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Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau
On an autumn morning in 1849, Henry David Thoreau stepped out his front door to walk the beaches of Cape Cod. Over a century and a half later, Ben Shattuck does the same. With little more than a loaf of bread, brick of cheese, and a notebook, Shattuck sets out to retrace Thoreau’s path through the Cape’s outer beaches, from the elbow to Provincetown’s fingertip.
This is the first of six journeys taken by Shattuck, each one inspired by a walk once taken by Henry David Thoreau. After the Cape, Shattuck goes up Mount Katahdin and Mount Wachusett, down the coastline of his hometown, and then through the Allagash. Along the way, Shattuck encounters unexpected characters, landscapes, and stories, seeing for himself the restorative effects that walking can have on a dampened spirit. Over years of following Thoreau, Shattuck finds himself uncovering new insights about family, love, friendship, and fatherhood, and understanding more deeply the lessons walking can offer through life’s changing seasons.
Intimate, entertaining, and beautifully crafted, Six Walks is a resounding tribute to the ways walking in nature can inspire us all.
This is the first of six journeys taken by Shattuck, each one inspired by a walk once taken by Henry David Thoreau. After the Cape, Shattuck goes up Mount Katahdin and Mount Wachusett, down the coastline of his hometown, and then through the Allagash. Along the way, Shattuck encounters unexpected characters, landscapes, and stories, seeing for himself the restorative effects that walking can have on a dampened spirit. Over years of following Thoreau, Shattuck finds himself uncovering new insights about family, love, friendship, and fatherhood, and understanding more deeply the lessons walking can offer through life’s changing seasons.
Intimate, entertaining, and beautifully crafted, Six Walks is a resounding tribute to the ways walking in nature can inspire us all.
280 pages, Hardcover
First published April 19, 2022
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4477 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 195 reviews
January 13, 2023
“Footstep: A step taken by a person in walking, especially as heard by another person.”
A brilliant description and life journey through the mind of Ben, but thoughts of Henry D. Thoreau. Sometimes we need inspiration. Sometimes, when we are in a funk, we look to other to help with clarity.
“Grief: The in-between time, a period of fragility that brings yours emotions closest to the surface.”
His loss has brought him to ask the one question we always find ourselves ask, “what is our life worth?” You can not put a price on life. I work in the ER. I see death everyday. I see pain, sorrow, suffering, hurt, people at their lowest and worst states. To ask for help is strength, to put your mask on first is wisdom. We all seek to be perfect, but perfection doesn’t result to how much you overcome someone else’s flaws, character or qualities. Perfection is the ability to be humble, and know how to call yourself out and take care of you.
“Perfection is a form of maturity; a growth, for we learn as we grow and perfect ourselves along the way.” -J. Perrault
Ben Shattuck did himself good with walking the paths towards clarity, closures and happiness. I’d almost call is, “Six walks: Henry David Thoreau and the pursuit of happiness.”
This was a great read, and a brilliant way to end 2022, and start 2023!
A couple of journal entries while I read and what spoke to me:
-The sea shore is a sort of beauteous ground; most advantageous point from which to contemplate this world. (Cape Cod walk)
- [Civil war reenactment]: The past is a verb, I found that summer. It’s feelings come through participation, not standing in front of a monument.
[ I am a huge history buff, and this means so much to me. Beautiful in the idea; brilliant in its execution!]
-Henry David Thoreau: “A cup of water, “condensed cloud.” [Mind blown]
-A neat little summary of the dead: At some point your face is replaced by another. Your empty seat at a bar, taken by another.
- “I was deep within the hostile ranks of clouds.” “And all objects were obscured by them. Now the wind would blow me out a yard of clear sunlight, wherein I stood.” -Henry David Thoreau (Mt. Katahdin, Maine)
-Wachusett Mountain: “It was a satisfaction to know that they were our fellow travelers still, as high and out of our reach as our destiny. Truly the stars were given for a constellation to man. We should not know our life were fated to be always groveling, but it is permitted to behold them, and surely they are deserving of a fair destiny. We see laws which never fail, which who’s failure we never conceived; and their lamps burn all the night, too, as well as all day,- so rich and lavish is that nature which that can afford this superfluity of light.” - Henry David Thoreau
- Southwest: Unlike Henry, who walked southwest because “the future lies that way,” I walked southwest to encounter the past.
-Radom passage from southwest: (Discovering the past): “An empty dance hall is an invitation, somewhere between a plea and a hope.” (Inherited from parents)
“I think I cannot preserve my health and spirits.”
-“Unless I spend four hours atleast- and it is commonly more than that— sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements.” —Henry David Thoreau
[ A proven study shows that just 30min in the natural air, oxygen rich wilderness a day can change a person. No phone, no music. The clarity of thought and beauty of the surroundings. It is transcending at best. Natures heroin!]
-German last proverb: “In bad luck there is luck.”
[ His grandma said this, I love it!]
-Ben Shattuck: (The Allagash): “White birch look like caterpillars against the dark evergreen.”
-Ben Shattuck: (describing sleep) “Necessary dark territory we enter alone.”
A brilliant description and life journey through the mind of Ben, but thoughts of Henry D. Thoreau. Sometimes we need inspiration. Sometimes, when we are in a funk, we look to other to help with clarity.
“Grief: The in-between time, a period of fragility that brings yours emotions closest to the surface.”
