Walden (Fall River Press Edition)

An influential writer --Thoreau

When I read Thoreau¿s book Walden, I was amazed to learn that Thoreau¿s writing had such a great influence on such men as Mohandas Gandhi and Dr Martin Luther King. They Read Thoreau¿s book on Civil Disobedience, which advocated Passive resistance. (Peaceful protest). Another thing that surprised me was the way that Emerson and James Russell Lowell degraded Thoreau in their speeches at Henry¿s memorial service upon his death. During the memorial these two so-called friends of Thoreau called him a lazy braggart, a societies maverick & A drop out! Perhaps by societies standards he was a rebel but certainly not the worthless ne¿er do well that these men painted him. Thoreau sets out to build a cabin on Walden Pond in order to be at one with nature. Thoreau was at heart a naturalist. He resisted paying a tax which he spent one night in the Concord Jail. This was to prove a point. He lived at Walden Pond for 2 years. Upon returning to society, he continued to write his books. He said that, ¿most men lead lives of quiet desperation.¿ Henry David Thoreau was born July 12, 1817 And died May 6,1862 of T.B. He built his cabin on March 1845 at Walden Pond at a cost of $28,12 & half cents. Thoreau started out life in the Transcendentalist movement but He later departed from this group. He was a genius that was unappreciated in his day.

13 out of 15 people found this review helpful.

An interesting and thought provoking read:

I recently had the pleasure of reading this fine book authored by Henry David Thoreau. This book has garnered a fair bit of controversy among those who have read it. Its a love it or hate it sort of book, and one must have an open mind truly appreciate the book. Inclosed in Walden, is the author's deep personal thoughts and beliefs, with his own unique brand of philosophy. Thoreau has a one of a kind writing style I have never seen outside of his own work. For his time, he probably would have been described as edgy, and without bounds. Enough of my own subjective opinion, lets take an analytical look at this interesting piece of American literature.

In the first chapter in this book, our author in detail, describes his intentions to build a cabin and live off the land of Walden Pond. This was not in any way a new concept, as much of America lived in this rural way, but what sets Thoreau apart is he documented and wrote about his experience. Henry Thoreau believed he was making an attempt at achieving a purer form of lifestyle. Also included in this first chapter is the exact cost the author payed to appropriate his desired lifestyle in the form of the price of the materials paid to construct his dwelling, and precise accounts of price paid for the modest amount of food Thoreau purchased on his occasional visits into town.

Often throughout the book, Henry Thoreau will enclose his own thoughts on certain topics. In on section, he reminisces on a time he spent in jail for a refusal to pay a state tax. This is just the sort of rebellion Thoreau would approve of. He held the view that the "savage" (as indians were apparently called during that time), lived a purer and less corrupt form of lifestyle. This opinion was formed by the reflection of the average man's life at the time. A man would work to afford a home, work to afford and buy all of these things that the author though to be unnecessary or too luxurious than needed. A "savage" simply made what he needed, he would never become a "slave" to any type of property owner or tax man.

Henry David Thoreau had a unique and one of a kind form of philosophy. One finds it difficult to approximately and descisivly label his beliefs. Our author believed that each person should live by their own means, and their own way. Rejection of society norms was not necessarily a give-in to his school of thought, so long as those norms suited that individual. It is quite easy to dismiss Henry Thoreau as an antisocial misfit, but there is evidence in the book that he made frequent trips into town, and mentioned elsewhere he would have visitors at his home, and would seek to visit others. So this kind of belief form could really be best described as "to each his own", and to do only what you believe in and want to do. Lastly, self-sufficiency was stressed greatly, and is a great proponent to this way of thinking, as one who acts alone needs to be able to provide for themselves.

Overall this was a very interesting book to read, and brings many things into questioning. It is a thinking person's book, and I enjoyed it greatly. Few authors have such a notoriety to just one book, and next to Civil Disobedience, it is his most famous work. All outdoor enthusiasts, fans of old literature, anarchists, and people with an offbeat point of view, will likely greatly appreciate and enjoy this great book by a man remembered mainly only for his be

6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

Very poorly converted e-book

This book is very poorly converted to e-book and contains too many errors to make it enjoyable to read; in some places it is impossible to read because you just can't tell what you are supposed to be reading.

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Book as souvenir

On Easter of 2000 I visited Concord, Massachusetts, and purchased this volume in a gift shop just across Rt. 62 from the site of Henry¿s cabin. It had been raining the entire trip, but armed with my coat of many pockets, my backpack, and my umbrella, I entered and ¿sauntered¿ about the gift shop, glad to get out of the cold dampness if only for a moment. I picked up a couple of the customary t-shirts one needs as souvenirs when traveling and then found myself in the book section, drawn to the items which enthrall me wherever I go. One book stood out¿not because I needed it, for I had a copy at home that was given to me by a friend for my birthday one year, but because of the photo on the cover. Whoever had designed the cover had actually BEEN to Walden, and the proof was the wet leaf among the terra firma known as the Pond. With an accompanying introduction by Joyce Carol Oates, I couldn¿t refuse. The cover still touches me, but I have taken to reading books and giving them away afterward, a habit that I am almost sure that Henry would love. I instead remember Walden in other ways, as rain falling on cedars. Walden to me is always Easter, always Earth Day, always truth, and most of all, always a reminder that my life is not mean or poor but rich and ready for picking. The chapters relying on Spring, Economy, Reading, and most of all the swelling Conclusion, like a gentle coda after the soaring symphony, remind me of what still waits, regardless of how old I am, and how old I will get.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

More Relevant Today than When It Was Written

Walden was written as a backlash against consumerism and conformity. Thoreau built his own house with affordable and left over materials and sustained himself for a very small amount of money. The philosophy that he offers is one that many of us could benefit in listening to. Do we really need the most expensive cell phone on the market, or will the free model do? Do we really need a designer bag? Does it make us any happier to buy a house that is so elaborate it will add ten more years before we can retire?

Walden questions what is truly important in life and what things are unnecessary burdens that we allow society to place on us.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Incredible

This book manages to pass on more wisdom and inspiration then any other work I can think of. It will convict you into living life, it will cause you to see the world as a place of wonder and oppotunity. Only to be read with an open mind.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great book, ok version

The version has a few glitches...after I bought it there was no picture, also the top of the page doesn't recognise the title. I haven't found any other errors to this book yet but I'm dissapointed becse it is such a good book

Bad text

There are several scan/ typing errors in this edition

Transcendentalism

Read this in english. Sadly most of the kids my age dont appreicate this type of thinking and my lust for conseveration of my own mind

The Best American Classic Edition

This is the best American classic edition of Henry David Throeau's classic text. A true joy to read. Highly recommended for all ages.

The Best American Book EVER Written

Of all the books and treatises that have ever been published since our country's founding, this one stands heads and shoulders above everything else. In this volume, Thoreau beautifully articulates all that is great about America ... not its guns and armies, but rather its trees and forests, the quite meditations possible in unspoilt nature, and the philosophy of self reliance.

This is, as far as I am concerned, THE best American book EVER written, and is absolutely essential reading for anyone who wants to know about America.

Great Book, Poorly Digitalized

This is a great book. However, this version presents as a lackluster scan-job with no editing yielding a finished product contaminated by numerous unintelligible conversion errors from smeared paragraphs to numerous misconverted words. I should note that I have not read this version in full as I was too dissatisfied with the poor quality to proceed much beyond the first forty pages (which I had previously read and was mostly scanning for errors in an attempt to find a legible nook version of this great book).

Great Book, Terrible Reproduction

"Walden" is one of the greatest and most important books in American literature, but this version is almost illegible on the Nook. Spend a couple more bucks and get another version.

Wonderful

I have not read the entire book. What I have read, so far, has been very insightful and interesting. I am a person who loves hiking and exploring nature away from society so this book was right down my ally. Non the less, you should pick this book up, regardless of what your ideals are, it is still a valuable piece of literature.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Disappointed

Walden is wonderful piece of literature. This copy contains a lot of unreadable text. Much of the text is ra dom characters and mumbo jumbo! Waste of money!

Image contains many, many formatting errors

The first few pages are okay, but later ones contain whole paragraphs that are indecipherable jumbles of symbols, punctuation marks, and random letters. Walden is a good book, too bad this one is unreadable.

Couldnt read it

Was not scanned well.

didnt get to read

I bought thid book and it took forever to download so i didnt get a chance to read it--too bad, maybe I will try again another time

This gets better every time I read it.

It's funny how you always seem to find something else when you read this book. Everyone should take the time to read this work and then spend a little alone-time to contemplate what matters most. We as a society need to take a few moments to determine what really matters.

Best book ever

you'll find something new every time you read it.