Walden or, Life in the Woods

Rating:
Summary: Thoreau was a genius, like Jerry Garcia
Review: When Thoreau made his great experiment of withdrawal from the social world he went into the woods in order to confront himself and real life. This action , the action of withdrawal and the ensuing revelation have served as inspiration and example for many others overwhelmed by the burdens and business of life. Thoreau however was not an ordinary person in withdrawal. He was a very deep student of Nature and of the philosophical literature of his Time, of Emerson. And he was in tune with the Transcendental spirit of that time that reaching out and beyond to a spiritual reality which in some way would unite all worlds and bring the universal unity of Mankind. The combination of his deep perception of the local physical world and the vast stretch of his richly metaphoric mind help make one of the great American classics.
This work is so aphoristically rich that it is difficult to read it as simple consecutive prose. As with Emerson one must pause and rethink the various aphorisms given us. But one thing, the spirit, the spirit of hope of intellectual adventure of faith in a greatness and goodness in Nature carry us forward. As Thoreau said " There is new day to dawn , the sun is but a morning star"