Walden Pond: A History

by W. Barksdale Maynard

Perhaps no other natural setting has as much literary, spiritual, and environmental significance for Americans as Walden Pond. Some 700,000 people visit the pond annually, and countless others journey to Walden in their mind, to contemplate the man who lived there and what the place means to us today.
Here is the first history of the Massachusetts pond Thoreau made famous 150 years ago. W. Barksdale Maynard offers a lively and comprehensive account of Walden Pond from the early nineteenth century to the present. From Thoreau's first visit at age 4 in 1821--"That woodland vision for a long time made the drapery of my dreams"--to today's efforts both to conserve the pond and allow public access, Maynard captures Walden Pond's history and the role it has played in social, cultural, literary, and environmental movements in America. Along the way Maynard details the geography of the pond; Thoreau's and Emerson's experiences of Walden over their lifetimes; the development of the cult of Thoreau and the growth of the pond as a site of literary and spiritual pilgrimages; rock star Don Henley's Walden Woods Project and the much publicized battle to protect the pond from developers in the 1980s; and the vitally important ecological symbol Walden Pond has become today.
Exhaustively researched, vividly written, and illustrated with historical photographs and the most detailed maps of Thoreau country yet created, Walden A History reveals how an ordinary pond has come to be such an extraordinarily inspiring symbol.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

404 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Jack Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

I live next door, so I've always spent a lot of time there and I still do. This book, along with other historical reference, really give a good perspective of what a gem of a place we have here and thanks to the people who have worked to preserve it for generations.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cultural history of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, beginning with Henry David Thoreau's personal association with the pond, through this literary career, and afterlife. This book explores the uses and role of the pond for Concordians, tourists and literary pilgrims, recreational activities, and the conservation of the the Pond and surrounding woods into the early twenty-first century. Well-researched and written, this history insightful demonstrates how Walden Pond became a place that functions on multiple levels as a literary location, historic site, public recreational playground, and subject of controversial conservation debates.

[John Fredrickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good introduction to the social history and thought of Thoreau, Emerson, and other of the Transcendentalists, with Concord and Walden as a unifying locale. The book extends the history of Walden Pond itself to current times, exploring both the forces that have threatened the pond, as well as the variety of people that have sought to defend and preserve it.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the book slows down and I had a hard time reading about privilege

[Bob Peru · Rating 4 out of 5]

extremely interesting.

[Alan Rohwer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book for anyone seriously interested in the fabled Pond and those associated with it. It is, in fact, a chronological history beginning with a little pre-history and continuing from the early Nineteenth Century up to its publication date. The Transcendentalist and their visits are described in detail, followed by the changing land uses up to the current stewardship of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The controversies of these various uses is also described. Being a student of Henry Thoreau, I was interested in the evolution of knowledge of his Walden time and the changing perceptions of him and how his fame led to an appreciation of the Pond's surroundings. The story of the roles of various people in their search for Henry and the development of the environs as a literary and historic shrine verses being a place of public recreation I also found very interesting. I came away feeling blessed to live in a time when there is a balance in the mixed use of the Walden Reservation. The history of the Thoreau Society and other preservation groups I also found interesting and compelling. This is a story that is still unfolding.

[David McConaghy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply one of the greatest works of literature of all time.