John Hay (1) (1915–)

John Hay, the author and naturalist, is the grandson of another John Hay, who was personal secretary to Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. I think there is probably a long tradition of conservation in the family, as there is also a National Wildlife Refuge named after the elder Hay.

I loved this book. In it, Hay writes about ecology, land use, biological wonders, and the magic of the changing seasons, chiefly in and around his home on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. But he also doses his prose with just the right amount of frustration and outrage at modern society and its general disregard for the value of nature. Hay spaces these observations out just enough to keep himself from being labeled a curmudgeonly old man. Instead, he comes across as an astute and keen observer of the natural world. The truth is that there is no way to honestly report on the state of nature today without including at least a few comments on what humanity has done to damage it. I will indeed be checking out more books by Mr. Hay!… (more)