Self-Reliance [Paperback]

Ralph Waldo Emerson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2007

A Classic Essay by Emerson. Excerpted from Essays, First Series.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ralph Waldo Emerson - (1803-1882) U.S. philosopher, poet, essayist. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 52 pages
• Publisher: Arc Manor (August 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1604500093
• ISBN-13: 978-1604500097
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #191,438 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #38 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science > Nature & Ecology > General
  • #97 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Outdoors & Nature > Reference

More About the Author

There are few people as quoted and quotable as Ralph Waldo Emerson, founder of the transcendental movement and author of classic essays as Self-Reliance, Nature, and The American Scholar. Emerson began his career as a Unitarian minister and later put those oratory skills to move us toward a better society. More remains written on him than by him.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential in Some Form, April 12, 2010

By 

Bill R. Moore (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Self-Reliance (Paperback)

"Self-Reliance" is Ralph Waldo Emerson's most famous essay and is rivaled only by "Concord Hymn" as his most famous work. It is also his masterpiece; one often hears - sometimes disparagingly - that Emerson tried to fit his whole philosophy into each essay, and this comes remarkably close. There is far more depth and subtlety here than the length suggests; one would be very hard-pressed to find another work so densely packed. The words are few, but the implications are enough for a lifetime. "Self" is a seminal masterwork; a founding Transcendentalist text and American Romantic cornerstone, it is central to American thought, culture, and literature. Anyone even remotely interested in any Americana aspect must be intimately familiar with it; aside from the Declaration of Independence and Constitution themselves, perhaps no other document is so vital to the American spirit.

Reading "Self" is perhaps more necessary than ever - not only because it is eternally relevant but also because it is often misrepresented. The term "self-reliance" is now almost entirely political, almost synonymous with libertarianism, and the essay is frequently touted along such lines. However, these things are hardly more than implied here, and though the definition of "liberal" has greatly changed, it is important to remember that Emerson was one of his era's leading liberals. His prime meaning in any case is self-reliance intellectually and in everyday life. He urges us to trust ourselves, to recognize human divinity and avoid imitation. It is a simple message but all-important - and far easier said than done. Emerson explores all its ramifications - philosophical, practical, social, political, economic, etc. - and outlines all its benefits. The case is beyond convincing, but he can do no more than show us; the rest is up to us.

This profoundly individualist message is another reason that reading "Self" is so necessary. Emerson now unfortunately has a reputation for being somewhat impenetrable and/or hopelessly impractical; this is a true shame, because he wrote for the masses. Unlike nearly all philosophers, he does not rely on jargon or polysyllables; he truly wanted to be understood, and all it takes is will. We must open our minds to him, and once we have, they will never be closed again.

Though greatly revered with many and diverse followers, Emerson's intention was not to be loved but to inspire; he wanted all to find individual genius. His work is thus the truest and best kind of self-help manual, and "Self" is its apotheosis. It has inspired millions in the more than century and a half of its existence, including me. I have read thousands and thousands of works, but this is one of the handful that truly changed my life. Emerson's greatness always shines through, but reading him at the right time can make an astonishing difference. He was more popular in life with the young than the old, and I can easily see why. I was lucky to read him at just the right time, and "Self" spoke to me more powerfully than almost anything else ever has. Without hyperbole, I can say that I would not be doing what I am today and would have abandoned my goals and visions without reading "Self" and Thoreau's "Life without Principle" - a somewhat similar essay highly influenced by Emerson - when I did. I was wracked with self-doubt and getting nothing but indifference, bafflement, or hostility from others; these works gave just the kick I needed, and I will never look back. "Self" has the potential to be life-changing as almost nothing else does, and I highly recommend it to all; you can hardly be unaffected and may never be the same. However, I especially recommend it to the young; its importance to them - and Emerson's generally - simply cannot be overemphasized.

