Civil Disobedience and Other Essays is a collection of some of Henry David Thoreau's most important essays. Contained in this volume are the follow...
read full description
reviews
Sep 11, 2011
Rachel
rated it: 
Well, I'm still pondering what I think about this essay, so I'm not quite sure what I'd like to say about it yet. It is different than what I expected. I always thought of Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" as the work that inspired non-violent protests like 1960s sit-ins and Ghandi's hunger strikes--and it IS an inspiration, but it is not about those types of actions, as far as I can tell.
Thoreau, rather, suggests that people should just withdraw from an unjust government More...
Thoreau, rather, suggests that people should just withdraw from an unjust government More...
Sep 11, 2011
Rachel
rated it: 
Written for days past, written for today. Thoreau's discontent with the government is a present issue around the world... And it should be here. So many of our legislators, as in Thoreau's time, are not skilled at legislation and are so disconnected from the people and our needs. I think the title of the mini-book leads some to believe that Thoreau is completely anti-government - not true. He says time and again that a government that is worthy of his respect is one that he will live under.
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Sep 11, 2011
xdillix
rated it:
I also can't see the civil disobedience model work on a larger scale in Thoreau's times, and it would totally fail in our own. I don't know what happens nowadays if you refuse to pay your taxes, but to fight a government you should use means everyone (who's unsatisfied) would stick to. The majority of people values its own safety above ideals, and I do too. I wouldn't risk being inprisoned or bashed for political dissidence over a government which has been, after all, democratically chosen - thi
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Sep 11, 2011
Mike
rated it: 
This essay, none the less, was great. However, I do not see how will the lives of a community work out peacefully when everyone has a range from slightly different to opposite virtues. Someone may say it's possible when people respect each other, but I say different. If we think piratical, people are full of hubris and selfishness. In schools, where respect is a statute, they had to force this concept in to the minds of the students because they knew every one of them did not learn to be res
More...
Nov 13, 2008
Jim
rated it:
He has some wonderful essays, although it must be remembered that he had few personal responsibilities & no family to support. He was too self-centered for a wife & children. I believe he is sincere, if impractical. I think he draws the lines rather tight for the real world some times, but maybe it is that attitude that allowed things to go so wrong since his day...
I've seen him labeled an Anarchist, but I believe he was a Libertarian. He wanted a better government that needed to More...
I've seen him labeled an Anarchist, but I believe he was a Libertarian. He wanted a better government that needed to More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Aug 28, 2011
Julie
rated it:
I am a huge fan of Henry David Thoreau. I found Walden inspirational, and Civil Disobedience is a similar, thoughtful work. However, though the ideals are as clearly presented as any essay one could read today, the concepts inherent in this work are not even remotely possible. It struck me as almost amusing that Thoreau would have gladly gone to jail for his principles, but jail, and indeed all of institutions of the United States of America, would be unrecognizable in its present state to ou
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
May 25, 2011
Rebecca
rated it:
Brilliant! While I don’t agree with every thought of Thoreau’s (an original Libertarian?), how grand it is to read from someone who has a real thought! Every sentence could stand as an individual idea, a great quote. Each lecture is beautifully constructed and well argued.
He does seem, at times, slightly smug, but in the topics I found most convincing, I would rather call his smugness “righteous indignation.” Most telling, though, is the fact that his arguments are germane today. More...
He does seem, at times, slightly smug, but in the topics I found most convincing, I would rather call his smugness “righteous indignation.” Most telling, though, is the fact that his arguments are germane today. More...
Sep 11, 2011
Lorenzo
rated it:
In questo breve testo Thoreau ha riversato il suo spirito di grande umanità, superiore alla maggioranza delle persone vissute nella sua epoca. Le sue parole somigliano a fendenti in grado di spaccare le teste dure come pietre dei più ortodossi schiavisti dell'Ottocento. Il suo metodo fu colpire senza violenza. Il suo pensiero ispirò personaggi dediti al perseguimento della giustizia e della pace, come il Mahtma Gandhi e Martin Luter King. Una forza di attrazione che supera la potenza di un milia
More...
Apr 29, 2010
Candice
rated it:
Brilliant. Some of my favorite quotes from "Civil Disobedience":
This American government,-what is it but a tradition, though a recent one, endeavoring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity, but each instant losing some of its integrity.
Can there not be a government in which majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, but conscience?
All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the g More...
This American government,-what is it but a tradition, though a recent one, endeavoring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity, but each instant losing some of its integrity.
Can there not be a government in which majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, but conscience?
All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the g More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Sep 11, 2011
While listening to this on audio book, I found myself filtering Thoreau's statements through my own modern political stovepipes...ready to dismiss Thoreau outright as a naive militia Libertarian and/or hype him up as some sort of Uber-Liberal.
