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Summary: Let us consider the way in which we spend our lives
Review: "A good book is the plectrum with which our else silent lyres are struck." ~Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817, in Concord, Massachusetts. He attended Harvard from 1833 to 1837. He had a complete fascination with the natural world and great literature in general. Life seemed to him to be a playground of thoughts. He draws from a great volume of understanding and his thirst for information seems unquenchable. If you have read or listened to The Iliad and The Odyssey, you will especially enjoy some of his references. He also weaves verses from the Bible into his writing in an interesting way and you will appreciate his writing more if you have a basic understanding of Homer, Shakespeare, Plato, Chaucer, John Milton, Alexander Pope and Emerson. Within this book you will meet a man of independent thought who is completely consumed with the sheer delight of discovery. To wander in the woods in solitary thought was a spiritual experience. He was also involved in a philosophical and literary movement which flourished in New England from 1835 to 1860. Both he and Ralph Waldo Emerson were at the center of transcendentalism and influential in American thought and literature. Thoreau's thoughts flow from one subject to the other throughout this book. The contents include Walden, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, Cape Cod, The Allegash and East Branch, Walking, Civil Disobedience, Slavery in Massachusetts, A Plea for Captain John Brown and Life Without Principle. Walden - Walden represents our ability to follow our individual dreams all while being willing to be satisfied with less in order to gain greater intellectual freedom. Thoreau built himself a cabin on the edge of Walden Pond and lived there from 1845 to 1847. During this time he supported himself by surveying and growing vegetables. He rambled about in the woods and collected his thoughts in detailed journals. His friendships seemed few and far between, however the friends did make seemed to turn into deeply satisfying relationships. Walden Pond becomes Thoreau's lover. He drinks from her cool refreshment, swims in her enveloping waters, knows her every mood in summer or winter and observes her with the utmost attention as she freezes, melts and dances playfully in the sun. The descriptions of this pond are well-worth reading as he has a talent for capturing her very essence with his extensive vocabulary.
A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers - Thoreau and his brother made a river voyage in a boat they built. This experience was the basis for his first self-published book in 1849. One minute you are reading about the river and the next you enter an entirely different world of thought about friendship. "You are the fact in a fiction, - you are the truth more strange and admirable than fiction. Consent only to be what you are. I alone will never stand in your way. This is what I would like, -to be as intimate with you as our spirits are intimate, -respecting you as I respect my ideal. Never to profane one another by word or action, even by a thought." Cape Cod - Thoreau made the first of four trips to Cape Cod in 1849, and he later delivered lectures about his experiences. Allegash and East Branch - A journey made in 1857 with Edward Hoar and an Indian guide who brings some humor to the tale. Edward gets lost and we see a side of Thoreau that shows his concern for his fellow human beings. He is normally just so independent. Walking - Quite humorous at times and explains his love for walking and for letting the wildness in man come out to play. Civil Disobedience - This essay seems to have been born during the time Thoreau had to stay in a prison because he refused to pay a poll tax. This essay is said to have influenced Gandhi in India and the civil-rights movement led by Martin Luther King. Slavery in Massachusetts - A lecture given in 1854 at an Independence Day meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Plea for Captain John Brown - In October 1859 the abolitionist Capt. John Brown raided the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, and Thoreau spoke in defense of his character. Life Without Principle - Here he gives his views on rushing off to California in search of gold. This man's mind was a deep forest and his descriptions of nature are quite inspiring. Where else would I have read about a whale's vertebra being used as a mortar or been so highly entertained by his conversations with an eccentric elderly gentleman? There are also descriptions of shipwrecks and discussions about survival in the woods. Thoreau's humor will often catch you unaware and if you collect quotes, you will find quite a few. Since most of us will never build our own homes, cook over a wood fire on a regular basis or take our baths in a pond, this book presents a lifestyle we may never experience. You will rarely find an individual in your own circle of friends who would encourage you to downsize your life in a super-size world. The uncommon perspective presented in 732 pages will appeal to writers, poets, philosophers and anyone who values their thoughts more than material possessions. During the week of reading this book, I was inspired to take a trip out to the mountains, walked along a river, and worked in my garden with a new sense of purpose. The world became a vibrant, new environment filled with possibilities. Intense reading? Yes. A week's worth of reading will inspire you for a lifetime. If at all possible, read while this book while floating in a boat on a pond or while on a camping trip in the woods. ~TheRebeccaReview.com
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Summary: Revisiting Walden Pond.
