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Wild Fruits: Thoreau's Rediscovered Last Manuscript
"This wonderful book is both a practical and a philosophical field guide to the natural gifts of the American countryside."― Audubon The final harvest of our great nature writer’s last years, Wild Fruits presents Thoreau’s distinctly American gospel―a sacramental vision of nature in which "the tension between Thoreau the naturalist and Thoreau the missionary for nature’s wonders invigorates nearly every page" ( Time ). In transcribing the 150-year-old manuscript’s cryptic handwriting and complex notations, Thoreau specialist Bradley Dean has performed a "heroic feat of decipherment" ( Booklist ) to bring this great work to light. Readers will discover "passages that reach for the transcendentalist ideal of writing new scriptures, yet grounding this Bible in a vision of practical ecology" ( Boston ). Beautifully illustrated throughout with line drawings of the natural life Thoreau considers on his walks, Wild Fruits is "well worth any nature lover’s attention" ( Christian Science Monitor ). Illustrated with line drawings
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
20 people are currently reading
339 people want to read
About the author
Henry David Thoreau
2,406 books6,727 followersHenry 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...
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...
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 19, 2014
As with everything I've read by Thoreau, this book is extremely rich with profound meaning. Filled with quips, digressions, and observations all worth their weight in gold, Thoreau uses this book to expound on an idea he defends elsewhere in "Walking" - that of going out into the world, unencumbered by idle thoughts, and simply living in it. Tasting its fruit, observing its patterns, and drinking it all up gratefully. It's hard to express how Thoreau does this so beautifully, but he does, every time. After Walden this is my favorite work of his.
December 5, 2015
If all you know about Thoreau is Civil Disobedience and Walden Pond, you may be in for a surprise. This book contains numerous examples of Thoreau’s expertise as an observer, naturalist, environmentalist, and advocate of forest preservation. “Wild Fruits” was transcribed, from a bale of Thoreau’s papers, by Bradley Dean. Reproductions of a few pages of Thoreau’s handwritten manuscript are included to show the horrible handwriting that had to be deciphered.
Here’s a couple of “takes” from the volume:
• Biting into a wild November apple, expecting it to have a rich taste, Thoreau finds it “sour enough to set a squirrel’s teeth on edge and make a jay scream.”
• Climbing a “small” 20-foot white pine, intending to collect cones, Thoreau’s hands are covered with pitch from the cones. He wonders how squirrels keep their paws and whiskers clean when they gnaw the cones. Elsewhere in the book, Thoreau describes rubbing bayberries between his hands to clean off the pitch.
Over a number of years (1852-1860), Thoreau kept meticulous phenological records of the dates of many plants’ yearly progress – leafing, flowering, fruiting and seeding. Fast-forward to our own century; Richard Primack, Abraham Miller-Rushing, Becca Stadtlander, Caroline Polgar, and Amanda Gallinat have collaborated on studies comparing Thoreau’s average dates with those of known vegetation in the Concord area. Findings: (1) Since Thoreau’s time a substantial amount of native plants in Concord have either disappeared or become rare; (2) In comparison to 2004-2012, average dates are 11 days earlier (caused in part by Climate Change, increased pavement and citification, pollution, and increased deer population); (3) Leaf-out of 43 woody plants that were compared in 2009-2013 averaged 18 days earlier than in Thoreau’s observations.
Here’s a couple of “takes” from the volume:
• Biting into a wild November apple, expecting it to have a rich taste, Thoreau finds it “sour enough to set a squirrel’s teeth on edge and make a jay scream.”
• Climbing a “small” 20-foot white pine, intending to collect cones, Thoreau’s hands are covered with pitch from the cones. He wonders how squirrels keep their paws and whiskers clean when they gnaw the cones. Elsewhere in the book, Thoreau describes rubbing bayberries between his hands to clean off the pitch.
Over a number of years (1852-1860), Thoreau kept meticulous phenological records of the dates of many plants’ yearly progress – leafing, flowering, fruiting and seeding. Fast-forward to our own century; Richard Primack, Abraham Miller-Rushing, Becca Stadtlander, Caroline Polgar, and Amanda Gallinat have collaborated on studies comparing Thoreau’s average dates with those of known vegetation in the Concord area. Findings: (1) Since Thoreau’s time a substantial amount of native plants in Concord have either disappeared or become rare; (2) In comparison to 2004-2012, average dates are 11 days earlier (caused in part by Climate Change, increased pavement and citification, pollution, and increased deer population); (3) Leaf-out of 43 woody plants that were compared in 2009-2013 averaged 18 days earlier than in Thoreau’s observations.
October 2, 2008
I received this book as a gift(2004)from a mentor/co-worker while teaching at GHS. She reveled in my love of the outdoors down to the very last leaf and/or berry. This book travels with me throughout the year. The binding is now broken,pages are dirty and the margins filled with notes,thoughts,ideas, etc.
December 15, 2020
植物真惹人愛。讀書時我差點忘卻自己身處石屎森林，簡直按捺不住出門在林間草間遊蕩的衝動。於是真的在上週末帶著書去草原，把藍色、白色和綠色盛滿了眼眶。 梭羅熱愛大自然，他不斷地提醒讀者：大自然給了我們如此多的餽贈，如果不去觀察、去採摘、去品嘗，那我們就像闖進花園的公牛一樣，暴殄天物。他的萬物平等理念也貫穿始終，使讀者深受感染：懂得尊重任何他者的生命，會讓人更熱愛自己的生命。 【挑刺】長長的副標題、後勒口上的賣點提煉、圖書簡介的文案撰寫，配上美麗的封面設計及插畫，這本書的包裝在吸引當代讀者上做到了極致。只是遠離了這本書最重要的氣質：梭羅對大自然的敬愛。 20823
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July 17, 2014A catalog of when he saw each plant flower, in successive years, I just couldn't make it through this one....
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September 20, 2021Well-written. Hilarious in his extreme idealism.
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October 29, 2023This is now a perpetual enjoyment. Definitely something I wish I had read to my kids.
November 1, 2013
Wild Fruits Thoreau's Rediscovered Last Manuscript
1850's This lost manuscript is mostly about Thoreau and his time studying the plants he lives near.
Everything from when they first come out in the spring, the crop they produce and the taste and the history of the plant itself and how it was used in the past.
Wish I had the actual book as it might come with pictures of the actual plants that I could then identify here locally but this is a book on tape.
1850's This lost manuscript is mostly about Thoreau and his time studying the plants he lives near.
Everything from when they first come out in the spring, the crop they produce and the taste and the history of the plant itself and how it was used in the past.
Wish I had the actual book as it might come with pictures of the actual plants that I could then identify here locally but this is a book on tape.
January 8, 2015
I love historical botany and botanical histories. It was really fun to read him describing his observations of places I'd been to in New England, as well as read his descriptions of plants I myself often find in the forest. Also, this manuscript is full of historical phenological observations - notes on which plants bloomed when, how much, in what year. Beyond the plants, he also says brilliant things about nature and humanity that we can still relate to
November 20, 2007
a field guide more than anything, though it does contain some little story and folklore snippets.
December 15, 2008
Thoreau's notes on edible wild foods (mostly fruit)and seeds. Interesting details...
When I lived on a farm, I kept notes like these about both the wild and cultivated plants.
When I lived on a farm, I kept notes like these about both the wild and cultivated plants.
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November 14, 2015(only half!)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews