Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. And, too be fair, I read through this rather quickly. It kept the audience wide awake, and pleasantly excited for nearly two hours.”8 A decade later, The Liberator wrote of Thoreau’s talk on John Brown that a “very large audience listened to this lecture, crowding the hall half an hour before the time of its commencement, and giving hearty applause to some of the most energetic expressions of the speaker.”9 Thoreau wrote in his journal on December 6, 1854: “After lecturing twice this winter I feel that I am in danger of cheapening myself by trying to become a successful lecturer, i.e., to interest my audiences. Many of course will choose not to read it but for those who do, and make it through the slog that is the first chapter, Thoreau's timeless classic offers much wisdom on thoughtful living. Difficult reading! I ordered this collection, a bit apprehensive that somewhere they cut corners to all these Thoreau writings in one, affordable book. Lori Hettler is the founder and moderator of The Next Best Book Club, one of the most popular groups on Goodreads, and has been a reader and... Henry David Thoreau dedicated his life to preserving his freedom as a man and an artist. In reading Walden, you have to realize that Thoreau put his life and soul into this little book. The failure of these and other similar efforts to fundamentally change the way people lived showed that Thoreau was correct in searching for another method to reform human culture. This 700 page compendium of Thoreau's works contains a couple "must haves", in "Walden" and "Civil Disobedience". Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Unfortunately, I don't like that sort of writing. As soon as someone says "Freud" and "Oedipus" I immediately feel everything they say after that is wrong. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. I have been reading Thoreaus so long I do not remember if he had a great impact on my life or if he just speaks to already existing values. It includes: Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2019, Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2018. wonderful to keep on hand as a reference for behavior that has repeated itself. A modern reader has to sift through the 19th century, pre-Civil. These two works by Thoreau have stood the test of time with their readability, influence and insight into the man and his philosophies. Search. And while this fascination has its original roots in Emerson’s essays and Whitman’s poetry, it was upon reading Thoreau that I really began to feel I found a kindred spirit. Patience,—patience; with the shades of all the good and great for company; and for solace the perspective of your own infinite life; and for work the study and the communication of principles, the making those instincts prevalent, the conversion of the world. Transcendentalism Collection: Thoreau’s Walden, Walking & Civil Disobedience, Emerson’s Self-Reliance, Nature & The American Scholar, Bryant’s Thanatopsis, & Hawthorne’s Artist of the Beautiful, The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Modern Library Classics), Nature and Selected Essays (Penguin Classics), Henry David Thoreau : Collected Essays and Poems (Library of America), Emerson: Essays and Lectures: Nature: Addresses and Lectures / Essays: First and Second Series / Representative Men / English Traits / The Conduct of Life (Library of America), The Portable Walt Whitman (Penguin Classics). These questions were paramount. Sorry, there was a problem loading this page. The portable Thoreau by Henry David Thoreau, 1980, Viking Press edition, in English - Reissued in a new format. Thoreau's thought processes, which are summarized in this book, are definitely interesting to contemplate. Emerson himself knew that it was “easy to see that the debt is immense to past thought. Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2009. I will go back to this, again and again, to read and rereads bits and pieces, especially Walden, and especially when I am feeling aggressively consumer-y. It is worth the effort. Finally. There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try your request again later. Thoreau was outspokenly critical of the American government, fervently opposed to slavery, and an advocate of passive resistance. An updated edition of Thoreau’s most widely read works Self-described as “a mystic, a transcendentalist, and a natural philosopher to boot,” Henry David Thoreau dedicated his life to preserving his freedom as a man and as an artist. I think he might even agree with me that you can’t be transformed by merely reading about Nature, but you have to actually go out and experience it for yourself. Whatever else he may have been—social reformer, naturalist, surveyor, pencil-maker, teacher—his work, as he would write in his journal on October 18, 1856, “is writing, and I do not hesitate, though I know that no subject is too trivial for me, tried by ordinary standards.”2 Henry David Thoreau was born David Henry Thoreau on July 12, 1817, in Concord, and he died in Concord on May 6, 1862. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published [Henry David Thoreau; Carl Bode] Home. However, I was presently surprised that the binding, paper, print and font are all top quality. At the very least, readers of Walden in any age will be encouraged to forgo the way of the lemming and instead give a little thought to each step taken in life, as opposed to just mindlessly stumbling off the proverbial cliff of life. During his forty-four years, or, more precisely, during the twenty-four years when he was actively writing, he wrote works that have become classics of American literature—Walden, a book on deliberate and purposeful living; “Civil Disobedience,” a treatise on a person’s rights and duties in relation to an unjust government; and “Walking,” a piece on man’s place in Nature—in addition to writing a two-million-word journal. The contents however are still provoking and relevant in todays techno world and very well worth the modest cover price. The place from which one makes an observation is critical, as when he noted that the seashore of Cape Cod formed “neutral ground, a most advantageous point from which to contemplate this world,”23 or when he wrote in 1852 that the “elevated position” afforded by climbing a mountain allowed him to “see an infinite variety far and near in their relation to each other, thus reduced to a single picture.”24 Walden Woods was not the place a Harvard graduate usually went to live. The Portable Thoreau by Unknown and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at AbeBooks.com. Walden may have been written by a 19th century New Englander but it's implications travel far beyond that limited scope of time and space. Search for Library Items Search for Lists Search for Contacts Search for a Library. As he wrote, “These same questions that disturb and puzzle and confound us have in their turn occurred to all the wise men; not one has been omitted; and each has answered them, according to his ability, by his words and his life.”3 Because the answers change, however, not only from generation to generation but for each individual from year to year, his writings are works to which we return, texts constantly reflecting our own evolution. The Portable Thoreau. Published by Penguin. Welcome back.
An updated edition of Thoreau's most widely read works
Self-described as "a mystic, a transcendentalist, and a natural philosopher to boot," Henry David Thoreau dedicated his life to preserving his freedom as a man and as an artist. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. It requires a training such as the athletes underwent, the steady intention almost of the whole life to this object. The Portable Thoreau (Penguin Classics) [Henry David Thoreau, Jeffrey S. Cramer] on Amazon.com. Create lists, bibliographies and reviews: or Search WorldCat. This collection was designed for optimal navigation on Sony Reader and other electronic devices. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Thoreau is a genius. I won't add another review, just quote a favorite sentence, from "Resistance to Civil Government": Oh my gosh, I finished it. Literature; $20.00. I was intimidated by this at first due its its vast concept and articulateness however, it fulfilled my expectation. Average readers should stick with "Civil Disobedience" and Walden. There were some interesting parts in this book. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Because Walden is full of what of what buddhists refer to as the fire of attention. The portable Thoreau by Thoreau, Henry David, 1817-1862; Bode, Carl, 1911-1993, ed. Thoreau did his best. . I love his optimism. His commentary about Thoreau's biography and writings seem off the mark. This was a book I studied when I first went back to school as an adult. If you have never been exposed to Thoreau, the writings here are the critical introduction, and the editor's commentaries are excellent background and insights. Kudos to the publisher. Thoreau wrote in his journal, and repeated in his first book, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, that autobiography is preferable to biography: “If I am not I, who will be?”27 Or again, in his journal: “Is not the poet bound to write his own biography? Refresh and try again. Just about small enough to considered truly portable, fairly robust card cover and binding to withstand being jostled in your backpack on route to your cabin retreat. Nature was the fountainhead of his inspiration and his refuge from what he considered the follies of society. Search. Buy The Portable Thoreau (Penguin Classics) Updated ed. Heedless of his friends’ advice to live in a more orthodox manner, he determinedly pursued his own inner bent, which was that of a poet-philosopher, in prose and verse. I love nature, but I love being in nature not (or so I thought) reading about it. The portable Thoreau. How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live! Is it not the chief disgrace in the world, not to be an unit;—not to be reckoned one character;—not to yield that peculiar fruit which each man was created to bear…. Emerson wrote that a “great man” fills what he quotes “with his own voice and humor, and the whole cyclopaedia of his table-talk is presently believed to be his own.”19 Emerson, in 1837, presented his oration, “The American Scholar,” to Thoreau’s graduating class at Harvard. The portable Thoreau / Selections by the celebrated author include poems, letters, journal entries, and the complete texts of "Walden" and "Civil Disobedience." The profile market in the direction of help with an essay does not tolerate Amateurs, and our masters will create a text with high uniqueness and correctly structured according to all international requirements. He ruined me. He was a master at absorbing what had come before him and turning it uniquely into his own. The "portable" part should come with a disclaimer; I can barely cram it into my coat pocket and it lQQks rather odd tucked into my waistband. Penguin Classics; 1st edition (March 27, 2012). Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. He once overheard one person say to another, “What does he lecture for?”6 But some reviews of his talks indicated a man who could move his audience. Trying to convince her mom to give her money: I think I might be the voice of a generation! For Thoreau there was always an audience, not an imagined reader but a real man or woman sitting in the front row looking in his eyes and listening to his words. I would definitely recommend people revisit his texts. The conclusion is great too), as well as Civil Disobedience, and A Winter Walk, In reading Walden, you have to realize that Thoreau put his life and soul into this little book. In this highly charged essay, Emerson wrote of the unfulfilled potential of young Americans in these words: Young men of the fairest promise, who begin life upon our shores, inflated by the mountain winds, shined upon by all the stars of God, find the earth below not in unison with these, but are hindered from action by the disgust which the principles on which business is managed inspire, and turn drudges, or die of disgust,—some of them suicides. Is this all in his mind? I thought this guy was really far ahead of his time. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. I will find myself reading and re-reading his words for the rest of my life. Reading Thoreau is like mining for gold, which ironically was an occupation he had little respect for. “I take it for granted, when I am invited to lecture anywhere…that there is a desire to hear what I think on some subject, though I may be the greatest fool in the country,” he wrote in “Life Without Principle,” resolving “that I will give them a strong dose of myself. Genres: "American, Anthologies, Classics, Environment, Essays, History, Literature, Nature, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Poetry, … Thoreau’s success as a writer lies in the truth he utters. Thoreau's essay "Walking" grew out of journal entries developed in 1851 into two lectures, "Walking" and "The Wild," which were delivered in 1851 and 1852, and again in 1856 and 1857. It was important “so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. Please try again. Why thoughtful living? Won't fit in your pocket, but it's small enough not to fit the "portable" designation. “How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book,” Thoreau wrote in Walden, perhaps understanding at this point the type of work he was trying to present. Carl Bo, Henry David Thoreau dedicated his life to preserving his freedom as a man and an artist. Civil Disobedience, 1849 A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, 1849 Poems While this is an admirable quality it is also frustrating. Walden isn’t merely hundreds of pages describing a flower or stream; Thoreau places a lot of philosophy in his work. Really just wanted to turn back time to when I read Civil Disobedience and Waldens Pond back in high school. Along with Ralph Waldo Emerson, he is the most famous of the American Transcendentalists, a group of philosophical thinkers who frequently explored the relationship between human beings and the natural world. “To read well, that is, to read true books in a true spirit,” Thoreau wrote in the “Reading” chapter of Walden, “is a noble exercise, and one that will task the reader more than any exercise which the customs of the day esteem. What can I say. The Portable Thoreau by Henry David Thoreau. Not only did I understand why Chris would have read it for those reasons but also because it gives you a great sense of connection to the concept. Favorite sections include "Sounds" "Solitude" and Brute Neighbors (all from Walden. I developed a dislike for Mr. Thoreau through that essay. The Portable Thoreau Edited By Bode, 1987 by THOREAU and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at AbeBooks.com. I still owe much of what I believe to his ideas. Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2013. Get Full eBook File name "The_Portable_Thoreau_-_Henry_David_Thoreau.pdf .epub" Format Complete Free. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. WorldCat Home About WorldCat Help. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the essays and poems in this Anthology edited by Carl Bode. EMBED. The Portable Thoreau Introduction by the Editor Chronology Natural History of Massachusetts, 1842 A Winter Walk, 1843 The Maine Woods, 1848 The Wilds of the Penobscot Life in the Wilderness. At Walden Pond Thoreau could question the individual’s role and obligations, not only to society but to himself: how should he live, how should he interact with his neighbors, how should he obligate himself to the laws, not only of the society within which he lived, but to those laws that were higher than those of the land: moral or religious principles, or laws of conscience, that take precedence over the constitutions or statutes of society. Amazon.com: The Portable Thoreau (Portable Library) eBook: Thoreau, Henry David, Cramer, Jeffrey S., Cramer, Jeffrey S.: Kindle Store What is the remedy? I've owned this book for several years and have read bits of Thoreau, but decided I would make an effort to read his writings fully and attentively. It was his highest dream in life to be a philosopher poet, so half of this book is essentially poetry disguised as prose. Author: Henry David Thoreau Publisher: Penguin ISBN: 9781101128107 Size: 35.43 MB Format: PDF, ePub, Docs Category : Literary Collections Languages : en Pages : 656 View: 5567 Get Book. Mr. Abbey tries himself against Thoreau and Thoreau against himself; he tries himself and Thoreau against the river; he tries himself and Thoreau and the river against modern times, and vice versa.”5 This is how a reader should approach any piece by Thoreau. Create lists, bibliographies and reviews: or Search WorldCat. The Portable Thoreau (9780143106500) by Henry David Thoreau It is unclear whether Thoreau heard it at that time, but if he hadn’t, he would certainly have read it later in its pamphlet form at the Emerson home. Start by marking “The Portable Thoreau” as Want to Read: Error rating book. An updated edition of Thoreau's most widely read worksSelf-described as "a mystic, a transcendentalist, and a natural philosopher to boot," Henry David Thoreau dedicated his life to preserving his freedom as a man and as an artist. Reading Thoreau is like mining for gold, which ironically was an occupation he had little respect for. I am disappointed to find that most that I am and value myself for is lost, or worse than lost, on my audience.”10 The lyceum, however, served as a testing ground for much of his writing. The complete texts of Thoreau’s classic works Walden and “Civil Disobedience,” as well as selections from The Maine Woods , Cape Cod , the Journal , and eighteen poems are included. This volume presents the essential works by Henry David Thoreau, including Civil