The Works of Henry David Thoreau

by Henry David Thoreau

The works of Thoreau in one collection with active table of contents. Works

On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
A Plea for Captain John Brown
Walden
Walking
A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers
Wild Apples

Genres: Classics, Philosophy, Poetry, Nonfiction, Essays, Literature, Collections

604 pages, Leather Bound

First published January 1, 1942

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

[Rebecca]

“It’s not what you look at that matters. It’s what you see.” Henry David Thoreau

[Karen Hogan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The gist of Thoreau's thoughts: live simply, shun extravagance.

[John Gamble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very long very slow read, if you care to embark on this journey take you time or don’t bother

[Patricia Franz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when I was eighteen, right before college. It was life changing. A man who becomes one with nature, and not a lonely hermit.

[Jessie Seloske-day · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superb book. Very thought provoking.

[Colleen Mertens · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this to correspond to another reading challenge. It covers all of Thoreau's writing on natural history, including Walden. It was interesting to read Thoreau's thoughts on nature and life in general. He definitely doesn't feel like people need much to survive and we should use as little as possible to leave nature alone as much as possible. Much written here we still need to learn from.

[Linda Belote · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bit off more than I could chew. I have abandoned this goal, because there are just too many other books that I must read so I cannot dedicate myself to Thoreau at present. I like him, but I don't have to read anymore at the present.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did some re-reading and skimming for our trip to Walden Pond: portions of Walden, Autumnal Tints, Wild Apples, and maybe a few other essays. Mixed feelings. I often find myself arguing with both Thoreau and Emerson as I read. 😅 Some nice, galvanizing quotes, though.

[Trina Branella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well it is Thoreau! How could it not be good!

[Wyntrnoire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume contains Walden only. Loved it and will reread in a year or so:)

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoreau knew the ways of nature.