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Thumbing Through Thoreau: A Book of Quotations by Henry David Thoreau

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"...simplify the problem of life, distinguish the necessary and the real. Probe the earth to see where your main roots run." P160

Thoreau is known for his urgings of man to live simply and honestly. So often we get so caught up in our possessions that we miss the everyday miracles that life bestows. Kenny Luck has put together a beautiful rendition of quotes both famous and less known that encourage us to pause and remember our journey and through our recognition of life around us to improve ourselves.

Thumbing Through Thoreau is a collection of quotations taken from Thoreau's journals, writings, and personal letters. Kenny Luck, a journalist, compiled the quotes to address a variety of subjects that include society & government, spirituality & nature, and love. The book is timely and relevant to today. It is beautifully crafted and easily accessible. As a teacher it is a book that I might use in conjunction with studies of Thoreau and Emerson in the classroom. As an admirer of Thoreau I found the book to be fresh and exciting. I have enjoyed reacquainting myself with these concepts. The book will sit nearby on my desk so that I might grab it at any moment and find inspiration for the day.

Excerpt from book's Introduction:

As I stood on the edge of Walden Pond, about to make a symbolic leap into what had become in my mind a scared place, Hawthorne's poetic observation was not present in my thoughts. For a summer day, it was unusually cold; a light mist rose above the surface of the water; and having forgotten my towel and bathing suit at home in Pennsylvania, I was forced to strip down, making do with what I was wearing in that revealing moment. I hung my clothes on a nearby tree branch and began inching my way toward the water. It was a ritual Henry David Thoreau, one of America's first literary giants, had performed countless times during his stay in the woods.

It was June 2007, and this was my second trip to Walden Pond. I had visited the previous summer but resolved only to walk along the shoreline, avoiding the seduction of the water. "This time," I thought to myself, "I am going in." Although I was initially reluctant, once the water rose past by waistline, I felt an extraordinary release. I made one final push off the rock where I was standing and let go. I let the water take me. Feeling free from constraints, I had transformed into one of Hawthorne's angels, baptized by the clear, cool waters of the pond.

My experience at Walden Pond that day was emblematic. It was the culmination of a two-year journey which led me to Concord, Massachusetts, where I hoped to retrace the steps of a man who I had never met, but felt an extraordinary affinity towards. Moreover, I saw a little bit of myself in Thoreau. Here was a man who, despite the conventions of his day, shunned every comfort and convenience. Thoreau once refused to take a doormat, for instance, offered to him by an elderly woman, hoping to avoid what he called the "beginnings of evil." It seemed like something I would have done had I not read about it first. For the first time in my young life, I met my literary and intellectual soul mate.

This is one of those coffee table books that most people will know right away whether it's up their alley or not, and there honestly isn't that much to say about it in a review. If you really enjoy Thoreau, then an illustrated book of his quotes will probably be something you'll like. However, personally, much as I like Thoreau, the illustrations don't particularly strike my fancy, so I feel that this book fails to impress. That may be partly due to the fact that I'm a local and have been to Walden Pond multiple times myself, and I find that black and white line drawings tend to, in general, fail to live up to photography of nature. Art is definitely relative though, so you might quite enjoy the illustrations. You can check out galleries of sample illustrations here and here and decide for yourself.

Overall, I'd recommend a print copy of this book to fans of Thoreau who also enjoy the illustrations. It's not for me, but I'm sure it will strike the fancy of some people quite well.

Thumbing through Thoreau is a breath of fresh air for a Thoreau reader like myself. Instead of analyzing Thoreau's writing Kenny Luck just let's Throreau be Thoreau. The reader is allowed to enjoy Thoreau's thoughts without having to be told what they should think or feel about the writings.

I love how the book was divided by subjects. The book would be good for anyone who is looking for an awesome quote to include in a letter to a friend or a quick note to a coworker.

