A unique document by an extraordinary man about one of the giants of American history, this edition features a new forward by Henry Steele Commager, who sheds new light on the Lincoln-Hay relationship.

Cape Cod's vast outer coast, named The Great Beach by Henry David Thoreau, is little changed since the Pilgrim's first landfall almost 350 years ago. Today a plane can skim its fifty miles in a matter of seconds, and in the summer bathing areas are so crowded with cars and people they take on a continental flavor. But the long, desolate, windswept stretches can still be found, and the National Park Service has been taking steps to preserve the original character of the beach and its rolling dunes back from the water, designating it a National Seashore.

Here is an evocative, closely observed portrait of terns, as the noted naturalist John Hay has watched these "tirelessly flying, excitable, vulnerable birds" for years on Cape Cod. Celebrating their beauty, Hay describes all aspects of the birds' lives, from threats by enemies (including human beings' neglect of the environment) to mating rituals, the wild tumult of a crowded nesting site, and their long-range migrations.

"From the icy coasts of Greenland, to the steaming rainforests of Costa Rica, John Hay's seasoned eye leads us to the phenomena which bind all life on earth. For Hay, the wilderness is not just some underdeveloped patch of land that escaped the bulldozers opening the paths of progress. It is the underlying health and wealth of this entire planet, the "real world" beneath all of civilization's superficial distractions. It is a world for which John Hay's rich and pensive writings form one of the best field guides that I know of." --Gary Nabhan

"The valiant and imaginative nature writing of John Hay is one of the most enriching contributions to sentient life on our planet that an American has made in our time. Here, his creative force is at its best; the pages on the shrew, alone, would be enough to justify the purchase of the book. If all humanity were to read Mr. Hay's work, it is not unlikely that Darwin and St. Francis of Assisi would come back to life and join hands." --James Dickey

"A Beginner's Faith in Things Unseen provides a sort of retrospective introduction to the mind of a man who has gained a quiet reputation as the elder statesman of American nature writing." -Amanda Heller, Boston Sunday Globe

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.