Thoughts from Walden Pond 2001
by Henry David Thoreau
Thoughts from Walden Pond...
Henry David Thoreau |
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 178)
While Thoreau can seem a bit pretentious about his successes 'living off the grid', this is a great book to remove oneself from the excesses of contemporary life. For example, on the topic of fashionable, but impractical clothing... "yet I am sure that there is greater anxiety, commonly, to have fashionable, or at least clean and unpatched clothes, than to have a sound conscience. [...] I say beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes."...more
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Honestly, Thoreau's philosophies for the most part seem rather dumb and pretentious to me. I know he's famous and all, but I've never been that big on Transcendentalism to begin with, and it seems like Thoreau just took some of Emerson's ideas and ran away with them till they reached the point of being ridiculous. There is also a bit of hypocrisy involved. I mean, he's opposed to philanthropy because people can supposedly handle everything they need by themselves right? Then why does he borrow n...more
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Read in March, 2004
I was able to see the importance of Walden at the time to Thoreau. His natural setting really helped bring out the themes he wanted to explain in this book: the importance of self-reliance, the value of simplicity, and the illusion of progress. He also uses some motifs that were very interesting: the seasonal cycle, poetry, ad imaginary people. I felt that taking the time to read this book helped me understand transcendentalism.
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Read in January, 1975
In HS when I was required to read this, it would put me to sleep. This was even though I lived in Mass. and had a Uncle who had property with a pond and trails though the woods. It was just dry to me. Recently, 2005, my teenage son read this. He was board and I thought it was OK. So when I'm 90, I will probable love it.
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Read in April, 2001
I love many of the theories that Thoreau presents in this novel, which I consider to be his best. I had an amazing experience reading this for the first time as I backpacked through Coyote Gulch in Southern Utah with my literature class. Literature is so much more powerful to me when it is read outdoors.
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Read in January, 2008
Not what I expected- a manifesto. Took a while to catch on to the language- but worth reading. Loved the nature language, got tired of the self-righteous description of his way of life- I gotta chop my own wood too.
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Thoreau has a different mindset to life than how we live today. I haven't read this for some time; will need to re-visit this, but it is certainly worth the read and sure to be thought-provoking.
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Read in April, 2001
Not sure if I actually read the whole book but from what I remember I liked the spirit of it. Man and nature. A little escape from technology is sometimes a good thing.
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This was one of my formative books. It is a glimpse into American thought and life from an early American philosopher. It reminds me of my youth.
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This book is like soul-candy. Is that a creepy phrase? I could read this book again and again.
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Very deep. The book really makes you think but I could do without the constant rambling
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My all time favorite. I'm still looking for my pond.
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