Thumbing Through Thoreau is a refreshing collection of quotations. The best thing about this book is that you can tell that Luck admires Thoreau through the love and care he used to compile this quotes and to caterorize them by subject is no easy task. This book is a must have for any Henry David Thoreau fan. I am glad that I had the opportunity to be a host this book on the blog tour, Thumbing Through Thoreau.

Thumbing Through Thoreau: A Book of Quotations by Henry David Thoreau Having read many of Thoreau's works in high school, I was very eager to open this wonderful e-book, Thumbing Through Thoreau by Kenny Luck, to see if his interpretations were the same as the ones I had developed while reading Thoreau. To my amazement, I found he had not tried to interpret, but merely share, his favorite of Thoreau's wonderful wit and knowledge. This approach let me enjoy this book just as I had enjoyed the writings of the original author.

Kenny Luck has simply pulled what he sees as the most relevant quotes from Thoreau's poignant memoirs and published them with illustrations by Jay Luke and Ren Adams. This allows those who are reluctant to delve into Thoreau's tomes to get a taste of the wisdom and musings of this wonderful man, as he passed his time at Walden Pond.

The illustrations are beautiful, and are reminiscent of old ink prints from Thoreau's day and time. Ren Adams' illustrations (on the odd numbered pages) are original ink drawings, done using traditional Chinese brush painting techniques. Jay Luke's illustrations (even numbered pages) are painted in black. They are beautiful illustrations, and I love Jay Luke's trees, and Ren Adams small animals and flowers. I love the way the quotes are printed, in different size font, for emphasis. It adds to the total allure of the book.

Although there are definitely a large selection of quotes, this book feels more like the child's version of Thoreau. There are big pictures and large print throughout. Many of my favorite quotes were not included. I was very disappointed. Later I bought "The Quotable Thoreau" and was MUCH happier!

Just read the books and journal. No need to take the words out of context, as fun as it is.

Thumbing Through Thoreau is a compilation of quotes put together by Kenny Luck and then illustrated by Jay Luke and Ren Adams. It is beautiful. Not just for the images, which are wonderfully done, or the words, which are well put together, but for its ability to make readers think. Each individual quote is a snippet of thought which inspires readers to agree, disagree, expand upon, and make connections. During my reading, I was continually struck by the evocative ideas presented. While I didn't necessarily agree with every quote, I did find myself interacting with each one.

When I was first asked if I was interested in reviewing this book, I wanted to jump at it immediately. I have always been a fan of Thoreau's and thought that this might be a really cool biography of him. Well, it isn't quite like that. This book is a collection of Thoreau's quotes all through his career. The book was compiled by Kenny Luck, with images from Jay Luke and Ren Adams. The book is divided into three sections; Society & government, spirituality & nature, and love.

It may seem trivial, to create three classes and then to cram Thoreau into them, but that isn't it at all. In fact, Thoreau himself created these 'sections' if you will. What Kenny Luck has done, is to take a huge amount of written word from Thoreau and put individual quotes into a meaningful and at times beautiful collection.

The first section on government is revealing in so many ways, about his views on government and how little it should have to do with governing and with the everyday person. It is easy to tell that somewhere, somehow he has experienced such a bad government, that he is absolutely distrustful of any government. However, we have the clarity of many years of hindsight, and we can see how he saw his current time period with such clarity that it almost seems as if he were scripted to think and feel as he did. We are able to see and hear about virtually everything and anything that happens in the world today. Did Thoreau have his own internet, or satellite TV? For he truly seems to have such knowledge and foresight of his own time, that he is and was seen as a prophet.

How then, can a man who is able to see his times and his government so clearly, can then speak so eloquently and with such beauty about the world around him? How can he put such beautifully chosen words together to describe what nature can't? Nature can only be.... Thoreau can see and interpret and describe in words. Truly a gifted man who can see and talk about the depth of mankind and the lengths one can go simply through believing he can. He is full of such passion for nature itself, and you could even argue that he was one of the first "green warriors", and protector of Mother Nature herself. Truly, he saw more than any of his contemporaries were either capable of or just weren't able to convey. It can bring a tear to your eye in the way he is able to grasp what he sees, feels, and believes. Certainly, I was close at times.

I simply could not prepare a review of this fine work without mentioning the simple beauty of the artwork throughout this book. Created by Jay Luke and Ren Adams, the images at once appear to be overly simple, yet as you continue though the book, you start to see the simple intricacies that are placed in them. Anyone preparing a book such as this could very easily and most likely would go for photography or for elaborate coloured landscape portraits, but this was not the case. These images truly do the quotations justice, and that is saying a lot.

One could be amazed at what we have seen from one man. All of the seemingly obvious juxtaposition would complete such a complicated man, yet yearning for such simplicity. No, there's more indeed. He goes on in a third section of this book to talk about love. Hardly a simple or consistent area of contemplation.

All I can say is that this book took me on a journey of Thoreau, the man, as much as, or probably more than, discovering the writer and artists. I can only think of this as a compliment, for they neither overpowered or got in the way of who he really was and what his enduring message was. I think that if anyone is going to attempt a book like this, then they should strive for results such as this.

For a person who generally doesn't read books such as this, I found myself absolutely captivated. I couldn't stop flipping the pages and admiring each and every image and quote. There is a real art to how the quotes are ordered and grouped. On top of that, there is a real art to the pairing of the quotes to the images. Truly this book is much more than a tribute to the man, although it does that in an amazing fashion. This is a book that brings Thoreau to the front again. Something that should happen time and again. Right now is one of those times.

~ Todd Hurley

The Hurley Edition - A book blog

*With thanks to Tribute Books for providing an advance copy of this book for review.

Title: Thumbing Through Thoreau (A Book of Quotations by Henry David Thoreau)
Compiled By: Kenny Luck
Illustrated By: Ren Adams and Jay Luke
Released: Out Now
Published By: Tribute Books
Info From Second Page:

On July 4, 1835, when Henry David Thoreau moved into his cabin on the shores of Walden Pond, he was probably unaware that his abode in the woods, and the impact and influence of that endeavor, would forever echo through time. Thoreau was an uncompromising idealist; "The mass of men," he famously wrote,"lead lives of quite desperation." Yet the scope of thoreau's message is much wider than social criticism. He speaks of spiritual transcendence in Nature ad the unbound potential of the individual. Thoreau is a dreamer and he speaks to dreamers. In a word, shun dogmatism and demagoguery; see beyond the immediate conventional religious explanations to reap a higher understanding. In our commodified contemporary American Society, with the rise of religious intolerance and fundamentalism, materialism and mass consumerism, Thoreau's message is needed more than ever. Author Kenny Luck has thumbed through Thoreau's voluminous journals, correspondences and other publications to make this the most comprehensive collection of Thoreau aphorisms available.

Review: I really enjoyed this book. It is not something I usually read and review for my blog, but this is a wonderful exception and is undoubtedly one of the best poetry compilations i have ever read. If your looking for brilliant quotes look no further than here. This book is thought provoking. The brief passages are parts of the best pieces Thoreau ever wrote and are about things anyone can relate to. Thoreau explores; love, life, loss, society, the importance of nature, and the downfalls of man. The illustrations are beautiful and are a nice touch to the quotes.

Even though Thumbing Through Thoreau is not one of the largest compilations of Thoreau's works it is definitely the most insightful. The quotes selected easily slide into our everyday world and get your brain thinking about the issues surrounding us. Even if your not a die hard fan of Thoreau you will still appreciate and come to love the way Kenny Luck compiled this book.

Some of my Favorite quotes were:

"The heart is blind; but love is not."

"Virtue is the deed of the bravest. It is that art which demands the greatest confidence and fearlessness. Only some hardy soul ventures upon it."

"Be not simply good; be good for something."

"Men have become tools of their tools."

This book was originally reviewed on my blog- Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing [...]

Disclaimer- I received an unbound copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair an unbiased review.