Review: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately," Thoreau writes in his most familiar work, WALDEN, "to front only the essential facts of life, and to see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get to the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion" (p. 86). These were the words that forever changed my life when I first read WALDEN more than twenty years ago. I have since returned to WALDEN more than any other book. Recently reading another Modern Library Paperback Classic, THE ESSENTIAL WRITINGS OF RALPH WALDO EMERSON, prompted me to revisit Thoreau in this new paperback edition of his collected writings. It opens with a revealing biographical Introduction to Thoreau (1817-1862) by his friend, Emerson. Thoreau "was bred to no profession, he never married" Emerson writes; "he lived alone; he never went to church; he never voted; he refused to pay a tax to the State; he ate no flesh, he drank no wine, he never knew the use of tobacco; and, though a naturalist, he used neither trap nor gun. He chose, wisely no doubt for himself, to be the bachelor of thought and Nature. He had no talent for wealth, and knew how to be poor without the least hint of squalor or inelegance" (p. xiii). This 802-page edition includes WALDEN in its entirety, together with other writings one would expect to find here, A WEEK ON THE CONCORD AND MERRIMACK RIVERS, "Walking," and "Civil Disobedience," among others. "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desparation" (p. 8), Thoreau wrote in 1854. Few would disagree that WALDEN remains relevant today. "Most men, even in this comparatively free country" Thoreau observed more than 150 years ago, "through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them. Their fingers, from excessive toil, are too clumsy and tremble too much for that" (p. 6). "Our life is frittered away by detail" (p. 86); Thoreau encourages us to "Simplify, simplify" (p. 87). "To be awake is to be alive," he tells us (p. 85). "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. It is not important that he should mature as soon as an apple tree or an oak" (p. 305). Truth be told, WALDEN is as much a about a state of mind as the place where Thoreau spent his "Life in the Woods," 1845-47. WALDEN is among the ten best books I've ever read. Thoreau was a true American original thinker, and the writings collected here could change your life forever. G. Merritt
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Summary: Idiotic jargon
Review: ...I would not, if I had the authority, allow this book to circulate at all, not least because it was so horribly written in such circular language that Mr. Thoreau seemed to favor, but because of the fact that he so completely misused such Eastern writings as he could get his hands on, and the thought process of this fool of a man is absolutely astounding.
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Summary: Thoreau is a passionate idiot!!!!!!!
Review: Allow me to introduce myself. I am currently a high school student somewhere not near Walden Pond. I just had a heck of time reading this book by Emerson (oops, I meant Thoreau, how stupid I am. Please forgive me, Ms. Rodrigue). It abssooolutely spoiled me summer. In short, I will just give you an idea of how long it took me to finish the stinking book. If I am not wrong, I think I spent the better part of August on this one single book, although it is only 200 pages. The things this dude said made absolutely no sense, and just to be polite, I will just say that he had no life! Why should we read something from a Harvard graduate guy who is so rich that he doesn't have to do anything for his living?? Like other "American classists" of his time, Thoreau just wrote down whatever he was thinking, and almost 150 years later, we get to see what neurosis plagued his diseased mind. How this benefits high school students in this age and time is beyond me. Heck, we could write down whatever's in our minds now and publish it, and I guarantee it will be 10 times better than Thoreau's stint with nature. Let me give you an example of what the book is like. In the first chapter called Economy, Thoreau basically told people how he somehow earned less than 20 bucks, wasted about 7 bucks, and still had a net gain of about 8. And all this in the form of a concise 50 pages. He also happened to be a major hypocrite. In the chapter called The Ponds, he somehow got sidetracked into talking about why he disliked farmers, and the work they perform. However, in some pages earlier, he praised the works of husbandry with so many ornamentations in his convoluted writing style, that I fell asleep immediately upon finishing 10 pages. Ah yes, and then the wonderful pages upon pages of vivid description about scenery, the little fighting ants, the whippor-whill, the squirrels under the floorboards, the bees...how they infested his cozy little shack... what do we care about his pests in nature? He also took the opportunity to give a little lesson in Earth Science with his detailed account of melting ice. I mean, how much can you really say about ice melting? But this guy can go on and on forever. Also, he approves letting children hunt at an early age, even though he doesn't dare use the gun he brings with him everywhere. He also talked about his anti-socialness when he described his random trips into the town of Concord. Do we really want to read something from this ostracized, self-engrossed hermit? He used the first person point of view in this book. I can't even use that form in my essays in English, why does this guy get to do that? He is, in my belief, a spoiled brat. The only good thing I can say about the book is that it was quite a relief to reach the last chapter, which he titled Conclusion. Some conclusion it was, it didn't tie together anything he said throughout this waste of paper and ink. So appropriately, I and my imaginary friend Waldo give it only one single solitary star. By the way, if you happen to be a big fan of Thoreau, get a life. If you really hate me right now, please book for your next life after your reincarnation. If you really really hate me, tough, live with it. If you still hate me, I demand that YOU go thorugh the life that Thoreau did at Walden Pond, build a little shack for yourself, and grow beans on what-must-now-be polluted land. Oh yes, just don't write a memoir. Thank you for your kind attention, and have a nice day.