His loss has brought him to ask the one question we always find ourselves ask, “what is our life worth?” You can not put a price on life. I work in the ER. I see death everyday. I see pain, sorrow, suffering, hurt, people at their lowest and worst states. To ask for help is strength, to put your mask on first is wisdom. We all seek to be perfect, but perfection doesn’t result to how much you overcome someone else’s flaws, character or qualities. Perfection is the ability to be humble, and know how to call yourself out and take care of you.
“Perfection is a form of maturity; a growth, for we learn as we grow and perfect ourselves along the way.” -J. Perrault
Ben Shattuck did himself good with walking the paths towards clarity, closures and happiness. I’d almost call is, “Six walks: Henry David Thoreau and the pursuit of happiness.”
This was a great read, and a brilliant way to end 2022, and start 2023!
A couple of journal entries while I read and what spoke to me:
-The sea shore is a sort of beauteous ground; most advantageous point from which to contemplate this world. (Cape Cod walk)
- [Civil war reenactment]: The past is a verb, I found that summer. It’s feelings come through participation, not standing in front of a monument.
[ I am a huge history buff, and this means so much to me. Beautiful in the idea; brilliant in its execution!]
-Henry David Thoreau: “A cup of water, “condensed cloud.” [Mind blown]
-A neat little summary of the dead: At some point your face is replaced by another. Your empty seat at a bar, taken by another.
- “I was deep within the hostile ranks of clouds.” “And all objects were obscured by them. Now the wind would blow me out a yard of clear sunlight, wherein I stood.” -Henry David Thoreau (Mt. Katahdin, Maine)
-Wachusett Mountain: “It was a satisfaction to know that they were our fellow travelers still, as high and out of our reach as our destiny. Truly the stars were given for a constellation to man. We should not know our life were fated to be always groveling, but it is permitted to behold them, and surely they are deserving of a fair destiny. We see laws which never fail, which who’s failure we never conceived; and their lamps burn all the night, too, as well as all day,- so rich and lavish is that nature which that can afford this superfluity of light.” - Henry David Thoreau
- Southwest: Unlike Henry, who walked southwest because “the future lies that way,” I walked southwest to encounter the past.
-Radom passage from southwest: (Discovering the past): “An empty dance hall is an invitation, somewhere between a plea and a hope.” (Inherited from parents)
“I think I cannot preserve my health and spirits.”
-“Unless I spend four hours atleast- and it is commonly more than that— sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements.” —Henry David Thoreau
[ A proven study shows that just 30min in the natural air, oxygen rich wilderness a day can change a person. No phone, no music. The clarity of thought and beauty of the surroundings. It is transcending at best. Natures heroin!]
-German last proverb: “In bad luck there is luck.”
[ His grandma said this, I love it!]
-Ben Shattuck: (The Allagash): “White birch look like caterpillars against the dark evergreen.”
-Ben Shattuck: (describing sleep) “Necessary dark territory we enter alone.”
December 11, 2024
One of my favorite books of 2024 is Ben Shattuck's newest short story collection
The History of Sound
, which weaves together stories that mine the depths of history while staying deeply personal, interwoven with beautiful writing about nature, the past and present, artifacts, and longing.
So of course, I had to go back and read his 2022 memoir which follows him across about 10 years as he took 6 different walks previously taken and written about by Henry David Thoreau.
This sort of pilgrimage Shattuck set out on was an effort to make space in nature to reflect, be delighted and surprised, and hopefully come to some understanding greater than himself. He says it much more eloquently and sounds less self-indulgent than my description. And with any book about pilgrimage, it is so much more about the journey than the destination.
Needless to say, I LOVED this book. It felt tailor made for me. I delighted in spending each morning with a cup of coffee, reading about another of his walks, the quirky characters he meets along the way, the animals he encounters, the nature he observes, and how he interweaves quotes and summaries of Thoreau's own journeys in a blend of past and present. It flowed so well, never feeling like a forced revelation but letting his nature walks unspool in front of him and his understandings unfold later upon reflection.
I can see myself revisiting this again, if not just for the beautiful descriptions of nature, but also for his wisdom, his wonder at the unknowability of things, and how it put me in a headspace that forced me to reflect and consider my own feelings about the things he discussed. It made me want to go on a long hike in the hills or sit on a foggy beach at morning. It made me want to say a silent prayer each day to the universe for the magic of existence.
So of course, I had to go back and read his 2022 memoir which follows him across about 10 years as he took 6 different walks previously taken and written about by Henry David Thoreau.
This sort of pilgrimage Shattuck set out on was an effort to make space in nature to reflect, be delighted and surprised, and hopefully come to some understanding greater than himself. He says it much more eloquently and sounds less self-indulgent than my description. And with any book about pilgrimage, it is so much more about the journey than the destination.
Needless to say, I LOVED this book. It felt tailor made for me. I delighted in spending each morning with a cup of coffee, reading about another of his walks, the quirky characters he meets along the way, the animals he encounters, the nature he observes, and how he interweaves quotes and summaries of Thoreau's own journeys in a blend of past and present. It flowed so well, never feeling like a forced revelation but letting his nature walks unspool in front of him and his understandings unfold later upon reflection.
I can see myself revisiting this again, if not just for the beautiful descriptions of nature, but also for his wisdom, his wonder at the unknowability of things, and how it put me in a headspace that forced me to reflect and consider my own feelings about the things he discussed. It made me want to go on a long hike in the hills or sit on a foggy beach at morning. It made me want to say a silent prayer each day to the universe for the magic of existence.
