Walden and Other Writings [Paperback]

Introduction by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Commentary by Van Wyck Brooks and E. B. White
 
Naturalist, philosopher, champion of self-reliance and moral independence, Henry David Thoreau remains not only one of our most influential writers but also one of our most contemporary. This unique and comprehensive edition gathers all of Thoreau’s most significant works, including his masterpiece,Walden(reproduced in its entirety);A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers;selections fromCape CodandThe Maine Woods;as well as “Walking,” “Civil Disobedience,” “Slavery in Massachusetts,” “A Plea for Captain John Brown,” and “Life Without Principle.” Taken together, they reveal the astounding range, subtlety, artistry, and depth of thought of this true American original. 
 
Includes a Modern Library Reading Group Guide

Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803–82), influential essayist and philosopher, was one of the architects of the transcendentalist movement and a close friend and mentor to Thoreau.

1. Walden, thought by many to be Thoreau's masterpiece, contains the famous lines, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." What lessons does Thoreau learn, in your view, through his experience of living in simple near isolation at Walden Pond?

2. At the end of two years, why does Thoreau leave Walden? Does he himself provide or imply an adequate answer?

3. Discuss Thoreau's ideas about living simply, without material luxuries. Do his ideas still apply? Is the kind of freedom and self-reliance Thoreau sought possible in societies other than the America of Thoreau's timlÃÂ