Thoreau: His life and aims

by H.A. Page

A rare and perceptive early English study of Thoreau.

271 pages, Unknown Binding

First published February 4, 2010

About the author

H.A. Page is a pseudonym for Alexander Jay Happ.

Reviews

[Mischa Daanen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has to be the one of the best collections of Thoreau's rants out there. A lot of gems I've never stumbled upon before, taken from (I guess) his notebooks, private letters and lectures and speeches. Unfortunately, this also makes for the biggest disappointment of the book. It's a badly designed collection of sharp and insightful prose put together by, I feel, an admirer, who also didn't care about referencing the sources used. It's a constant stream of anecdotes and quotes and it's hard to differentiate between excerpts that are Thoreau's or the author's. The book is more or less chronological but it's not divided into chapters nor has it any kind of order to it. Not of much research value but quite enjoyable nevertheless.