January 16, 2022
During the hour drive from my home to the Cape, I fantasized that I’d replicate the peace and higher perspective Henry had documented in that seam of land and sea. “The sea-shore is a sort of neutral ground,” he wrote, “a most advantageous point from which to contemplate this world.” I didn’t expect sublime perspective; I hoped only for a respite from my nightmares, for the waves and wind and weather to reshape the masses of my subconscious as they had shifted the dunes of Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown. Isn’t this always the hope, heading out for a long walk? That in your aloneness the landscape will relieve you? That your mind will be renewed, calmed?
We learn early in Six Walks that after suffering a devastating breakup — that caused him anxiety, insomnia, and nightmares — author Ben Shattuck reached for some of the writings of Henry David Thoreau, and living in the same general area as that famed naturalist had, Shattuck decided to retrace one of Thoreau’s walks and see what became of it. This led to another and another long walk, and for the first half of this book, it was moving and poignant to watch as Shattuck reconnected to himself as he considered the changing landscape around him and sent feelers back in time to discover what kind of man Thoreau must have been. This was very satisfying as a work of naturalism, literary criticism, and self-discovery memoir. The second half of the book sees Shattuck returning a couple of years later to the project of retracing Thoreau’s paths — while in a COVID lockdown with the love of his life — and although the thinking and writing are still of the highest order, it’s not quite as affecting without the pain. Still, this is a mashup of my favourite types of nonfiction writing — the nature writing, the literary callbacks, the thoughtful self-examination — and as a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Shattuck is certainly a polished wordsmith and Six Walks is finely crafted and relatable. (Note: I read an ARC through NetGalley and passages quoted may not be in their final forms.)
Henry had walked to Wachusett, sat up on the summit and looked at the stars as if they were “given for a consolation” six months after his brother died. Was he doing the same thing I was doing? Walking to husk the dead skin of grief? Looking up to feel the comfort of one’s own smallness in the world, to displace bulging selfhood, under the shadow of such urgent beauty as the night sky?
Six Walks is only lightly confessional — we learn much more about Thoreau’s history than Shattuck’s, and that was fine with me — but it is interesting to read what a person today might find along these increasingly less isolated pathways: the parking lot atop what was once a remote summit; the unexpected kindness of strangers; the brass plaques that confirm one is, indeed, standing in Thoreau’s footprints. And again, Shattuck’s writing style is lovely:
If spring is the season for the eyes —“Earth laughs in flowers,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson — and summer for touch — of the sun, of bare feet, of seawater on your skin — then fall is mostly for the nose: the bass-note scent of the ground. To walk through a forest in New England’s autumn is to put your nose to nature’s neck.
But again, the second half of this project isn’t quite as compelling as the first (it almost feels as though, during lockdown, Shattuck thought, “If I go on a few more walks, these old notes and sketches might make a book.”) In one later chapter, Shattuck decides to head off from his home in a southwest direction (because that is what Thoreau proposes in his essay “Walking” when one has no particular destination in mind), knowing that it will eventually bring him to Rhode Island and the summer property that his great-great-grandparents had enjoyed (long since sold out of the family). Shattuck has some ordinary experiences along the way, takes the opportunity to relate some of his family’s history (which was interesting), and when he arrives at the oceanside mansion, he realises that the house had been completely rebuilt at some point: Everything, even the landscaping, was different. I suddenly felt foolish, making a pilgrimage to something that wasn’t there anymore. And that was simply not as overall interesting to me as a person’s efforts to “husk off the dead skin of grief”. Still, Shattuck’s conclusions are worth arriving at:
Reflecting here, I think I understand something more of why Henry journaled, and why there is so much good writing in it, so little lazy writing, so many elaborate metaphors and full sentences. Writing is willing permanence. If I remembered what John had said about becoming a father, I would return to it here, I would feel the sensation of his words here again, and so make it permanent. I would not live it again — the sound of John’s voice under the gloaming sky, the satisfaction of arriving in deep territory after days of lighter talk — but I would be able to replicate and hold some of the sensation. I could refill myself with that sensation, as you might hold a water glass under a tap. Writing is the glass, I see.
I suppose I should stress again that this is not primarily a memoir — I learned more about Shattuck’s life from the author bio at the end than I did in the body of the book — but what is here is for the most part interesting and consistently well-written; a satisfying journey of literary self-discovery that I enjoyed retracing with the author.
unfinished
March 16, 2022Nice enough travel writing about his trips to Cape Cod, Walden Pond and Mt. Katahdin, but the information on Thoreau (including extensive quotes from his writing) is not well integrated and the reflections are low-key and generic.
February 3, 2022
I had expectations of loving this book, having grown up in Massachusetts and having hiked in several of the areas described, and being heavily influenced by Thoreau’s writing. Despite those shared starting points, it became clear I’m not the target audience for this book. There are many Thoreau quotes in the book, but I never felt connected to the present-day author. I guess I expected more about the land and less about the author—I did enjoy the nature writing, but I decided long ago I didn’t want to live a mainstream life and I’m definitely not interested in reading about it. I also don’t care for attempts at analyzing the personalities of people from the past based on current values. I’m sure most Americans will relate to the writing more than I could.
Thanks to Tin House and NetGalley for the advance copy to review.
Thanks to Tin House and NetGalley for the advance copy to review.
August 16, 2022
Early on, I thought this book was a solid 3 - nothing to write home about, but not bad. Then I made the mistake of continuing to read it. The sheer depth of unexamined, rich New England white man privilege in this book is infuriating, and became progressively more so the longer I read it, to the point that once I nearly threw the thing across the room had to talk myself down by reciting
1) This is a library book, and
2) I cannot actually hit Ben Shattuck from this distance.
