"For people who truly live there, Cape Cod is not a place but a religion. And for many, the environmentalist John Hay is its prophet. That is clearly the case with David Gessner, a much younger nature writer who struck up a friendship with his idol, the octogenarian seer, while living on the Cape a few years back. In fact it was Hay who reached out to Gessner after the latter published a newspaper piece complaining about the local infestation of trophy houses. Master and pupil, the pair wandered the woods and beaches of the Cape, Hay expounding all the while on literature and nature. Gessner became a regular visitor at Hay's secluded home -- it was, he says, like being able to drop by Walden for a chat with Thoreau…"

"(A)…tender, luminous book..a picture of the young writer as pilgrim, seeking to connect with a living tradition even as it slips away, and in the process, discovering a new story of his own."

"This book will give you many ways to respect the earth, to cherish animals, and to carry on the great work of preserving the diversity of ecosystems."