The Days of Henry Thoreau [Paperback]

Walter Harding (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 11, 1993

Henry David Thoreau is generally remembered as the author of Walden and "Civil Disobedience, " a recluse of the woods and a political protester who once went to jail. To his contemporaries he was a minor disciple of Emerson; he has since joined the ranks of America's most respected and beloved writers. Few, however, really know the complexity of the man they revere--wanderer and scholar, naturalist and humorist, teacher and surveyor, abolitionist and poet, Transcendentalist and anthropologist, inventor and social critic, and, above all, individualist.In this widely acclaimed biography, the eminent Thoreau scholar Walter Harding presents all of these Thoreaus. Scholars will find here the culmination of a lifetime of research and study, meticulously documented, while general readers will find an absorbing story of a remarkable man. Writing with supreme lucidity, Harding has marshaled all the facts so as best to "let them speak for themselves." Thoreau's thoughtfulness and stubbornness, his more than ordinarily human amalgam of the earthy and sublime, his unquenchable vitality emerge to the reader as they did to his own family, friends, and critics. The new afterword evaluates new scholarship about Thoreau.Henry David Thoreau is generally remembered as the author of Walden and "Civil Disobedience, " a recluse of the woods and a political protester who once went to jail. To his contemporaries he was a minor disciple of Emerson; he has since joined the ranks of America's most respected and beloved writers. Few, however, really know the complexity of the man they revere--wanderer and scholar, naturalist and humorist, teacher and surveyor, abolitionist and poet, Transcendentalist andanthropologist, inventor and social critic, and, above all, individualist.In this widely acclaimed biography, the eminent Thoreau scholar Walter Harding presents all of these Thoreaus. Scholars will find here the culmination of a lifetime of research and study, meticulously documented, while general readers will find an absorbing story of a remarkable man. Writing with supreme lucidity, Harding has marshaled all the facts so as best to "let them speak for themselves." Thoreau's thoughtfulness and stubbornness, his more than ordinarily human amalgam of the earthy and sublime, his unquenchable vitality emerge to the reader as they did to his own family, friends, and critics. The new afterword evaluates new scholarship about Thoreau.

Editorial Reviews

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. . . the best biography we have had. -- Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 526 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (January 11, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691024790
• ISBN-13: 978-0691024790
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,124,819 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Life, December 3, 2000

By 

Johnny Zhivago "jonathanzhivago" (New York) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Days of Henry Thoreau (Paperback)

If you like the writings of Thoreau, you will love this biography. Thoreau really comes to life and Walter Harding does a great job at aquainting us with Thoreau as if he were our neighbor or close friend. You will love all the stories of his childhood, his many excursions and his never ending desire for knowledge of nature. Also, at the end Harding dicusses Thoreaus's sexuality, which for me was a burning question throughout the book. There is no better biography out there written on Thoreau.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THOREAUly Enjoyable!, September 6, 2005

By 

STEPHEN T. McCARTHY (a Mensa-donkey in Phoenix, Airheadzona.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Days of Henry Thoreau (Paperback)

'THE DAYS OF HENRY THOREAU' by Walter Harding is as fine a biography as I have ever read.

On August 8, 1984 - my twenty-fifth birthday - my very good friend, Marty Brumer, gave me the tome, 'WORKS OF HENRY DAVID THOREAU'. I had no way of knowing at the time that Thoreau would become one of my very favorite writers, nor that Marty (just beginning to establish a career as an actor in Hollywood) would be killed 5 years later when a man in a stolen car, trying to elude the police, would run a red light at high speed and collide with my friend's Volvo in the intersection. In a way, Marty still lives through my interest in Thoreau, which he played a significant role in establishing.

In the Introduction to my copy of Thoreau's collected works, editor Lily Owens writes, "Thoreau was not a naturally political man. He was essentially an individualist and moralist. What he wanted most from government (and from most people) was to be left alone. Thus, few can embrace his philosophy whole." I'm hardly a naturalist; my interest in Thoreau originates from his wry observations about human nature, his passion for self-reliance, his Transcendentalist ideals & ethics, and his "plea that each follow his own inner light." And because there is so much "Thoreau" in me, I probably come as close as one can to embracing "his philosophy whole."