The author addresses this exactly once, and that very briefly and at no depth-- just a offhand remark to the effect of wow, isn't he lucky to be able to walk into the yards of random people and just be invited to stay the night! Which...no kidding, sir!
The attitude towards nature itself also didn't sit well with me: running throughout this book is the assumption that humans are not nature, that we are somehow separate from and above it. All of the best lines are written by other people--and not all of those people are Henry David Thoreau, either. And did I mention that he calls Thoreau "Henry" throughout the whole book? Because Henry and Ben are 100% broskis, and you need to know this.
Ew.
1) This is a library book, and
2) I cannot actually hit Ben Shattuck from this distance.
The author addresses this exactly once, and that very briefly and at no depth-- just a offhand remark to the effect of wow, isn't he lucky to be able to walk into the yards of random people and just be invited to stay the night! Which...no kidding, sir!
The attitude towards nature itself also didn't sit well with me: running throughout this book is the assumption that humans are not nature, that we are somehow separate from and above it. All of the best lines are written by other people--and not all of those people are Henry David Thoreau, either. And did I mention that he calls Thoreau "Henry" throughout the whole book? Because Henry and Ben are 100% broskis, and you need to know this.
Ew.
May 4, 2022
This book is simply lovely, almost a meditation of the author's reconstruction of walks that Henry David Thoreau pushing 100 years before. The well-worded manuscript is accompanied by gorgeous black and white detailed sketches of locations and vignettes of his walk. The story is even more heartening because during his sojourn, Shattuck meets the woman who he is now married to.
Even the size of the book seems perfect for a book based on Thoreau's journals.
Looking forward to meeting him this weekend at Booktopia. Without Booktopia, I might have missed this jewel.
Even the size of the book seems perfect for a book based on Thoreau's journals.
Looking forward to meeting him this weekend at Booktopia. Without Booktopia, I might have missed this jewel.
May 13, 2022
Pretty basic and underwhelming. When shamelessly clinging to the coattails of someone like Henry David Thoreau you put yourself under an extremely lofty shadow, and this book unfortunately never found its way out from beneath that shadow. It read like the aimless wandering musings of a person enjoying the benefits of old money New Englander white privilege who just can’t wait to unironically tell you how toxic white privilege is…
This is barely passable box wine pretending to be vintage.
This is barely passable box wine pretending to be vintage.
January 2, 2022
I really loved this tender and thoughtful portrait of a man trying to understand his grief and himself. As a person who grew up in the Texas suburbs, where what little wilderness there was, was to be feared and avoided, I do not come readily to nature. But having just moved to Massachusetts myself, Shattuck's book moves me to get outside and walk, observe, "stand on the summit of an hour" as Thoreau put it, and see the heavens. For anyone who longs to be a part of something bigger than themself, and who suspects that that something bigger may be found outside, I would recommend this book without hesitation.
April 15, 2022
I am a big fan of walks. I take a lot of them, whether at home/in my local neighborhood or traveling. So this book held a lot of appeal--especially since it channeled Henry David Thoreau! (I have also seen _Dead Poets Society_ a time or six, so might have had Robin Williams's voice in my head at times. )
This book started out appealing, and indeed was (varying degrees of) interesting throughout the read. Shattuck definitely met some colorful characters on his walks; some of these encounters read better than others, lol. The first half of the book was also more interesting to me; the second half struggled to hold my interest. I'm not really sure why...then again, maybe it was the severed-finger story, that went on longer than I wished (with my vivid imagination and own reasons for not being a doctor). :D
Would I pick up Thoreau after reading this? Absolutely. Would I reread this? Mmm...no.
I received an eARC of the book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
This book started out appealing, and indeed was (varying degrees of) interesting throughout the read. Shattuck definitely met some colorful characters on his walks; some of these encounters read better than others, lol. The first half of the book was also more interesting to me; the second half struggled to hold my interest. I'm not really sure why...then again, maybe it was the severed-finger story, that went on longer than I wished (with my vivid imagination and own reasons for not being a doctor). :D
Would I pick up Thoreau after reading this? Absolutely. Would I reread this? Mmm...no.
I received an eARC of the book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
April 15, 2022
Beautifully written memoir combining gorgeous nature writing, travel, and personal experience. Loved it & can't wait to meet the author at #Booktopia!
My full review and some quotes:
https://bookbybook.blogspot.com/2022/...
My full review and some quotes:
https://bookbybook.blogspot.com/2022/...
November 3, 2022
This man clearly enjoyed his walks and had some profound personal revelations. Most of them, however, mainly apply to him solely and might as well have been unpublished.
May 15, 2022
I've long been a fan of Henry David Thoreau and would have ploughed through this book regardless of how "good" I thought it was. Seeing that it was published by Tin House increased my motivation to read it, knowing that Tin House sets the bar very, very high.
I had not expected to find myself mesmerized and enchanted. The writing took my breath away and left me awed with its beauty. The author captured feelings and nuances I've never before seen captured in words.
This book reminded my why Thoreau has long been my spiritual guide, in the same vein as Marcus Aurelius. I enjoyed every word and remain amazed that so many folks are unfamiliar with Thoreau's writings. As a full time RVer, Thoreau's philosophy of simplicity and minimalism have become the foundation for my life.
I had not expected to find myself mesmerized and enchanted. The writing took my breath away and left me awed with its beauty. The author captured feelings and nuances I've never before seen captured in words.
This book reminded my why Thoreau has long been my spiritual guide, in the same vein as Marcus Aurelius. I enjoyed every word and remain amazed that so many folks are unfamiliar with Thoreau's writings. As a full time RVer, Thoreau's philosophy of simplicity and minimalism have become the foundation for my life.
September 1, 2022
I had one of those weird reader's coincidences while reading this one. Another book I was reading "Run" by Ann Patchett had a scene devoted to the subject of visiting Walden pond which popped up as I was reading this book by an author who takes hikes along some of Thoreau's walking paths and compares his observations to Thoreau's writings and description while inserting his black and white drawings.
Those who like to hike and enjoy the great outdoors, even when quite uncomfortable, will enjoy this one and those who like to ponder the mysteries of life and nature will enjoy it even more. Not exactly a fast mover but well written so worthy of a read.
Those who like to hike and enjoy the great outdoors, even when quite uncomfortable, will enjoy this one and those who like to ponder the mysteries of life and nature will enjoy it even more. Not exactly a fast mover but well written so worthy of a read.
May 17, 2022
This was a real gem of a book. The author writes a moving memoir of his walks along the beaches of Cape Cod, trekking up Mount Katahdin and Mount Wachusett, and canoeing along the Allagash. A perfect mix of history sprinkled with a little bit of wisdom, Six Walks deserves five stars.
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
June 17, 2022
Like floating in the clouds. Just lovely.
June 7, 2024
Really enjoyed this! A pleasant read that transported me to the New England coast and countryside.
June 4, 2022
What is this persistent human belief in otherworldly wandering, this distant before- and after-life catching our eye when our own world reveals itself at its most beautiful? HDT
So rich and lavish is that nature which can afford this superfluity of light, I think now, whenever I look up in the blue sky and am reminded of the stars behind. Only when the sun has gone down, when the darkness comes like a swipe of death over the day, do the stars show themselves. Only in darkness, seen. Shattuck
This was okay; it is sad what the author finds in Thoreau’s footsteps, like a potato chip eating person feeding wildlife, or sad what he didn’t see, maybe. I have watched people walk by the most amazing things in nature without noticing, too intent on talking or reaching the top, so I think he did that as well. When he wrote about his wife’s celebrity and that the forest looked like a “set” I lost my interest. He also finished the book with how he would rather be with his wife then in nature living an examined life, which is fine, god bless, but then why write a book at all? Rejecting the entire premise of the book while also judging Thoreau’s sexuality or lack of? Just puzzling this got written at all.
“What is it that makes it so hard sometimes to determine whither we will walk? I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright. It is not indifferent to us which way we walk. There is a right way; but we are very liable from heedlessness and stupidity to take the wrong one. We would fain take that walk, never yet taken by us through this actual world, which is perfectly symbolical of the path which we love to travel in the interior and ideal world; and sometimes, no doubt, we find it difficult to choose our direction, because it does not yet exist distinctly in our idea.”
We will remember within what walls we lie, and understand that this level life too has its summit, and why from the mountain-top the deepest valleys have a tinge of blue; that there is elevation in every hour, as no part of the earth is so low that the heavens may not be seen from, and we have only to stand on the summit of our hour to command an uninterrupted horizon. —Henry David Thoreau, twenty-five years old
I noted the baritone rumble of waves presently dropping themselves on the beach, the gulls pinwheeling overhead. There, to the south, was a charcoal cloudbank, and the sound of thunder carried on the wind. A whale’s mouth broke the water then, a sight that landed in my brain where fire does—shaking out ordered thought.
“It was vast,” Henry wrote of the mountain’s summit. “Titanic, and such as man never inhabits. Some part of the beholder, even some vital part, seems to escape through the loose grating of his ribs as he ascends. He is more lone than you can imagine. There is less of substantial thought and fair understanding in him than in the plains where men inhabit.
“My body was the organ and channel of melody, as a flute is of the music that is breathed through it,” Henry wrote in his journal on an October morning, after waking from a dream.
The overhead sunset seemed to be lying and slipping upon the water. Mossy and grassy clearings and the overhanging oak and pine boughs gave me the impression of walking through a stage forest, an example of a forest—how deliberately the stream led us. “It was impossible for us to discern [the] trail in the elastic moss,” Henry wrote about his journey near here, “which, like a thick carpet, covered every rock and fallen tree, as well as the earth.”
“There is a silvery light on the washed willows this morning, and the shadows under the wood-sides appear deeper, perchance by contrast, in the brilliant air. Is not the air a little more bracing than it was? . . . The sky is more beautiful, a clearer blue, methinks, than for some time past, with light and downy clouds sailing all round a quarter of the way up it . . . From the shore I hear only the creak of crickets. The winds of autumn begin to blow.”
I carried that image of Henry holding a white, glowworm-colored wood chip in his hand for years, and it is the one fact I repeated whenever I got in a discussion about his writing. It lends itself so smoothly to metaphor and meaning: a man carrying back to camp illuminated wood is, in a way, the heart of his work. Look at this! I felt him saying to me in his journals. Look how strange! The temptation is to think that if you spend enough time in the forest, you, too, might find something as extraordinary.
