Nature and Selected Essays (Penguin Classics)

by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Larzer Ziff
Nature and Selected Essays (Penguin Classics)  
published 2003 by Penguin Classics
binding Paperback
isbn 014243762X   (isbn13: 9780142437629)
pages 416
description Edited with an Introduction by Larzer Ziff.

date added
02-18-07



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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 187)



Megan
07/29/07

bookshelves: environment, non-fiction
Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in July, 2007
I sort of feel that both Emerson and Thoreau are starting to sound a little overly dated, and not in a good way... more in the "we're supporting the domination of nature and non-Europeans but are so focused on our own spiritual development that we don't realize it."

Nonetheless, they're both great essayists, and this particular volume has some really wonderful wood prints that illustrate the two pieces.
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Christie
Christie rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
04/28/07

I think I may have enjoyed this more if I hadn't had to schlep through it in a very very unlively class. In Nature, Emerson lays down the basic philosophy of the transcendentalists. It is important to realize how much of an influence Emerson was on his contemporaries as we see reactions to his ideas in the work of Thoreau, Hawthorne and Melville, to name just a few.
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Erica
Erica rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
09/10/07

bookshelves: nonfiction
Nature is endlessly frustrating, but simultaneously endlessly valuable. Emerson repeats himself incessantly and the text is more sermon than prose. But, Nature (albeit initally anonymously self-published) was Emerson's first real publication and represents a time of revolution and transience in American Literature.
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Kate
Kate rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
08/19/07

bookshelves: foundation-pieces
This was perhaps one of the first pieces of writing that helped me realize that writing is more than just finely woven stories. Emerson helped shape a thought, a movement, a way of life and the evidence of it remains in this writing. His influence is also clearly seen in other writers of the time.
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Marc
07/27/07

Read in December, 2001
recommends it for: natural people
This is the best essay/book ever written, at least in English. The prose style seems goofily impressionistic, but there's actually not a wasted word. "Nature" is a deeply moving prose-poem about human perception, the non-human world, and how the two interact.
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Zoë
Zoë rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
06/20/07

bookshelves: history-class, inspiring
Read in February, 2006
Nature changed the way I looked at United States History. Not only a must read for philosophy students (obviously) but for American History students who want to study how Intellectual history changed social history.
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Mols
Mols rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
02/06/08

Read in January, 2008
The essay on Self Reliance is a must read :) many times over
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Angie
Angie rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
10/16/07

Whew! Emerson is a challenge, but worth it.
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Anna
Anna rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
12/16/07

more soul candy
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Sarah
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11/30/07

 

Trevor
Trevor rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
07/26/07

 

Justin
Justin rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
04/15/08

 

Elizabeth
Elizabeth marked it as to-read (review of isbn 0807014192)
08/28/07

bookshelves: to-read
 

Kelli
Kelli marked it as to-read
02/06/08

bookshelves: to-read
 

Deb
09/23/07

 

Scott
Scott rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
07/08/07

 

Stephanie
Stephanie rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
07/19/07

 

Nicole
Nicole marked it as to-read
05/02/07

bookshelves: to-read
 


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book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 4.15 (142 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 4.11 (117 ratings)
number of reviews: 9






other editions

Nature and Walking (The Concord Library)
Nature (Paperback)
Nature and Other Writings (Hardcover)









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