Walden and Other Writings
by Henry David Thoreau
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 492)
Read in June, 2008
I am giving 5 stars to "Life without Principle," "On Civil Disobedience," and the following chapters from Walden: Economy, Where I Lived and What I Lived For, Reading, Solitude, Higher Laws, Conclusion. The rest of the book was about nature. While I'm thumbs up when it comes to experiencing nature, I'm thumbs down when it comes to reading about it. I wish I could appreciate the way he describes grass blowing in the wind and ants fighting with each other, but I just couldn...more
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recommends it for:
Business majors, mostly
This book just edged out the Richest Man in Babylon and Money: How to Get as Much as You Can of It!!!! as my favorite book of all time. Not getting results at work? This book can help! A classic self-help manual, this book can teach you how to make money and become the most popular person of all time, just like its handsome, wealthy, much adored author. You can even learn how much it costs to build a 1840's style log-cabin. Did you know that pumpkins make good chairs? I bet that even if yo...more
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Read in July, 2007
I was going to say something silly and Garden State-y about how Walden changed my life, but am rewording because the experience of reading this book was more like...confirmation. Which is to say, I've chosen a certain way to live that I believe is the right one for me, and reading Walden was like being told, "That's right, that's what you need to do. Keep on keeping on, you're heading in the right direction." Except that the life Thoreau writes about is not dire...more
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i know i'm supposed to like this book, but i had trouble. walden read in large part like a compilation of shopping lists and an ode to miserliness. and really, thoreau wasn't nearly so far removed from civilization as he seems to have felt he was. there are moments when his philosophizing is worthwhile, but on the whole i thought it was a bit of a cranky, tedious diary.
civil disobedience and life without principle are something entirely different, though. if it weren't for the "other wr...more
civil disobedience and life without principle are something entirely different, though. if it weren't for the "other wr...more
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Despite being a bit long winded at times, Thoreau has some of the most quote worthy lines throughout the book. Many passages require a line by line evaluation with dictionary close to hand, just beware of the words that a pocket dictionary does not contain. His command of the English language is beyond impressive and absolutely puts the mean grasp of English to shame.
A delightful read with plenty of food for thought, though it is not a book to devour whole at once, but rather to pick apart a...more
A delightful read with plenty of food for thought, though it is not a book to devour whole at once, but rather to pick apart a...more
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recommends it for:
all my trancendentalist friends
Still reading.......very slowly. Walden is a classic; A Week on the Concord and Merrimack is intriguing because it was the author's first book and about taking a canoe trip with his brother (which I've done a time or two); his text is highly quotable and his philosophies foreshadow his later writing....however, he hardly mentions his brother which demonstrates how detached he could be from others around him.
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Love Walden!! It makes me laugh how everyone perceives Thoreau to be a serious writer....but if you really read what he is saying he is very sarcastic and witty. I laughed so hard. He also has a lot of really great insights about life and people. For example, he only spent six weeks of the year working to make money to suppport him for the rest of the year. Sign me up for that work schedule!
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Walden isn't an easy read - the first section in particular is long, dense, and occasionally annoying. But it's also very quotable, and later sections are filled with wonderful images. I'm not usually one for descriptive writing, but I've marked passages in this book just for their loveliness.
In short, it's worth the attempt. Even if you don't get far, you'll get to read some great stuff.
In short, it's worth the attempt. Even if you don't get far, you'll get to read some great stuff.
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In high school, I read this so many times my original copy fell apart.
Even though I know enough about him now to think the book is a little bit of a fraud, the ideas he expresses are still profound and amazing to me.
Every person should read this book cover to cover at least once.
Even though I know enough about him now to think the book is a little bit of a fraud, the ideas he expresses are still profound and amazing to me.
Every person should read this book cover to cover at least once.
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recommends it for:
People who love the environment
Most of this book was a little thick to get through, although once you get to the end it just unfolds and is absolutely incredible. He has pointed out so many important things about nature that now a days, we just don't see anymore and it is good to be reminded
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Read in January, 2005
I hated, hated, hated this book. I tried to like it, really I tried. But Thoreau was just too full of himself. He had some great ideas but just couldn't convey them well. In his defense, my brother-in-law practically sleeps with Walden under his pillow.
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I am in a continual process of reading this book. In the late '90's I really was bored with it, but now it is so interesting to me that the last time I tried to read it my friend Katie and I took hours at a time to discuss a few lines each over a few days!
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Vashti Bunyan:I don't wanna walk around with you
I don't wanna walk around with you
I don't wanna walk around with you
So why you wanna walk around with me?
I don't wanna walk around with you!
I don't wanna walk around with you
I don't wanna walk around with you
So why you wanna walk around with me?
I don't wanna walk around with you!
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"Currently reading" may be a stretch, but as I peruse his writings I am struck by how well he expresses ideas and thoughts I have had. I find I can relate to much (though certainly not all) of what he writes about.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2008
Finally read this book after years of owning it. I love his ideas on simplicity. Sometimes he rambles about his wonderful bean garden, etc which can be boring reading. Overall enjoyable classic read. :)
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Read in January, 2007
I get that Thoreau is great.. This was just to preachy for my liking, and I tired of him looking down his nose at his neighbors. Maybe I was just in a bad mood when I read it.
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I'd read excerpts from Thoreau but never the whole thing. His writing is lively and engaging, especially the aphorisms sprinkled on nearly every page.
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Excellent transcendentalist stuff. Good for the soul.
PS. I lost this book in grad school. If any of you borrowed it, please give it back.
PS. I lost this book in grad school. If any of you borrowed it, please give it back.
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I come back to Thoreau every few years. Whenever I feel impassive to the universe. He makes me want to stomp my feet and not pay my taxes.
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I read Walden in high school and want to read it again soon. It just doesn't get better than Thoreau! Unless, of course, its Emerson :)
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.01 (365 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.94 (36 ratings) number of reviews: 38popular shelves
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quote
"Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify."
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