So rich and lavish is that nature which can afford this superfluity of light, I think now, whenever I look up in the blue sky and am reminded of the stars behind. Only when the sun has gone down, when the darkness comes like a swipe of death over the day, do the stars show themselves. Only in darkness, seen. Shattuck
This was okay; it is sad what the author finds in Thoreau’s footsteps, like a potato chip eating person feeding wildlife, or sad what he didn’t see, maybe. I have watched people walk by the most amazing things in nature without noticing, too intent on talking or reaching the top, so I think he did that as well. When he wrote about his wife’s celebrity and that the forest looked like a “set” I lost my interest. He also finished the book with how he would rather be with his wife then in nature living an examined life, which is fine, god bless, but then why write a book at all? Rejecting the entire premise of the book while also judging Thoreau’s sexuality or lack of? Just puzzling this got written at all.
“What is it that makes it so hard sometimes to determine whither we will walk? I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright. It is not indifferent to us which way we walk. There is a right way; but we are very liable from heedlessness and stupidity to take the wrong one. We would fain take that walk, never yet taken by us through this actual world, which is perfectly symbolical of the path which we love to travel in the interior and ideal world; and sometimes, no doubt, we find it difficult to choose our direction, because it does not yet exist distinctly in our idea.”
We will remember within what walls we lie, and understand that this level life too has its summit, and why from the mountain-top the deepest valleys have a tinge of blue; that there is elevation in every hour, as no part of the earth is so low that the heavens may not be seen from, and we have only to stand on the summit of our hour to command an uninterrupted horizon. —Henry David Thoreau, twenty-five years old
I noted the baritone rumble of waves presently dropping themselves on the beach, the gulls pinwheeling overhead. There, to the south, was a charcoal cloudbank, and the sound of thunder carried on the wind. A whale’s mouth broke the water then, a sight that landed in my brain where fire does—shaking out ordered thought.
“It was vast,” Henry wrote of the mountain’s summit. “Titanic, and such as man never inhabits. Some part of the beholder, even some vital part, seems to escape through the loose grating of his ribs as he ascends. He is more lone than you can imagine. There is less of substantial thought and fair understanding in him than in the plains where men inhabit.
“My body was the organ and channel of melody, as a flute is of the music that is breathed through it,” Henry wrote in his journal on an October morning, after waking from a dream.
The overhead sunset seemed to be lying and slipping upon the water. Mossy and grassy clearings and the overhanging oak and pine boughs gave me the impression of walking through a stage forest, an example of a forest—how deliberately the stream led us. “It was impossible for us to discern [the] trail in the elastic moss,” Henry wrote about his journey near here, “which, like a thick carpet, covered every rock and fallen tree, as well as the earth.”
“There is a silvery light on the washed willows this morning, and the shadows under the wood-sides appear deeper, perchance by contrast, in the brilliant air. Is not the air a little more bracing than it was? . . . The sky is more beautiful, a clearer blue, methinks, than for some time past, with light and downy clouds sailing all round a quarter of the way up it . . . From the shore I hear only the creak of crickets. The winds of autumn begin to blow.”
I carried that image of Henry holding a white, glowworm-colored wood chip in his hand for years, and it is the one fact I repeated whenever I got in a discussion about his writing. It lends itself so smoothly to metaphor and meaning: a man carrying back to camp illuminated wood is, in a way, the heart of his work. Look at this! I felt him saying to me in his journals. Look how strange! The temptation is to think that if you spend enough time in the forest, you, too, might find something as extraordinary.
April 20, 2022
Enlightening, Thought-Provoking, and Inspirational this story is a great one to read and peruse by the fire on a cold day or while sitting in a chair lounging in the backyard as the birds chirp and a light breeze ruffles your hair. This was a bit of an emotional one with sadness, happiness, and everything in between like happens in life.
It was about how the author Ben Shattuck decided to try out doing some of the things that Henry David Thoreau did with his walks and looking and reflecting on nature as he went. Ben also decided to go about experimenting and trying these walks and things out because he was having a difficult time after a. hard break-up that was causing him to have insomnia, anxiety, and bad nightmares.
He started on this journey by taking walks and doing what he could to follow in the footsteps of Henry David Thoreau and what you find and read while following along with his narrative is a poignant, moving tale of life, loss, love, and seeing the world, nature, animals, himself and others in a whole new light. It's also fascinating reading about his experience written this way with the sketches and drawings in the book as well that illustrate some of the places he went and how he reflects on things, people and events as things happen. This reminds me a bit of poetry and prose that's written beautifully in a way to touch others, remind others of the world, nature, animals, and their beauty as well as the people and their kindnesses.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Tin House for letting me read and review this deep and soulful book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
It was about how the author Ben Shattuck decided to try out doing some of the things that Henry David Thoreau did with his walks and looking and reflecting on nature as he went. Ben also decided to go about experimenting and trying these walks and things out because he was having a difficult time after a. hard break-up that was causing him to have insomnia, anxiety, and bad nightmares.
He started on this journey by taking walks and doing what he could to follow in the footsteps of Henry David Thoreau and what you find and read while following along with his narrative is a poignant, moving tale of life, loss, love, and seeing the world, nature, animals, himself and others in a whole new light. It's also fascinating reading about his experience written this way with the sketches and drawings in the book as well that illustrate some of the places he went and how he reflects on things, people and events as things happen. This reminds me a bit of poetry and prose that's written beautifully in a way to touch others, remind others of the world, nature, animals, and their beauty as well as the people and their kindnesses.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Tin House for letting me read and review this deep and soulful book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
May 6, 2023
I wanted to like this more than I did. Parts were interesting; I appreciated reflections on certain moments the author writes about ("'I've never seen a porky-pine'", for example) and generalizations/tie-ins with some of his interpretations of Thoreau's writing. However, I could not get over the fact that this book drips with the author's (and Thoreau's) privilege. The few times you think any notable reflection on that privilege, either the author's or Thoreau's, is coming, it gives way to... pretty much nothing; there is little reflection or recognition of this from the author. He just wanders out, mostly unprepared, strikes good fortune at most turns, and then makes some connections to lines selectively cut from Thoreau's writing. Two brief moments--one early on (reflecting on how he, as a white man, can go for ambling walks without issue) and one later (on Thoreau's misanthropic/racist recollections of his Penobscot guide Joe Polis)--both opened doors for this kind of reflection, and the author promptly failed to walk through them. Add in the moments spent on UFO abductions, reflecting on Thoreau's sexuality, and stuff like that, and the book felt jumbled, out of place.