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Summary: The negative reviews here are frighteningly revealing
Review: As a professor of philosophy, I at one time regularly took classes of first year college students to Concord for a week-long intensive seminar on Emerson and Thoreau. I eventually abandoned the seminar, because I discovered that each class was progressively more hostile to what these two wonderful persons stood for. The ..... reviews written by young people of this edition of _Walden_ are, then, disconcertingly familiar to me. I obviously disagree with their evaluations of the book and of Thoreau's character. But what's interesting is why they have such a negative reaction to a book written, as Thoreau says, for young people who haven't yet been corrupted by society. What is it about the culture in which we live that encourages such hostility to his eloquent plea for simplicity? It's too facile to suggest that the backlash is motivated only by resentful pique at what's seen as Thoreau's condemnation of contemporary lifestyles, although I suspect this is part of the explanation. I'd be interested in reading the thoughts here of other readers who are likewise puzzled and disturbed by "Generation Y's" negative response to Thoreau.
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Summary: I loath this book.
Review: Before anything else, let me introduce myself. I am a high school student in Boise, and I just had the misfortune of reading this piece of junk for my summer reading. There were some good thoughts that were expressed by this dude named Thoreau, but the many other things he said made this book an overall failure. He was quite passionate about many things, and wrote them down in the book. However, it was quite easy for me to see that some of this thoughts were either grossly untrue, or were just pompous language for no other purpose than to make the readers go to sleep. But this is just my own opinion, other people, such as my English teacher, think otherwise. However, after so many years in school, I have to say, this has been the worst book that I had ever read in my whole life! It would have been the perfect bedtime story, since I fell immediately asleep after the first few pages. Who cares about this conceited guy? Just becuase he lived more than 100 years ago, it doesn't necessarily mean the things he said were true or important!
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Summary: Correct editor, pub. year, contents
Review: Editor of this volume is William Howarth. Correct publication year is 1980. Contains introduction, Journal entries, and essays NOT in the Modern Library edition by Brooks Atkinson, first published in 1932. Formerly known as the Modern Library College edition, the Howarth text is more up-to-date for student readers
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Summary: Worst book since Walden
Review: For those of you who do not know this book, and is only reading this because you want some expert opinion of it, I will tell you the plain truth right now. This book sucks. I was forced to read this book, and by the time I finished, and read the other reviews on this book, I must say that I am convinced there's a conspiracy going on here. Why does it seem that students from around the country are all being forced by their English teachers to read this stinking book! It can be nothing else other than a conspiracy! We are all in the process of being brainwashed and knocked out of our senses by the English department around the country! I demand that all you students who were also forced to read this book to join me in this crusade against the evil plan of the English departments!
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Summary: Different, especially nowadays
Review: How refreshing it was/is to pick up something like this. I had heard about it for such a long time and just refused to buy into the hype. Then again, I've been wanting to move out into the woods and live more simply before I read it. Now that I've finished it, all I can say is, "Don't wait! Read it now!" If you've got any soul left after what the concrete and highways have done to you, you'll love this book. Also recommended: Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, and Bark of the Dogwood by McCrae
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Summary: Beautiful!
Review: I find it very sad that so many Americans think this book rubbish. It is pity to acknowledge that this generation of America is so disconnected with its past. This book, if nothing else, stands as a great testament to American individual freedom, which is obviously lacking in this day and age. Walden, along with many of his other writings, is a classic, special not only for its literary merits, but also for the tiny ray of light it sheds in a continent so full of highrises, shopping malls, and concrete. Those who find this book boring or "full of bs", should read it again while camping in the outdoors!
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