Thumbing Through Thoreau is an illustrated collection of quotations from Henry David Thoreau, compiled by Kenny Luck. According to the introduction, Kenny Luck is an avid fan of Thoreau. In Luck's words, Thoreau is his "literary and intellectual soul mate." This book is his chance to gather the best of Thoreau's writings, ideas, and philosophies into one place and make it accessible for everyone.

Before I go into my review of this book specifically, I need to make clear my opinion of Thoreau generally. I read Civil Disobedience in high school and rather enjoyed it. We also spent sometime discussing several major quotations from Walden and discussing those short passages and individual quotations. I found them interesting and thought provoking. I read Walden last year in it's entirety, and had none of the positive feelings for Thoreau I experienced in high school. I found his writings to be pompous, pretentious, and demonstrative of an over inflated sense of self and self importance, not to mention a little self-righteous. So knowing that I don't particularly love Thoreau, why would I accept a book of Thoreau's writing for review? Because I recalled those positive emotions from high school reading small excerpts and individual quotations, which is exactly what this book is! Complete with illustrations!

I decided I would read the book, because I prefer reading Thoreau as individual quotations, and I also liked the idea of the illustrations. The illustrations were lovely. The illustrations were produced by two different artists, with all of Jay Luke's illustrations on the even-numbered pages, and all the odd-numbered pages illustrated by Ren Adams. Each picture is simple but striking. More often than not, the illustrations have very little, if anything, to do with the actual quotation on the page, but instead depict a natural setting. Some are nothing more than the branch of a tree, or an individual flower. Others are more complex landscapes showing trees near bodies of water or rather detailed trees. Although, I am going to admit that when I read several quotations in a row, the illustrations did begin to blend together. Taken individually, the illustrations are each wonderful. When you begin to group them all together, they also start to run together.

However, the main complaint I had with this book was the font. (Feel free to use the 'search inside' feature on amazon.com to see what I mean. Click HERE.) The quotations are printed using different sized font for the various words, as well as different shades of gray or black. I imagine the bolded words are those that Luck believed to be of more importance, and requiring emphasis. However, I like to think that I can figure out the important words on my own. I'm rather of the mind that the type of people who would be interested in piking up and reading this book already know how to determine which words are more important in a quotation. It was especially annoying on those occasions where I found myself disagreeing with the words he chose to tell me were more important. **Edit: I was just informed by the publisher (see the comments section) that the bolded words were not actually chosen by the author, and were instead included for purely aesthetic purposes. It makes me smile more fondly on the author, for not supposing he knows better than anyone else which words are more important (sorry about that Kenny...) but I still don't like the shifting font types. I think it detracts from the reading and changes the way you internalize the quotations. ** End of Edit.

I do very much appreciate the idea behind this book. I believe that it makes Thoreau more accessible to people. He isn't an easy man to read for everyone. I know some people who adored Walden and Thoreau and others who can't abide him. I think that this book would be a great addition to anyone's bookshelf. It makes Thoreau easier to approach and the illustrations were lovely. This book would be perfect as a 'coffee table book.' You know, the books that sit on the table waiting for people to glance through, and making the host/hostess look very well-versed. I can see myself picking up a bound copy of this book in the future, and having it displayed somewhere in my home. Very few people decide to sit down and read an entire book of quotations, but this is the perfect type book to take slowly, reading only a few at a time, and to flip through when you don't have the time to sit down and read from your book, but would still like to be reading.

If you like Thoreau, want to like Thoreau, or are interested in getting a glimpse of Thoreau's ideals before you invest in his complete writings, this is a great book to look into. Luck did an amazing amount of research before compiling these quotations and he has a wide variety of sources, including personal letters, and Thoreau's journals in addition to his published works.

If you would like more information about the book, or about Kenny Luck (who did participate in the 69th Annual Thoreau Society Gathering at Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts in July, 2010) you can visit the website for the book, [...] Here you can find photos from the above mentioned Thoreau Society Gathering, additional information about the author and illustrators as well as samples of the illustrations. Head on over, check it out, and let me know what you think!