I was hoping for a stronger sense of connection to the writing (the author's) and nature (as viewed by the author and Thoreau), but seen through a more modern lens of self-reflection and recognition. Instead, I finished the book disappointed.
I was hoping for a stronger sense of connection to the writing (the author's) and nature (as viewed by the author and Thoreau), but seen through a more modern lens of self-reflection and recognition. Instead, I finished the book disappointed.
April 27, 2022
Ben Shattuck writes eloquently about the small observed details of a life on foot. His candor about his physical and mental health issues in the first part of the book contrast dramatically his evident happiness in the last part of the book.
Shattuck says about his motivation for walking and writing:
"But if I’ve learned one thing from reading Henry’s journals, it’s that stepping out your front door gives an offering in all seasons and moods."
"I think I understand something more of why Henry journaled, and why there is so much good writing in it, so little lazy writing, so many elaborate metaphors and full sentences.”
This is a lovely book for anyone who finds pleasure in stepping out their door with boots and backpack, ready to observe the world and its inhabitants.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Shattuck says about his motivation for walking and writing:
"But if I’ve learned one thing from reading Henry’s journals, it’s that stepping out your front door gives an offering in all seasons and moods."
"I think I understand something more of why Henry journaled, and why there is so much good writing in it, so little lazy writing, so many elaborate metaphors and full sentences.”
This is a lovely book for anyone who finds pleasure in stepping out their door with boots and backpack, ready to observe the world and its inhabitants.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
January 3, 2023
A DRC was provided by Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and not-too-dismissive review.
NOT for the Thoreauvian in your life. Shattuck briefly pays homage to six famous walks by Henry David but then proceeds to use his dabbling in perambulatory homages to muse on the messiness of his past life. He takes a chance on new relationships, new family and new living spaces as he goes about what feels like a very long year in the life of Ben Shattuck, when the book is so short. You know when the New Yorker longingly mentions "Thoreau’s luminous, lyrical prose" in their review of this book that the exercise doesn't entirely succeed with that sort of thing, but shout out to Shattuck for being so low key about his meeting and marrying Jenny Slate somehow while he was on walkabout - really hope that works out there. What would Thoreau have said?
NOT for the Thoreauvian in your life. Shattuck briefly pays homage to six famous walks by Henry David but then proceeds to use his dabbling in perambulatory homages to muse on the messiness of his past life. He takes a chance on new relationships, new family and new living spaces as he goes about what feels like a very long year in the life of Ben Shattuck, when the book is so short. You know when the New Yorker longingly mentions "Thoreau’s luminous, lyrical prose" in their review of this book that the exercise doesn't entirely succeed with that sort of thing, but shout out to Shattuck for being so low key about his meeting and marrying Jenny Slate somehow while he was on walkabout - really hope that works out there. What would Thoreau have said?
June 25, 2022
This book is so beautifully written and reflective. Although Henry David Thoreau looms large over the text, it is not simply an homage to him. Refreshingly, it is a compelling portrait of the writer maturing from one phase of life into a more settled one without dwelling on his own angst too much. I think about how I might write about myself at different periods over the past 10 years and what I was going through in different phases and I think it would be so tempting to get really navel-gazing and emotional. Shattuck approaches his own life with such a light touch, using instead the walks and his observations about nature and the interaction between humans and the environment to make moving points about ethics, family, love, and memory. Really really beautiful and poignant without being saccharine.
April 21, 2022
This is a really beautiful, contemplative, poetic book that had me thinking back on times I’ve felt the most connected to and appreciative of nature. A nice change of pace to what I’ve been reading lately!
(I won a copy of this in a Goodreads giveaway.)
(I won a copy of this in a Goodreads giveaway.)
July 31, 2023
this took me forever to read because 1. it is kind of boring and annoying at times (in the same new england way i am boring and annoying at times) 2. i insisted on only reading it while physically on the beach, specifically a new england ocean beach
July 30, 2022
A nice way to feel like you’re reading Thoreau without actually reading Thoreau. Realizing the author is married to Jenny Slate halfway through the book, haha.
October 13, 2022
I'm looking forward to trying to find some of these places also! I missed the "Book walk" that happened in my area because of work. Wish I could have gone though!
October 21, 2022
Not bad but he’s no John McPhee and Jenny’s book was much more profound
December 5, 2024
An ode to Henry David Thoreau, a meditation on life, and a reflection on our collective estrangement from- and destruction of- nature.
Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau is a beautifully written, hypnotic, and refreshingly introspective work. Like Thoreau, Ben Shattuck views walking as more than just as a physical act. It's a tool that allows for participation in the world. Shattuck's journeys observing, questioning, and connecting with the landscapes and people he encountered are really enjoyable to read. His writing is participatory, blunt, and pensive.
