The Undiscovered Country

by John Hay

Through the distillation of a lifetime of experiences, John Hay describes in The Undiscovered Country his quiet, profound search for our place in the natural world. In considering snails, alewives, terns, woodland moths, and other forms of natural life, Hay shares with his readers a discovery that few have experienced and no one has written about so eloquently. The sensitivity and poetic beauty of John Hay's writing will come as no surprise to the readers of The Run, The Great Beach (winner of the John Burroughs award), and the other books for which he is recognized as one of our finest naturalist writers.

196 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1982

About the author

John Hay (August 31, 1915, Ipswich, Massachusetts – February 26, 2011, Bremen, Maine was an American author, naturalist, and conservation activist. Hay co-founded the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster, Massachusetts and served as its president from 1955 to 1980. He composed 18 books from his "writing shack" on Dry Hill at his home in Brewster, Massachusetts, including two autobiographies, A beginner's faith in things unseen (1995) and Mind the Gap: The Education of a Nature Writer. (2004).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ha...

Reviews

[Christopher G. Egg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to start this review, stating my stress levels were elevated when I read this book. I wanted to love this book as much I love the writings of Aldo Leopold and Sigurd Olson. Hay makes some lunges that are too great for me to understand, when he shares the the similarities of birds, fishes and mammals to humans. I understand his basic message that we are a part and subject to nature, not separate or superior in anyway, though society believes otherwise. His preface was engaging, inspiring and really had me motivated to jump into this book. Sadly I found only one or two chapters that were as interesting or captivating as his preface.
I am interested in reading another work by Hay because I enjoy the idea of this work, but this work fell short for me or I fell short of it.

[Jared M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great writer. Hay's skill is in careful observation of the rhythms and details of life and their intertwinings and ties (mostly subconscious and hence undiscovered) to our own lives. I left this book with a longing for connections, both natural and human.