011 -
" Well it was very dry for a book about the sea but the imagery and lofty language was beautiful enough to make me enjoy it. "
— Austin, 2/28/2011 -
" Recent interest. Thoreau being a time-to-time interest himself. A very well written account- a throwback if you will. A good escape, a vacation in itself. "
— Stephen, 7/23/2010 -
" Loved Thoreau's writings on Cape Cod. So much detail and the natural surroundings so beautifully described. "
— Brenda, 3/11/2010 -
" An interesting account of Cape Cod. I appreciated the history lesson written as a contemporary account. The final chapter contains some great history of Cape Cod and its earliest explorers. "
— Justin, 6/22/2009 -
" Worth a read, but only because I love Cape Cod. "
— Michael, 11/27/2008 -
" It was a little long winded, but I liked his views of the cape. Since I spend time there, I felt like I could relate a little. "
— Kevin, 6/26/2008 -
" Every place he visited carried not just a story of the surroundings but also a view of people's thoughts and their reactions to beauty. "
— Jeanne, 5/19/2008 -
" Great book...Thoreau's record of his travels through the Cape is both informative, sometimes humorous, in it's description of nature, people and events and interesting as a historical snapshot of Cape Cod in the mid-1800s... "
— Neil, 10/26/2007 -
" I got bored and stopped reading this about half way through. Maybe it's me. "
— Christen, 10/14/2007
About Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) was an American essayist, naturalist, philosopher, and poet. Born at Concord, Massachusetts, and educated at Harvard, he began his career as a teacher. Through his older friend and neighbor, Ralph Waldo Emerson, he became a part of the Transcendentalist circle and one of that group’s most eloquent spokespersons. He is best known for his book Walden and his essay “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience.”
About the Narrators
John Lescault, a native of Massachusetts, is a graduate of the Catholic University of America. He lives in Washington, DC, where he works in theater.
John Lescault, a native of Massachusetts, is a graduate of the Catholic University of America. He lives in Washington, DC, where he works in theater.