Other editions of book Walden

Henry David Thoreau was a master of all subjects, though he is best known for his work and belief in transcendentalism. His writings are all extremely personal and are examples of natural observations in the real world. Thoreau believed in the rights of all humans, and he believed that humans should retreat back to nature in order to return to the natural order of the world. In "Walden," Thoreau recounts a time period living in a man-made cabin near Walden Pond in Massachusetts. The thinker desired to clear his mind of the structured social order and instead gain perspective about himself. He fully believed in being self-sufficient and following the transcendental philosophy. While at Walden Pond, Thoreau made a discovery about his opinions on the government, which he detailed in "Civil Disobedience." He believed that the people should be wary of governmental control, regardless of how well-intentioned its decisions are. These thoughts were inspired by Thoreau's hatred of slavery around the world, as well as the problems associated with the Mexican-American War. Thoreau believed that the people should not pay taxes if they disagree with something that they believe is wrong. These individuals were paying for slavery and a war that they did not agree with, and paying taxes was acquiescence to the government's full control. "Walden and Civil Disobedience" is a highly intelligent text written by one of America's most prolific writers, and both essays are classics in the American literature canon.

With their call for "simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!”, for self-honesty, and for harmony with nature, the writings of Henry David Thoreau are perhaps the most influential philosophical works in all American literature. The selections in this volume represent Thoreau at his best. Included in their entirety are Walden, his indisputable masterpiece, and his two great arguments for nonconformity, Civil Disobedience and Life Without Principle. A lifetime of brilliant observation of nature--and of himself--is recorded in selections from A Week On The Concord And Merrimack Rivers, Cape Cod, The Maine Woods and The Journal.

“I love to see that Nature is so rife with life that myriads can be afforded to be sacrificed and suffered to prey on one another; that tender organizations can be so serenely squashed out of existence like pulp, — tadpoles which herons gobble up, and tortoises and toads run over in the road; and that sometimes it has rained flesh and blood! With the liability to accident, we must see how little account is to be made of it.”This edition of Walden includes:• Notes • 25 photogravures from 1897 edition• Appendix: Extracts from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Familiar Studies of Men and Books

This Seedbox Classics edition of Walden includes illustrations.Walden is a book about Henry David Thoreau’s experiment with self-reliance. He lived in a cabin near Walden Pond in Massachusetts amidst woods that were owned by fellow Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson. Thoreau focused on simple living and personal introspection during the two-year stay. Walden chronicles his experience.

- Beautifully illustrated with atmospheric paintings by renowned artists, Walden is the fascinating description of the two and a half years that Thoreau spent living in an isolated hut as part of his journey of spiritual discovery and self-reliance. His project was inspired by his passion for transcendentalist philosophy.- Just as accessible and enjoyable for today's modern readers as it would have been when first published well over a century ago, the book is one of the great works of American literature and continues to be widely read and studied throughout the world.- This meticulous digital edition from Heritage Illustrated Publishing is a faithful reproduction of the original text.

Originally published in 1854, Walden, or Life in the Woods, is a vivid account of the time that Henry D. Thoreau lived alone in a secluded cabin at Walden Pond. It is one of the most influential and compelling books in American literature. Much of Walden's material is derived from Thoreau's journals and contains such engaging pieces as "Reading" and "The Pond in the Winter." Other famous sections involve Thoreau's visits with a Canadian woodcutter and with an Irish family, a trip to Concord, and a description of his bean field. This is the complete and authoritative text of Walden - as close to Thoreau's original intention as all available evidence allows. For the student and for the general reader, this is the ideal presentation of Thoreau's great document of social criticism and dissent.

Walden (first published as Walden; or, Life in the Woods) is an American book written by noted Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, and voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and manual for self reliance.Published in 1854, it details Thoreau's experiences over the course of two years in a cabin he built near Walden Pond, amidst woodland owned by his friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson, near Concord, Massachusetts.Thoreau did not intend to live as a hermit, for he received visitors regularly, and returned their visits. Rather, he hoped to isolate himself from society to gain a more objective understanding of it. Simple living and self-sufficiency were Thoreau's other goals, and the whole project was inspired by transcendentalist philosophy, a central theme of the American Romantic Period. As Thoreau made clear in his book, his cabin was not in wilderness but at the edge of town, about two miles (3 km) from his family home.The book includes illustrations by Clifton Johnson, an active/navigable table of contents, and a Free audiobook link for download (which can be downloaded using a PC/Mac) at the end of the book.

Part memoir and part spiritual quest, Walden is the compelling account of daily life at Walden Pond by the noted transcendentalist and author Henry David Thoreau.Detailing over two years of Henry David Thoreau's life, Walden chronicles his transcendentalist journey to live in the wilderness and immerse himself in nature. The result is this classic work on self-reliance and individual freedom. Since its first publication, Walden has become a mainstay in American literature, "…a personal declaration of independence, a social experiment, and a voyage of spiritual discovery.…" (The Library of America).

Walden emphasizes the importance of solitude, contemplation, and closeness to nature in transcending the "desperate" existence that, he argues, is the lot of most people. The book is not a traditional autobiography, but combines autobiography with a social critique of contemporary Western culture's consumerist and materialist attitudes and its distance from and destruction of nature. That the book is not simply a criticism of society, but also an attempt to engage creatively with the better aspects of contemporary culture, is suggested both by Thoreau's proximity to Concord society and by his admiration for classical literature. There are signs of ambiguity, or an attempt to see an alternative side of something common."Walden is a difficult book to read for three reasons: First, it was written by a gifted writer who uses surgically precise language, extended, allegorical metaphors, long and complex paragraphs and sentences, and vivid, detailed, and insightful descriptions. Thoreau does not hesitate to use metaphors, allusions, understatement, hyperbole, personification, irony, satire, metonymy, synecdoche, and oxymorons, and he can shift from a scientific to a transcendental point of view in mid-sentence. Second, its logic is based on a different understanding of life, quite contrary to what most people would call common sense. Ironically, this logic is based on what most people say they believe. Thoreau, recognizing this, fills Walden with sarcasm, paradoxes, and double entendres. He likes to tease, challenge, and even fool his readers. And third, quite often any words would be inadequate at expressing many of Thoreau's non-verbal insights into truth. Thoreau must use non-literal language to express these notions, and the reader must reach out to understand."—Ken KiferIncludes a biography of the Author

First published in 1854, Walden recounts American philosopher and naturalist Henry David Thoreau's experiences over the course of two years, two months, and two days in a cabin he built near Walden Pond, amidst woodland owned by his friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson, near Concord, Massachusetts. The book is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and, ultimately, manual for self-reliance. Walden enjoyed some success upon its release, but still took five years to sell 2,000 copies, and then went out of print until Thoreau’s death in 1862. Despite its slow beginnings, later critics have praised it as an American classic that explores natural simplicity, harmony, and beauty. The poet Robert Frost wrote of Thoreau, "In one book ... he surpasses everything we have had in America."