Great Short Works of Henry David Thoreau

by Henry David Thoreau

This book is edited, with an introduction by Wendell Glick.

Genres: Memoir, Essays

384 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1982

About the author

Henry David Thoreau (born David Henry Thoreau) was an American author, naturalist, transcendentalist, tax resister, development critic, philosopher, and abolitionist who is best known for Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay, Civil Disobedience, an argument for individual resistance to civil government in moral opposition to an unjust state.

Thoreau's books, articles, essays, journals, and poetry total over 20 volumes. Among his lasting contributions were his writings on natural history and philosophy, where he anticipated the methods and findings of ecology and environmental history, two sources of modern day environmentalism.

In 1817, Henry David Thoreau was born in Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard University in 1837, taught briefly, then turned to writing and lecturing. Becoming a Transcendentalist and good friend of Emerson, Thoreau lived the life of simplicity he advocated in his writings. His two-year experience in a hut in Walden, on land owned by Emerson, resulted in the classic, Walden: Life in the Woods (1854). During his sojourn there, Thoreau refused to pay a poll tax in protest of slavery and the Mexican war, for which he was jailed overnight. His activist convictions were expressed in the groundbreaking On the Duty of Civil Disobedience (1849). In a diary he noted his disapproval of attempts to convert the Algonquins "from their own superstitions to new ones." In a journal he noted dryly that it is appropriate for a church to be the ugliest building in a village, "because it is the one in which human nature stoops to the lowest and is the most disgraced." (Cited by James A. Haught in 2000 Years of Disbelief.) When Parker Pillsbury sought to talk about religion with Thoreau as he was dying from tuberculosis, Thoreau replied: "One world at a time."

Thoreau's philosophy of nonviolent resistance influenced the political thoughts and actions of such later figures as Leo Tolstoy, Mohandas K. Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. D. 1862.

More: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/tho...

http://thoreau.eserver.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Da...

http://transcendentalism-legacy.tamu....

http://www.biography.com/people/henry...

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pieces on nature are vibrantly descriptive and beautifully written.
The social commentaries are plodding.

Maybe this only demonstrates my personal outlook and loyalties rather than Thoreau's writing abilities.

[Marta E C R · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me almost 9 months to read this book. Today, after finishing its last essay, "Life without Principle," I recognized fully how very pertinent Thoreau's writings are to current events, particularly around the reading I've been doing about antiracism. I am so grateful to my Uncle Wendell, who edited this book, and whom I loved and still love. What an honor and a privilege to be his niece! In terms of improved comprehension, I found that reading it aloud was exceedingly helpful. Not every portion would have gotten 5 stars, but that last essay elevated the entire book to 5-star status in my mind, and I will try to return to this book throughout the rest of my life to glean further wisdom.

[Lucas]

*Walden chapters skipped, start date several months prior, but unknown.

[Isaac Ehrlich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admire Thoreau's observation and talent for grandeur in his writing. I think I may be more aware of color than ever. His work can be lengthy for short works mostly because of his language; his words drag a person into his work and delight and/or bore. I normally don't read essays, but I enjoyed this book.