I acquired Walter Harding's, 'THE DAYS OF HENRY THOREAU' in preparation for my Summer vacation (from which I've just returned) that took me to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (the country's birthplace) and Concord, Massachusetts (site of "The Shot Heard 'Round The World" - the first battle for American self-determination, and Thoreau's beloved hometown with its Walden Pond, the body of water he made so famous). But I read the book with some trepidation: biographies have not always been kind to my heroes. I always felt that Samuel Clemens was THE genius of letters, but unfortunately, I learned through a highly esteemed biography that the man had a materialistic bent which disappointed me. I felt that Andrew Jackson was arguably our last truly principled and heroic president, primarily because of his courageous and righteous battle with America's third central bank. ("You are a den of vipers! I intend to rout you out and by the Eternal God, I will rout you out!" Jackson thundered at Nicholas Biddle and the other supporters of the dictatorial Bank of the United States. And rout them out he did. That's the stuff legends are made of.) But a biography made me too aware of Jackson's many character flaws. I half regretted having read it.

And so I wondered if perhaps I'd be better off knowing Thoreau only through his own written word; remaining blissfully ignorant of the details of his life. But I took a chance and read Walter Harding's extensive examination of the life of Henry David Thoreau, only to find that my misgivings were unfounded.

Harding paints a very balanced portrait of Thoreau, the writer / naturalist / abolitionist, showing why some contemporaries found him insufferable while to others he was an inspiring leader, known to be fully committed to his high vision and avowed way of life. What I most appreciated was how Harding was able to remove himself from the picture and simply state the facts and the opinions of those who knew the man, allowing each reader to extrapolate what he or she will, and arrive at their own conclusions. Too often, the biographer can't resist trying to psychoanalyze their subject, meddling in the mind and seeking to unveil cloaked motivations, and read into the most insignificant details, grandiose theories and subconscious meanings. Like a good detective, Harding sticks to the facts and lets the story tell itself. Along the way, the reader is treated to a lot of very interesting information. For example:

* How appropriate that one of America's most influential writers should have revolutionized the pencil-making process in America while working for his family's pencil production company.

* It was Thoreau's friend, Ellery Channing, writing from New York City who proposed the idea that the naturalist build himself a hut to live in at the shore of Walden Pond.

* Evidently Thoreau was far from a natural carpenter: when his Walden house foundation was excavated a century later, hundreds of bent, antique nails were found discarded in the cellar hole.

* In adding raisins to his dough before baking it, Henry invented raisin bread; the Concord housewives were shocked at the idea.

* The abolitionist, Thoreau, was a regular conductor on the Underground Railroad and his Walden Pond cabin was used as a station on a couple of occasions.

* True to his own solitary ways, Thoreau was more fond of the independent and aloof cat than of the loyal, but sociable dog.

When Thoreau was very ill and dying, it was a touching scene to read of his friends and neighbors flocking to his bedside to say their "goodbyes." Greatly moved by the genuine outpouring of their affections, he commented that had he known, he wouldn't have remained so standoffish.

All in all, 'THE DAYS OF HENRY THOREAU' by Walter Harding is a prime example of the biographer's art. It will be enjoyed by anyone who wants to learn about: the nativity of the conservation movement; the life of a naturalist; one of the founders of the Nineteenth Century Transcendentalist movement; and one of America's foremost men of letters and philosophy. I highly recommend it!

Hey! Whaddaya know?
I read the biography
And STILL like Thoreau!

"Man flows at once to God when the channel of purity is open...
He is blessed who is assured that the animal is dying out in him day by day,
and the divine being established."
-- Henry David Thoreau
'WALDEN'; chapter XI

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect combination of scholarship and story -- the life of an exceptional individual, May 9, 2008

By 

Nathan Andersen "film lover, philosophy profe... (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Days of Henry Thoreau (Paperback)

Walter Harding's biography of Henry David Thoreau is easily the most readable and thorough of the many accounts of his life. It represents an ideal blend of description and narrative with solid scholarship. Harding clearly explains what is known and how it is known, drawing from an extremely broad familiarity with the literature and with the many sources of information about Thoreau's life. He does not shy away from presenting the wide range of opinions about Thoreau, ranging from ridicule to idolization, but puts these opinions into context. He draws heavily upon Thoreau's own journals and writings in order to inject as much storytelling into the biography as possible, so that it never reads as if it were merely a dry work of scholarship. I found this to be a quite gripping read -- and finished it in just over a week, which happened to be a very busy week, during which I was always eager to return to it when I had a spare moment. As a result I have a very vivid portrait in my mind of Thoreau the man. Harding's book would be an excellent complement to Richardson's Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind. While Richardson's book focuses on the development of Thoreau as a thinker and a writer, Harding focuses on his development as a man. Both are highly recommended.