Disobedience, Natural History of Massachusetts, A Winter Walk, 22 poems, and more. There is imitation, model and suggestion, to the very archangels, if we knew their history.”18 Emerson was one of the leading men of letters of his day and the center of the transcendental circle as well as a mentor and eventual friend to the younger author. I started with Walden last fall, and picked this up again to work through the rest of his books and essays. While this is an admirable quality it is also frustrating. Nature was the fountainhead of his inspiration and his refuge from what he considered the follies of society. Unlike many of the others who resided in Walden Woods for whom it was less a matter of choice than necessity, Thoreau’s move to the woods “to live deliberately”25 was a matter of consideration, aspiration, and, ultimately, consequence. But, this is a book only for philosophers and Thoreau/Transcendentalist scholars. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2013. Early versions of what would become essays or sections of his books were given as lectures, some multiple times in different locations with audiences of differing backgrounds. ... well A voice of a generation... too close to home. The originals are not original. The Portable Thoreau - Ebook written by Henry David Thoreau. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. Leave this field blank: An updated edition of Thoreau's most widely read works Self-described as "a mystic, a transcendentalist, and a natural philosopher to boot," Henry David Thoreau dedicated his life to preserving his freedom as a … About The Portable Thoreau. The Portable Thoreau [Thoreau, Henry David, Thoreau, Henry] on Amazon.com.au. I was first inspired to read this after seeing "Into the wild" The Chris McCandless story. Critical and Representative Collection of Thoreau's Works, Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2013. After all, Argumentative Essay Topics On The Portable Thoreau you need not just to create a text in English, but also to observe the uniqueness. I really enjoy reading philosophy because its works present the reader with new concepts and views to consider, some that one may never have even thought of or considered otherwise. The portable Thoreau, The Portable Thoreau, The portable Thoreau, The Portable Thoreau (Penguin Classics), The Thoreau log : a documentary life of Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862, The portable Thoreau: Description: What's your feedback on The portable Thoreau? That said, Thoreau pleasantly surprised me; I actually really enjoyed reading these selections. We would love to hear your thoughts and opinion. How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live! White (author of Charlotte's Web, among other things) who once said that every high school senior should be given a copy of Walden upon graduation. I love Thoreau’s imagery and descriptions, all the naturalism is wonderfully soothing and relaxing at night (which is when I read this). The Portable Thoreau Paperback edition by Henry Thoreau. I particularly liked aspects of "Civil Disobedience," the chapter in Walden on reading was riveting, and his "Life Without Principles," had some interesting thoughts. I had never read anything by Thoreau before this book. Condition:--HPB condition ratings. Thoreau combined the lectures, separated them in 1854, and worked them together again for … Is there any other work for him but a good journal? After the first two chapters, Thoreau roughly follows a structure of first poetically describing some thing (sound, the village, Walden Pond, etc) and then inserting some philosophical conclusion about it. Thoreau was ahead of his time in regards to environmental awareness but he has a tendency to go off on a tangent. Carl Bode brings together the best of Thoreau’s works in. $22.00. Anyone who’s spoken to me in the past two and a half years is likely to know this one thing about me: I am OBSESSED with Transcendentalism. New: Item is brand new, unused and unmarked, in flawless condition. That much of his work was originally presented, at least in part, on the lecture circuit accounts for the directness with which Thoreau approached his readers. I had, of course, heard of him, but I never had the desire to read what I perceived would be a long, dull book about the woods. Carl Bode is one of those out-dated amateur psychoanalysts who find Freudian sexual syndromes everywhere he looks. I think that that's where people start losing interest, but if you go in knowing this, then the bulk of Walden makes a lot more sense. Wendell Berry defined it best in writing about Edward Abbey’s essay “Down the River with Henry Thoreau”: “It is an essay in the literal sense: a trial. I'm a follower of Henry David Thoreau. Simpler times, & less greedy, less materialistic people! This was a very difficult book for me to read as there was too much going on. Self-described as "a mystic, a transcendentalist, and a natural philosopher to boot," Henry David Thoreau dedicated his life to preserving his freedom as a man and as an artist. nice concise collection of the most important. If you are considering buying this collection of Thoreau's writing you are most likely already familiar with the tone and literary style of the material included. Thoreau had a wandering mind as well as body, and that comes out quite well in this collection of his works. That Thoreau could take that influence and adapt it without being overwhelmed by it was the key to his strength and individuality. When Emerson wrote in the same essay that “the ancient precept, ‘Know thyself,’ and the modern precept, ‘Study nature,’ become at last one maxim,”21 the idea was substantiated that understanding nature was parallel to understanding yourself; that through a close examination of the exterior life you could discern the interior life. Plus reading him and Kierkegaard at once is waaaay too much stern lonely man philosophy for a lonely girl really hoping all the stern stuff is B.S.