Walden: (Writings of Henry D. Thoreau)
by Henry David Thoreau
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone interested in ecology and/or personal growth
I've read Walden many times now since that first time in high school. I will always love this book, and it reveals itself anew with each reading.
When I first encountered Thoreau in high school, his words rang in my soul like a prophet's manifesto. I admired what seemed to be his unique courage and absolute integrity. He inspired me to want to "live deliberately," but I knew that a solitary life in a cabin was beyond my abilities. His will seemed so much more resolute than a...more
When I first encountered Thoreau in high school, his words rang in my soul like a prophet's manifesto. I admired what seemed to be his unique courage and absolute integrity. He inspired me to want to "live deliberately," but I knew that a solitary life in a cabin was beyond my abilities. His will seemed so much more resolute than a...more
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All nature is your congratulation, and you have cause momentarily to bless yourself. The greatest gains and values are farthest from being appreciated. We easily come to doubt if they exist. We soon forget them. They are the greatest reality.
You may say the wisest thing you can, old man--you who have lived seventy years, not without honor of some kind--I hear an irresistible voice which invites me away from all that.
In the long run men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, though they sh...more
You may say the wisest thing you can, old man--you who have lived seventy years, not without honor of some kind--I hear an irresistible voice which invites me away from all that.
In the long run men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, though they sh...more
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What intrigued me about the book were Thoreau’s ideas on purity and virtue. Purity and virtue are two very Victorian or Puritan ideals and Thoreau was writing in the midst of that particular era. Thoreau suggests that the main reason for resorting to Walden Pond was his dissatisfaction with the culture. In the conclusion he famously remarks, “Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth” (330). Yet throughout the writings Thoreau has more problems with the false perceptions of pu...more
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recommends it for:
Mature, open minded readers
The very first time I read Walden my immediate response was to begin torching its pages one by one and sacrificing each page as literary cow paddies written by a pompous celibate pretentious boob who masqueraded as self-appointed demigogue for the collective conscience of the gods; and of course, when read this way it certainly fits at times Thoreau's rhetoric.
Many years later, I took my paperback copy off my shelf and was ready to pack it up to be dropped off at the nearest thrift shop, bu...more
Many years later, I took my paperback copy off my shelf and was ready to pack it up to be dropped off at the nearest thrift shop, bu...more
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Read in October, 2007
PART 1: Sorry...I know it's supposed to be a classic but I can't get past Thoreau's self-righteous writing style. I like his ideas, but he didn't seem to live any of them thoroughly enough to legitimize his penchant for calling everyone ELSE out as vulgar, stupid, unclean farmers. Frankly, I find this book generally quite irritating, with a few brilliant patches when he sets his ranting aside and just describes the beautiful scenery. (Those of you who read my blog, I'm working on a post about...more
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Read in January, 2004
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I have really really mixed feelings about this book. The idea of living secluded from the world and watching the changing of time on a particular area is an enticing thought and one I think I would enjoy. However, I think he's a lesser version of Emerson. There are some bits of incredible wisdom mixed in with unimpressive mutterings, which force you to keep slogging through in hopes of finding more great wisdom...only to find out all the quotes you already know from it are the best parts of the ...more
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Read in January, 1976
recommends it for:
Everyone
Who doesn't admire Henry David Thoreau? A social outcast who invented the tactic of civil disobedience that inspired Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr., Thoreau is best remembered today for his book "Walden." Unlike most literary classics, this book is not a work of fiction, and it really has no characters outside of himself. Thoreau's writing ability was never more evident than here, when he takes the seemingly boring subject of a man going back to nature and makes it somethin...more
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Read in January, 1997
This is another text where I was only assigned to read parts of it. My teacher, Mrs. Burnes, broke the book into segments and had the students report out on the parts they read, so we all got the experince of the book without reading all of it. I remember enjoying the messages of the text at the time, though I don't recall them much now. My teacher also had us go to a place in nature and reflect there once a week for several weeks. That assignment meant a lot to me as well. Then, visiting t...more
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recommends it for:
people who enjoy philosophy, individuals willing to critique life
The majority of people will tell you this book is boring and awful and impossible to read. The majority of people also voted for George W. Bush, TWICE (the jury is still out on the accuracy of the vote count). So what does that tell you about opinions of the majority?