Shattuck captures the fleeting beauty of the quickly forgotten moments that shape our days. He's able to illustrate our world and represent the duality of being human - the feelings of both timelessness and impermanence that soak up our lives. More than this, he's a proponent of engagement with this dichotomy. He writes, “the past is a verb, its feeling only comes through participation,” encouraging us to actively engage with history, nature, and the people we care about. In Shattuck's eyes, existence isn’t just about observation, it’s about immersion.
What I loved about this book was how he didn't shy away from the harsh truths of our reality—the negative impacts of technology, the inevitability of grief, and the damage we inflict on the environment. Amidst these blunt observations are small reassurances of the joys that still remain untouched, “technology hadn’t taken away the feeling of a warm house on a winter’s day.”
This was one of the best-written books I've read this year. Shattuck writes with such clarity and intimacy - it is both inspiring and daunting. In reading this, I was a bit staggered by his ability to capture the exact quotes of strangers and encapsulate fleeting moments. He somehow was able to reproduce the astute utterances of his friends and detail small, yet profound memories from his walks. The writing alone makes this book a gorgeous read that I'd recommend to anyone looking for an introspective work, or simply, a book about nature.
Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau is a beautifully written, hypnotic, and refreshingly introspective work. Like Thoreau, Ben Shattuck views walking as more than just as a physical act. It's a tool that allows for participation in the world. Shattuck's journeys observing, questioning, and connecting with the landscapes and people he encountered are really enjoyable to read. His writing is participatory, blunt, and pensive.
Shattuck captures the fleeting beauty of the quickly forgotten moments that shape our days. He's able to illustrate our world and represent the duality of being human - the feelings of both timelessness and impermanence that soak up our lives. More than this, he's a proponent of engagement with this dichotomy. He writes, “the past is a verb, its feeling only comes through participation,” encouraging us to actively engage with history, nature, and the people we care about. In Shattuck's eyes, existence isn’t just about observation, it’s about immersion.
What I loved about this book was how he didn't shy away from the harsh truths of our reality—the negative impacts of technology, the inevitability of grief, and the damage we inflict on the environment. Amidst these blunt observations are small reassurances of the joys that still remain untouched, “technology hadn’t taken away the feeling of a warm house on a winter’s day.”
This was one of the best-written books I've read this year. Shattuck writes with such clarity and intimacy - it is both inspiring and daunting. In reading this, I was a bit staggered by his ability to capture the exact quotes of strangers and encapsulate fleeting moments. He somehow was able to reproduce the astute utterances of his friends and detail small, yet profound memories from his walks. The writing alone makes this book a gorgeous read that I'd recommend to anyone looking for an introspective work, or simply, a book about nature.
April 29, 2025
After reading Ben Shattuck’s “History of Sound,” a collection of paired short stories, I declared it the best book I had read in 2024. Exquisite writing, dialogue, characters, and close observation marked every page. That began my search for more of his writing.
“Six Walks in the Footsteps of Thoreau” is based on a number of walks Henry David Thoreau first embarked upon in 1849 - a walk on Cape Cod’s outer beaches to Provincetown; Mount Katahdin and Mount Wachusett; the Massachusetts coastline; and through the Allagash. Shattuck, in his early thirties when he starts the first walk, is not in a good place. He is not even well provisioned with food or protective clothing. His hurt, his vulnerability, and maybe his naivete courses through those first walks; he meets people who go out of their way to engage with him, share food, lodging, encouragement. And always, Shattuck refers back to Thoreau’s observations, comparing them to his own over 150 years later. “Why is it in the lives of men we hear more of the dark wood than of the sunny pasture?”
Thoreau’s writing always grounds me, reminding me to look up, look closely, and listen to the gift of nature. “What business have I in the woods, if I am thinking of something out of the woods?” Shattuck’s walks, taken over time, offer him new insights about family, love, and friendship. He quotes Thoreau throughout the essays, and just as he was inspired to reread “Cape Cod,” I returned to Thoreau’s writing, a healing act.
Perhaps my favorite essay was the last one describing his last night in Massachusetts before heading back to LA with his fiancee, Jenny Slate, awaiting the birth of their child. He is at peace, healed, looking forward to new life. “All things go smoothly as the axis of the universe.”
“Six Walks in the Footsteps of Thoreau” is based on a number of walks Henry David Thoreau first embarked upon in 1849 - a walk on Cape Cod’s outer beaches to Provincetown; Mount Katahdin and Mount Wachusett; the Massachusetts coastline; and through the Allagash. Shattuck, in his early thirties when he starts the first walk, is not in a good place. He is not even well provisioned with food or protective clothing. His hurt, his vulnerability, and maybe his naivete courses through those first walks; he meets people who go out of their way to engage with him, share food, lodging, encouragement. And always, Shattuck refers back to Thoreau’s observations, comparing them to his own over 150 years later. “Why is it in the lives of men we hear more of the dark wood than of the sunny pasture?”
Thoreau’s writing always grounds me, reminding me to look up, look closely, and listen to the gift of nature. “What business have I in the woods, if I am thinking of something out of the woods?” Shattuck’s walks, taken over time, offer him new insights about family, love, and friendship. He quotes Thoreau throughout the essays, and just as he was inspired to reread “Cape Cod,” I returned to Thoreau’s writing, a healing act.
Perhaps my favorite essay was the last one describing his last night in Massachusetts before heading back to LA with his fiancee, Jenny Slate, awaiting the birth of their child. He is at peace, healed, looking forward to new life. “All things go smoothly as the axis of the universe.”
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