Traces Of Thoreau: A Cape Cod Journey [Paperback]

Stephen Mulloney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 19, 1998

In Traces of Thoreau, Stephen Mulloney faithfully follows his 1849 walking tour from Orleans to Provincetown, vividly describing not only the differences between yesterday's Cape and today's but also their timeless similarities. In duplicating Thoreau's journey, Stephen Mulloney captures views of the Cape rarely seen by tourists and allows the reader to explore and contemplate the Great Outer Beach as if for the first time.

Mulloney's entertaining travelogue gives us nature by day -- with captivating descriptions of plants, animals, and geological features -- and civilization by night as he seeks food and lodging in beach communities swarming with visitors. Here one meets a delightful sampling of colorful Cape characters, from members of the cocktail set to Wellfleet oystermen encountered in a working-class bar.

Traces of Thoreau richly conveys the grandeur of beach and sky juxtaposed with fast food stands and miniature golf. It is a celebration of the bare beauty of the landscape and an invitation to share the meditations of a modern-day Thoreau who rediscovers the restorative powers of one of America's most scenic locales.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

No doubt many people have read Thoreau's Cape Cod and pledged to follow his footstepsAto walk from Eastham to Provincetown and then "make a book on Cape Cod." So you've got to admire Mulloney's tenacity, even if his version of his journey tends to be rather, well, pedestrian. A media affairs specialist with the Massachusetts Legislature, Mulloney isn't exactly a subtle writer ("Boom! Now there was a wave!" he observes, only minutes after another wave "ran up the shore and grabbed [him] around the ankles." He also has a penchant for hyperbole, though it could be his way of paying homage to Thoreau. Regardless, it's gratingAa look becomes "a gander" and the sun is either "that supreme luminary," "a ruby red circle shining through a veil of vapor" or "the hot star." It might help if he were consistent, but mixing modern slang with antiquated formal language (one minute he's going on about "a Munchkin-sized woman" and the next he's complaining about her "doleful mien") only highlights the problem. Mulloney's real strength is his knowledge of the Cape; he used to be a television reporter there, and his descriptions will resonate with anyone familiar with the region. He also offers insightful commentary on everything from development and environmental issues to local lingo (including the all-important distinction between locals and natives).
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Any writer with the temerity to begin a first book with "It was a dark and stormy night..." deserves our attention for the remainder of the sentence, which continues "honest to God it was, that Ides of March eve of the fateful encounter." Mulloney has us hooked for the remainder of the paragraph, and from there it's an enjoyable sojourn to the end of the read. He is a television and radio reporter and also a media affairs specialist with the Massachusetts legislature?hardly the credentials one would expect of a person attempting a walk in Thoreau's footsteps on Cape Cod. But walk and write he does, observing with intelligence, appreciation, and wry good humor all that he discovers. One need not be familiar with Thoreau's classic Cape Cod to enjoy this contemporary journey. Mulloney has familiarized himself with local flora and fauna, in addition to absorbing the geology of this unusual landmass; he's a perceptive observer of the human condition as well. Recommended for most collections.?Janet N. Ross, Sparks Branch Lib., NV
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Northeastern (June 19, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555533434
• ISBN-13: 978-1555533434
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,401,598 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Summer Beach Reading!, August 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Traces Of Thoreau: A Cape Cod Journey (Paperback)

As I sat on the ferry steaming across to Martha'a Vineyard, I could not help but constantly gaze to the Northeast and attempt to see past the horizon to the Cape Cod beaches on which Mulloney was strolling. Admittedly, I have never read a page of Thoreau and I embarked on reading this book with some serious trepidation. However, I was more than pleased when I found myself along side him, watching the waves crash along the seashore, listening to the locals tell tales of how it used to be, and generally feeling right at home, even though I had never visited a single place he was describing. And to top it all off, his references to Thoreau ( or H.T. as Mulloney calls him) were not only clear and pertinent, they were solid enough that I now feel as if I am some sort of junior varsity expert on the Concord native. This is perfect summer New England beach reading. It's also perfect winter New England reading for when you're wishing you were at the beach. And it's perfec! t Autumn reading, for that was the season when Mulloney embarked upon his retracing of Thoreau's steps down America's outer rim. And I suppose I must say it's perfect Spring reading, for when you are preparing for the summer's events. "Traces of Thoreau" is summer escapist non-fiction reading at its best. It is a timeless work, to be appreciated for summers and summers to come. Enjoy.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Didn't work for me., January 4, 2002

By 

Sue - See all my reviews

This review is from: Traces Of Thoreau: A Cape Cod Journey (Paperback)

"Traces of Thoreau" is a pretentious, self-congratulatory narrative, and rather a bore as a result. For this reviewer, it failed both as a personal story and as a descriptive work about Cape Cod.

The author just isn't as compelling to us as he clearly finds himself. (I strongly disagree with the editorial reviewer who said that Mr. Mulloney largely "absents himself from the narrative." It just isn't so.) Although he fancies himself a modern "H.T.," there's nothing particularly insightful about Mr. Mulloney's walk on the beach, which unfortunately leaves Cape Cod shortchanged as a subject. The book does contain some informative passages about natural history, but there are some great guidebooks that are much better in that regard.

This book would best have been kept as a personal journal. You know, the kind that gets tossed out when it is reread it in a few years and found embarrassing even to the author.

For really fun and insightful travel/nature writing, try Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods"!

4.0 out of 5 stars Take a walk on the ocean side, August 25, 2004

By 

Corinne H. Smith (Athol, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Traces Of Thoreau: A Cape Cod Journey (Paperback)

Boston resident Stephen Mulloney is positioned at one of Life's Crossroads when he receives Henry David Thoreau's book, "Cape Cod," as a gift. He approaches the book reluctantly at first as he remembers hearing that "the author was a sour curmudgeon," for Mulloney "had enough live curmudgeons to deal with." But Thoreau's descriptions of walking through the Cape towns strike a chord with Mulloney -- so much so, that he decides to recreate and follow the naturalist's treks along the outer Cape banks.

And so the adventure begins. Mulloney isn't a plan-ahead kind of guy, which gets him into a bit of a bind when he tries to find last-minute lodging on Labor Day weekend. He even forgets to take drinking water along as he hikes. These oversights seem minor as he discovers for himself the beauty of the sand, the ocean, and the flora and fauna (including humans) he encounters on the way. Readers learn about this dynamic landscape from the author's personal, conversational manner. You can almost feel the warm sand scrunching between your toes. Mulloney miscalculates and doesn't have enough time to complete the journey in one stint; he has to return over Columbus Day weekend to finish the path of the original walk.

David Gessner similarly tells of his own re-enactment of Thoreau's on-foot Cape travels in a section of "A Wild Rank Place: One Year on Cape Cod." The two men cover the same territory within a few years of each other and find slightly different (and mostly positive) experiences. Both accounts are worth reading, even if you're not the hiking type or even a Thoreauvian. The dual conclusion is clear: When you're walking, you see a more vivid Cape Cod than the one you can see from a car window.