Personally, I think its an amazing look at the operation of the human mind, and what makes us become who we are. I read this as a teenager, and I remember it making me question everything. Now as an "adult", I'd be int...more
Personally, I think its an amazing look at the operation of the human mind, and what makes us become who we are. I read this as a teenager, and I remember it making me question everything. Now as an "adult", I'd be int...more
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Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
anyone who likes beans and solitude in nature, hermits
I really, really, REALLY, did not enjoy this book. I understood the lessons on simplicity in life and agree with most of Thoreau's ideas that he learned at the pond but, I would never in my life re read this book! The examples that were used may have been valid and understood at Thoreau's time but, bean planting? It was a bit extreme to expect a bunch of high school juniors to appreciate all of the undertone meanings of everything Thoreau said. I did not enjoy this book at all because the chapte...more
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Read in January, 2004
Tried to read this as a teenager but couldn't get into it. When I came back to it just a few years ago, I was totally engaged. There are many parallels with Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, which is one of my favorite books. (I think a number of studies have been done about that relationship.) It gives a picture of a thoughtful man who made the decision to give himself time to think, a utopic existence from my 21st century perspective. After reading this I went to visit Walden Pond in Ma...more
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Read in January, 1972
recommends it for:
All
The first American to translate philosophy from India (parts of the Lotus Sutra), Henry David (HD) Thoreau had read that ice was being shipped from America to India, and decided to retreat to a cabin in the woods by Walden Pond, "to live deliberately."
Later, Gandhi had read and was influenced by Thoreau. Later still, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had read and was influenced by Gandhi. Still yet later, kdis in Tiananmen Square, 1989, were quoting Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. So thi...more
Later, Gandhi had read and was influenced by Thoreau. Later still, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had read and was influenced by Gandhi. Still yet later, kdis in Tiananmen Square, 1989, were quoting Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. So thi...more
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recommends it for:
everyone who loves nature
It has been my dream to have a journey, but a real journey, where I can be in complete contact with nature. I always learn things from nature.
This book as been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I believe in the importance of self-discovery; but this ideal state takes real effort on our part. For Thoreau was the entire interaction with nature that taught him that every second in life is infinetely meaningful and that we need to live our lives now, not tomorrow. Seize the day! (bec...more
This book as been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I believe in the importance of self-discovery; but this ideal state takes real effort on our part. For Thoreau was the entire interaction with nature that taught him that every second in life is infinetely meaningful and that we need to live our lives now, not tomorrow. Seize the day! (bec...more
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Read in January, 2008
This book changed my life.
There are so many books out there on managing your finances, but they never hit the mark. The important thing with materialism isn't to save an extra $25 per month so you'll have $400,000 in 40 years, as I see written in so many of those financial self-help books. The real issue is materialism, and learning for ourselves that we don't really need much of anything to be extraordinarily happy. It's not a just matter of self-discipline; it's a matter of changing your he...more
There are so many books out there on managing your finances, but they never hit the mark. The important thing with materialism isn't to save an extra $25 per month so you'll have $400,000 in 40 years, as I see written in so many of those financial self-help books. The real issue is materialism, and learning for ourselves that we don't really need much of anything to be extraordinarily happy. It's not a just matter of self-discipline; it's a matter of changing your he...more
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Read in June, 2007
I tried to read this book in high school, but I couldn't get beyond the point at which Thoreau listed how much each plank and nail of his cabin cost him, complaining about the vanity of man and the virtues of economy. This time around, I am loving loving loving Walden and I get a big kick out of reading the little rants on "civilized society" and Thoreau's escape from its persecutions.
Enjoying the heck out of this book. The section on the uselessness of newspapers is espcially appl...more
Enjoying the heck out of this book. The section on the uselessness of newspapers is espcially appl...more
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
The lonely.
I've read this timeless work before, but I think I was too young to appreciate it for what it is. So, I picked it up again with the intention of getting more than just a normal read out of it. This is a piece of work that has literally changed lives, as Thoreau writes of his experiences in "the woods," away from the tribulations of the busy city life. It is a portrait of a man who desires to be better, to understand the meaning of life more deeply, and to learn of the nature of huma...more
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This book changed my life when I was just becoming aware of "things". "I would rather sit on a pumpkin then a velvet cushion", a quote that will live with me forever...I know Thoreau was a spoiled rich kid, however that did not blind him from becoming aware. It is very sad to think that you cannot sit in the wild for 5 minutes without hearing some part of our industrial civilization: airplnes, trains, automotives.This book is very inspiring especially today. Consumption is no...more
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Read in February, 2007
This book was a very detailed account of Thoreau's stint in his personally built cabin in the woods near Walden pond. At first I thought the detailed descriptions of wood, bugs, soil and climate were interesting but after 150 pages of this minutia, I grew bored. I just wanted this guy to find a friend or become distracted by something more interesting but his obsessive compulsiveness droned on. I am sure that this is a classsic for good reasons, but I can't quite recall them right now.
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I really need to read this one again-- as I remember thinking it was so-so, but have a sense I'd change my mind if I gave it a re-read. I think I might not have liked it so much because it was coupled with an experiential exercise which basically involved me having to write a Thoreau-influenced book report based on my "Walden experience" of sleeping outside in a neighborhood park one night in order to commune with nature, which I never did. Sorry Mr. Wilk.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.77 (3518 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.76 (2666 ratings) number of reviews: 274popular shelves
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"I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society. "
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