Finally a readable book for local history

books:

	• The Enduring Shore: A History of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Paul Schneider Holt Paperbacks, 2001 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 11 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Cape kid liked the book despite problems

I thought that Schneider attacks this book with the best of intentions and scores on many points, specifically the history of the Naussets, Champlain's adventure on the Cape and early whaling ships (including the Essex). Where he failed was in the telling: too often he jumped from event to event in a disjointed history or re-related events in a clumsy narrative. Too skimpy to be history, too spotty to cover the entire Cape, I liked this book despite its problems because it gave me some great historical perspectives of the beaches and sea where I live.

Finally a readable book for local history

The amazing deluge of tourism each summer truly ignores the elaborate history of some of New England's most beautiful coastline. For many of us who live or travel there when time and traffic allow there is this fine book to fill in the grey areas.

Unfortunately, regional history is not as popular to most readers as a spy novel or biography. This book bounces between the author's journeys in Kayak along the islands and coastline and the chronological history of travellers and settlers to the coast. There are humorous accounts of indian encounters, misguided settlers and an all too unpleasant tale of life aboard the Mayflower. Not all as we had once been told in grammar school.

The endnotes are substantial and the book can at times seem more academic than entertaining. However, I passed this on to two friends and we have laughed and shared our favorite stories over beverages. A good book and a nice read.

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MUCH MORE THAN JUST A REGIONAL HISTORY

As a regular visitor to the Vinyard - I grabbed this book to get more depth in understanding the local history. I was pleasantly surprised to find a book that provides insights into early American history that would be of value to any one with interests in the topic.

Undermining the "myth" of the "new" world's "virgin forests", Schneider's description of the impact of European explorers on the native populations and the profound consequences of these early interactions a good CENTURY BEFORE the Mayflower -- explodes the simplistic history still understood by many. His description of the robust, healthy natives whose populations were devastated long before the sickly, weak European's began settlements - will turn history on its head for many. It provides a great complement to anyone interested in books such as "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond. I also found his descriptions of issues such as the early development of the whaling industry to be of interest to a far broader audience than one would assume for a "regional" history book.

I found his writing style engaging and was frequently amused with his turns of phrase - which was a plus I did not anticipate from on local history book.

Though others have been critical of how he weaved his personal, contemporary experiences with the historical narrative - I found it rather engaging -- though these parts of the book may be of more interest to local readers and less engaging for those with out a personal tie to the region.

In short, I would highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in early American history - especially with an ecological/anthropological bent. Especially if one has never been exposed to ideas presented in books such as "Changes to the Land". If you are traveling or live anywhere near the southern/central New England coast or have an interest in colonial history of the northeast - this is a must read for you.

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Cape Cod Ramble

This is an excellent book about the Cape and its history.
There are lots of nuggets of interesting and original information. The book, however, suffers from its rambling and discursive format. It really is a ramble.

Easy history for vacation reading

This is the perfect book to take with you on your Cape Cod vacation. It offers lots of interesting tales and stories about life on Cape Cod and the Islands from pre-Colonial times through the present, and also is one of the few books that actually treats the Native Americans in enough depth to provide the reader with an appreciation for how essential the natives' contributions were to the survival of the early European settlers. It also makes it quite clear that the natives no doubt regretted their helpfulness in short order, having been kidnapped, stolen from and otherwised abused by the newcomers very soon after they landed.

I always enjoy reading books about the places I visit while I'm there, so The Enduring Shore was perfect for my vacation to the outer Cape earlier this month. Schneider's discussion of the geology of the Cape is fascinating, and I will look at its cliffs and sandy beaches in a more knowing, deeper way henceforth.

I like to have two or more books going at once, usually one nonfiction and one fiction. A good complementary novel to read in conjunction with The Enduring Shore is William Martin's Cape Cod, which offers an abundance of useful and interesting facts about the Cape while delivering them in the context of a family saga that is perfect for beach reading.

I reecommend The Enduring Shore for anyone who is interested in how the Cape got that way and why it matters to so many of us today.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

Even before the Pilgrims landed in 1620, Cape Cod and its islands promised paradise to visitors, both native and European. In Paul Schneider's sure hands, the story of this waterland created by glaciers and refined by storms and tides -- and of its varied inhabitants -- becomes an irresistible biography of a place.

Cape Cod's Great Beach, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket are romantic stops on Schneider's roughly chronological human and natural history. His book is a lucid and compelling collage of seaside ecology, Indians and colonists, religion and revolution, shipwrecks and hurricanes, whalers and vengeful sperm whales, glorious clipper ships and today's beautiful but threatened beaches. Schneider's superb eye for story and detail illuminates both history and landscape. A wonderful introduction, it will also appeal to the millions of people who already have warm associations with these magical places.

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