Emerson is a signature American stylist, and "Self" is near his height. His writing is always memorable and often highly lyrical - about as close to poetry as prose can be. However, his essays were almost always painstakingly composed from lectures and journals, and the effect was sometimes choppy. An Emerson-loving professor of mine once joked that no one can find the topic sentence in an Emerson paragraph, and his transitions also frequently leave much to be desired. However, "Self" is near-seamless, a true masterpiece of style that flows smoothly and often waxes beautiful. This is all the more remarkable in that it was assembled even more than usual from disparate sources; entries that ended up here came as far as eight years apart, but the whole is admirably harmonious.

"Self" is a preeminent example of how Emerson delights in paradox. Anyone who reads him closely sees that he is as complex as he is simple. Thus, despite - or perhaps even because of - apparent straight-forwardness, few texts are more ripe for deconstruction. "Self" fans after all love a text that tells us not to love texts, are inspired by a man who tells us not to be inspired by men, and are convinced by a text and man both of which tell us not to be convinced by either. But this is only the beginning. "Self" works because it tells us exactly what we want to hear and, in striking contrast to innumerable self-help books, does so in an intellectually and even aesthetically respectable way. This is fine for me and (hopefully) you but could of course be taken to heart by Hitler as easily as Gandhi. The thoroughly optimistic, mild-mannered, and physically frail Emerson may not have foreseen his revolutionary text being put to nefarious use and probably would have been unable to believe in even the possibility. However, the danger, if we choose to call it so, is very real. "Self" could easily have had the same effect that Nietzsche had on Nazis, and that it has not been taken up by anarchists, radical terrorists, and the like is perhaps mere luck. One at least wonders how it avoided preceding The Catcher in the Rye as the work synonymous with unsavory people. That said, it is likely unfair to Emerson to say he did not anticipate this; he after all takes his views to the logical conclusion. He surely saw it, and it may have given pause, but he persevered because he was faithful to his intuition just as he urges us to be to ours. He truly believed in self-reliance and was ready to stand by it no matter what befell - nay, thought it his only choice. His optimism must have told him that the doctrine would not be abused, and he has been right - so far. Only time will tell if this continues to hold, but "Self" remains essential for all.

The work is well worth buying alone, but virtually every Emerson anthology includes it. This is his best work, but he has many great ones, including several nearly as good, and a standalone is hard to justify. All must decide how to get it, but the important - nay, essential - thing is to have it in some form.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Classic, June 3, 2011

By 

Dr. Bojan Tunguz (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Self Reliance (Paperback)

For far too long Emerson's "Self-Reliance" has been on my reading list, and finally I got to read it thanks to this new Kindle edition. The short book (72 pages in the print edition) justly deserved its reputation as one of the most inspiring and intellectually thoughtful essays ever written. Almost each one of its sentences resonates with deep ideas carefully wrought out. The ideal of self-reliance is not uniquely American, but it is in America that it has achieved its purest form in the ideals on which this republic was founded, as well as throughout all of its subsequent history. Not meddling in other people's affairs, as well as relying on yourself and your abilities to get ahead in life are quintessential American values. On the surface of it is hard to imagine how could anyone be opposed to them. However, "Self-Reliance" also hints at what happens when these values are taken too far. Emerson for instance denounces abolitionists as being concerned with people too far away from their daily lives. He is also very skeptical of all things foreign. The first one these attitudes has contributed to the continuation of slavery in the United States for far longer than it should have persisted. The other one underlies the isolationisms and xenophobia that from time to time rear their ugly heads in American body politic. No one is accusing Emerson himself of these ideological vices, although I am not sure what his full attitude was. However, it is undeniable that as the ideas go self-reliance can be a two-edged sword.

This is not an easy book, and it should be read carefully. It should be also re-read as often as the circumstances allow, because there are very few treatise written in English language that can match it in terms of the depth and the economy of arguments, as well as masterful use of language.

2 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book!, January 7, 2010

By 

L. Norris (Fayetteville, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Self-Reliance (Paperback)

I bought this as a gift for my older brother. He's 26 and he liked it very much. The book was in very good condition.