This says more of the divisive nature of modern political discourse than to the real, sincere, legitimate points Thoreau laid out in this treatise, really more of a tract, on the role of Government and the individual.
At turns seeming to advocate Libertarian More...
This says more of the divisive nature of modern political discourse than to the real, sincere, legitimate points Thoreau laid out in this treatise, really more of a tract, on the role of Government and the individual.
At turns seeming to advocate Libertarian More...
Oct 06, 2010
Sashenka
rated it:
On the annexation of Texas and acquisition of California = War against Mexico... models the US current war for resources and occupation.
http://www.history.com/shows/the-people-...
http://books.google.com/books?id=ScXpRj6... More...
http://www.history.com/shows/the-people-...
http://books.google.com/books?id=ScXpRj6... More...
Mar 26, 2011
Robert
rated it: 
I felt this collection was inconsistent. I was impressed by his passionate defense of John Brown, and yet dismayed by his glorification of settler colonialism (especially in "Walking") and related dismissal of Native American wisdom and culture (out of, no doubt, ignorance). It was very interesting to see his blind prejudice for settler colonialism (he says, in "Walking", that America was made for Old World Europeans) juxtaposed with his hatred of slave-holders and their resp
More...
Feb 17, 2008
Stephanie
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Oct 30, 2009
There's an old story of a woman who, late in life, went to see Hamlet for the first time, and was unimpressed. "It's just a whole bunch of quotations strung together." she opined.
I have to say that's sort of the effect I got reading the title essay of this book. Having grown up among people who considered the principles self-evident, I don't think I could really appreciate how revolutionary it must've seemed to contemporaries.
Worth reading anyway, I suppose.
I have to say that's sort of the effect I got reading the title essay of this book. Having grown up among people who considered the principles self-evident, I don't think I could really appreciate how revolutionary it must've seemed to contemporaries.
Worth reading anyway, I suppose.
May 07, 2009
I recently re-read this little essay and loved it even more than I did the first time I read it - which was quite a bit! In this short essay Thoreau addresses ideas that touch each of our lives and asks us to consider what it really means to be civil, to be human, and to choose our own compelling reasons to live. This is a short, thought-provoking work and as members of a democratic-republic, I think everyone should be familiar with it! - Erin Reynolds
Jul 30, 2011
Phil
rated it:
As I noted in my review of "Song of Myself," I am not a particular fan of Transcendentalism. "Civil Disobedience" is an interesting theoretical piece, though not necessarily the juiciest reading material around. For me the influence of this piece is almost more interesting than the writing itself--Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., dozens of less well known civil libierties crusaders.
Mar 21, 2011
Katie
rated it:
This is a little 90-page collection of Thoreau's essays. It gives a good taste of what his longer works must be like, and I have to say, I doubt if I will ever read anything else of his. Thoreau makes some really good points, but he takes a really, really long time to say things. There were isolated lines and paragraphs that I really loved, but I wouldn't slog through more than 90 pages to find them.
Jan 20, 2009
Jeff
rated it:
This is an excellent work, however it caused some disturbing feelings for me. I certainly do not have the courage to not pay my taxes, knowing that the government is spending my money on things I am completely opposed to.
I loved his essay on walking.
I loved his essay on walking.
Jul 06, 2009
Steven
rated it:
Thoreau was a solid essayist. His thoughts on social justice and the responsibilities of an engaged citizenry are insightful, though many of them don't travel well to situations of colonization and specific race and class politics.
Sep 16, 2011
♫♥LEXI♥♫
rated it:
We read "Walking" and "Civil Disobedience" in school from this collection. I liked "Walking" more than "Civil Disobedience," but I don't feel like either really left that great of an impact on me. Thoreau certainly has some great ideas, but the way he presents them is very difficult to connect to.
May 19, 2009
Comicstrip
rated it:
About the same as Emerson, only different writing style. Emerson likes to talk in circles and dancing around his subjects. Thoreau is quick and to the point. Easier to read, and more great ideas
Nov 22, 2009
Kyle
rated it:
I love the essay Civil Disobedience. This is probably the 10th time I've read it, and I still always learn something new from it that I didn't quite grasp before.
Oct 08, 2009
Stephen
rated it:
Timeless and prescient, it will remain a testament to the virtue of reason and justice over a misguided and patronizing submision to the law that is never conscientious by default.
May 08, 2009
austin
rated it:
Thoreau is a badass; he went to prison in the late 1840's for refusing to pay a tax that was funding what he thought was an unjust war against Mexico ...
Dec 23, 2008
Heather
rated it:
I read this in college and it really helped me open my mind to critical thought about government and authority in general.
Jun 14, 2009
Bird Brian
rated it:
A thoughtful and critical document in the evolution of democracy- and therefore probably illegal under the PATRIOT ACT.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 13, 2011
Meghan
rated it:
I like his ideas yet some of them where a little extreme for my taste.
