A man can stand here and leave all of America behind. Henry David Thoreau. Once a place of inspiration where Herman Melville began the hunt for Moby Dick and whose light Edward Hopper painted for over thirty years, today it is Boston's bathtub and a coveted vacation destination for New Englanders: Cape Cod has always captivated with the rugged charm of its coastal landscape as well as its rich history and culture. Holger Teschke has been visiting the famous peninsula of Massachusetts for over twenty years; in his book, he engages in conversations with old and young residents and traces the footsteps of European explorers and colonists, old whalers, forgotten artists, and lost seafarers. He recalls the Puritans and Quakers in their unholy dispute over precious whale oil, tells of clamming as a new national pastime, and shares encounters with Henry David Thoreau.