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Henry David Thoreau: Writer and Rebel.
A biography of the poet, naturalist, and observer of mankind whose philosophy of passive resistance inspired such leaders as Gandhi and King.
Hardcover
First published December 31, 1972
About the author
Philip van Doren Stern
182 books23 followersPhilip van Doren Stern (September 10, 1900 - July 31, 1984) was an American author, editor, and Civil War historian whose story "The Greatest Gift," published in 1943, inspired the classic Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life (1946).
Philip van Doren Stern was born in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania into a family of humble means. His Pennsylvania-born father was a traveling merchant of Bavarian descent, who came to Wyalusing from West Virginia with his New Jersey-born wife. Stern grew up in Brooklyn, New York and New Jersey, and graduated from Rutgers University.
After graduating from Rutgers in 1924, Philip van Doren Stern worked in advertising before switching to a career as a designer and editor in publishing.
He was a historian and author of some 40 books and editor most known for his books on the Civil War[1] that a New York Times obituary called "authoritative" and "widely respected by scholars". As an editor, he worked at Pocket Books, Simon and Schuster, and Alfred A. Knopf. He compiled and annotated short story collections and the writings and letters of Abraham Lincoln, Edgar Allan Poe, and Henry David Thoreau.
During World War II, he was a member of the planning board of the United States Office of War Information. He was the general manager of Editions for the Armed Services, which resized popular books so Americans serving in the military could store them in the pockets of their uniforms. He compiled and edited many collections and anthologies of short stories, pictorial books, annotations, and books on historical subjects.
Stern edited, compiled, and introduced The Viking Portable Poe in 1945, a compact collection of letters, short stories, poems, and essays by Edgar Allan Poe. Stern wrote the biographical introduction to the collection, selected the contents included, and wrote introductory essays on the varying genres. The collection became a standard single-volume anthology of Poe's works for almost fifty years.
Philip van Doren Stern was born in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania into a family of humble means. His Pennsylvania-born father was a traveling merchant of Bavarian descent, who came to Wyalusing from West Virginia with his New Jersey-born wife. Stern grew up in Brooklyn, New York and New Jersey, and graduated from Rutgers University.
After graduating from Rutgers in 1924, Philip van Doren Stern worked in advertising before switching to a career as a designer and editor in publishing.
He was a historian and author of some 40 books and editor most known for his books on the Civil War[1] that a New York Times obituary called "authoritative" and "widely respected by scholars". As an editor, he worked at Pocket Books, Simon and Schuster, and Alfred A. Knopf. He compiled and annotated short story collections and the writings and letters of Abraham Lincoln, Edgar Allan Poe, and Henry David Thoreau.
During World War II, he was a member of the planning board of the United States Office of War Information. He was the general manager of Editions for the Armed Services, which resized popular books so Americans serving in the military could store them in the pockets of their uniforms. He compiled and edited many collections and anthologies of short stories, pictorial books, annotations, and books on historical subjects.
Stern edited, compiled, and introduced The Viking Portable Poe in 1945, a compact collection of letters, short stories, poems, and essays by Edgar Allan Poe. Stern wrote the biographical introduction to the collection, selected the contents included, and wrote introductory essays on the varying genres. The collection became a standard single-volume anthology of Poe's works for almost fifty years.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 29, 2024
Classic Biography!!
January 25, 2010
My class was in the computer lab, I needed a book and this one popped out at me. I had always known a bit about Thoreau but never knew what an interesting person he truly was. Here are a couple quotes from the book I liked
"I do believe in simplicity. It is astonishing, as well as sad, how many trivial affairs even the wisest man thinks he must attend to in a day....When the mathematician would solve a difficult problem, he first frees the equation of all incumbrances and reduces it to its simplest terms. So simplify the problem of life, distinguish the necessary and the real. Probe the earth to see where your main roots run."
Another funny moment in his life happened right before died. Thoreau was not a church going man and as he lay in his death bed his Aunt Louisa wanted to know whether he had made his peace with God. "I did not know that we had ever quarrelled," was his reply.
"I do believe in simplicity. It is astonishing, as well as sad, how many trivial affairs even the wisest man thinks he must attend to in a day....When the mathematician would solve a difficult problem, he first frees the equation of all incumbrances and reduces it to its simplest terms. So simplify the problem of life, distinguish the necessary and the real. Probe the earth to see where your main roots run."
Another funny moment in his life happened right before died. Thoreau was not a church going man and as he lay in his death bed his Aunt Louisa wanted to know whether he had made his peace with God. "I did not know that we had ever quarrelled," was his reply.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews