Customer Reviews

Walden: Lessons for the New Millennium

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Unbelievable! I went to Barnes & Noble the other day to purchase a copy of Walden. They had the Cliff's Notes but not the book. Is that a profound comment on our times, or just the last straw that persuaded me to write this review?

I have read Walden from cover to cover many times. I have read excerpts from it many more times. I have never found it boring or tedious, as some reviewers have. In fact, I have found it to be one of the few books worth re-reading on a frequent basis. Why?

Our times do not differ significantly from Thoreau's. He saw a society enthralled with "progress," such as the ability to travel from place to place via railroad at the astonishing speed of 35 miles per hour, without any idea of what to do when they arrived. He travelled by foot, and saw the life that others hurried by.

Has it ever seemed to you that the acquisition of ever-more-expensive habits and tastes, and the need to work longer and harder to satisfy them, is ultimately a waste of the precious gift of time and life that each of us is blessed with? Do you wonder how (or if) people who live without televison, video games, and automobiles can be happy or fulfilled? How would you fare if you were stripped of your possessions but still retained the ability to obtain the necessaries of life? Could you treat that as an opportunity to discover more about what it means to live?

If any of these are questions that have nibbled at your psyche, read Walden. If you love nature and its intricacies, read Walden. If you've ever thought about through-hiking the Appalachian Trail, read Walden. If you think modern-day life can't be improved on, or you want a quick read that will entertain you for a few hours, read something else. And if you read Walden and don't find it meaningful or profound, perhaps you will find another book that will remain as significant an influence in your life as Walden has been in mine.

Henry David Thoreau's Walden is one of the great classics of American letters. Although its reputation has been somewhat unfortunately tainted in our modern day times by its reputation as the "treehugger's Bible", this, indeed, misses the point of the book entirely. Although Thoreau obviously loved nature, and was one of the nation's first enviromentalists - indeed, the modern day enviromentalist awareness outlook can be traced directly back to Thoreau - the core of this book is not a simple stating of the virtues of nature. No, indeed: Thoreau, in this book, lays down nothing less than a life philosophy. Both his essay "On Civil Disobediance" and this book, which preach the virtues of individual liberty and the importance of Man over State have been enormously influential on my own personal philosophy and views. Thoreau raises some staggeringly deep existential questions: If a man lives entirely outside of the State, doesn't depend on them at all, but still resides inside the boundaries of said country, need he pledge them any allegiance? Need he pay their taxes if he does not depend on their support for his welfare? Thoreau, here, tells us how to get the most out of life by living simply: using only what we need in life and doing without luxuries - cutting off the fat, so to speak. Indeed, much like the philosophy of Rosseau, Thoreau seemed to basically believe that the true essence and spirit of man resides in the state of nature: he assures us that, if all men lived as simply as he did at Walden, there would be very little theft, crime, violence, envy, or jealousy. He urges us all to live our own lives as we see fit, neither depending on or heeding others, and not merely become another mindless drone in the conformist society. For all of this greatness, the book, I must say, however, is not faultless. The book does tend to ramble at times - Thoreau might, indeed, have benifited from some editing. And, on a more personal note, I am far more interested in Thoreau's philosophical outlook on life than his observations on nature, and found many parts of the book focusing on the latter aspect to be a bit slow and trying. Still, if you belong to that camp, then I can only give this book an even higher reccommendation for you. An essential read for those who would have us return to a simpler state of things, as well as those in favor of preserving the natural beauty that is still left to us.

I took only one book (Walden) recently when I packed light for a trip 240 miles down the Haul Road along the Trans Alaska Pipeline to the farthest north truck stop at Coldfoot. We live in Barrow, Alaska and wanted to get away to a simpler life for a bit.
The tundra colors were spectacular and when we finally got to trees they were all gold and red. And there were caribou, dall sheep and musk ox.
Our room at Coldfoot was very basic --two small beds, a chair and small closet ---that was it. No data ports, no TV, radio or phone.
So we read a lot and I felt fortunate to have Thoreau with us.
Even when it rained heavily and we had to shorten our daily hike, Walden Pond was there to recharge me, hopefully help me get out from under in this heavily consumer society.
I love this man's insights, and am sorry he died at the early age of 45. This book is so current today. Please read it and share the ideas.
Oops, now I am communicating about "Walden" over the Internet on a fairly new computer. Well, maybe will have to read the book again. Enjoy friends!!
Earl

Walden is one of the most classic examples of American literature. In his book, Thoreau describes his break from 19th century "civilization", and his experiment at surviving alone in the woods near Walden Pond.

Thoreau survives on a bare minimum of money, food and "necessities". Along the way, he discovers how fragile our environment really is (even in the 19th century) and becomes one of the nation's first environmentalists.

Walden is an absolute classic. It may have been written over 100 years ago, but its content seems more pertinent today than ever before. It is perhaps even more pertinent today than at the time it was originally written. If you are looking for a book to help you understand the fragile balance of both nature and humanity, this one is a must. It certainly puts one's life into perspecive.

When reading Walden i realized that not only is his writing insightful on the aspects of life in his time. But it transcends generations. I have found only a few other pieces of writing that coincide with my thoughts besides this book. His thoughts on life's essentials and how needless they can be gives such a different view than other pieces of literature. I was especially taken by how he views the importance of education. I agree fully with the fact that experience can teach us so much more than formal schooling. Over all the book was a beautiful representation of a better way to view life than what modern culture teaches.

I get why Walden is beloved by so many of us: it is the antithesis of American capitalist society. It confronts, with remarkable courage and aggression, head on, the very "progresses" and prosperity that so many Americans consider to be the foundation of this country and even of the American Dream. And it is an ode to nature at the dawn of the beginning of a shameful era of nature's accelerated destruction.

But it was hard to swallow; in fact, too hard. I was not able to get past Chapter 3. If Thoreau could have passed himself off as a man of the world with wisdom and credibility this book would be radically more appealing. However I fear Walden to be the writing of a bitter, angry, social pariah-come-misanthrope. So, to employ an analogy of our own times, it is difficult for me to accept one man's statement of the meaninglessness of mainstream society when the man is about as socially attuned as Noam Chomsky or Glenn Beck.

I'll stick to Emerson.

If you have an e-book reader such as the kindle or iPad, you can get the expired copyright version of this book for free as a PDF online. Just do a search in you e-book store and you'll find it!

'Walden', or 'Life in the Woods', I would deem without hesitation as one of the pinnacle achievements in the history of literature. It possesses that inexplicable charm which walks gracefully hand-in-hand with Transcendentalism, and marks the height of that era's thought. But Thoreau is quite different from the likes of Emerson; as another reviewer poignantly commented, while primarily a master of the word Thoreau was equally capable as a thinker, and Walden is, quite simply, the perfect demonstration of that fact. It is brimming with careful observation, a certain care and compassion for life, and Transcendentalist thought which may not be so casually dismissed. Walden is a masterpiece, perhaps because Thoreau removed himself from the modern whimsy which pervaded society in his times, but most certainly because Thoreau himself was the epitome of the joyous, nature-loving spirit which is embodied by the entire movement of Transcendentalism.

After I crashed and burned in a college intro to philosophy course, I wanted to see if I could find a work by someone who was both a thinker and a writer.

Thoreau, in his book Walden, proves himself to be it.

Walden is the narrative of the author's two year stay at the aforementioned pond. He has decided to live life simply, and in a collection of loosely connected essays, he describes the people, animals, and the pond that make up his new home. If you haven't spent real time out in nature, you might think this book is ridiculous. But go into the woods, and stay there until boredom and longing for the city stops. Just then you'll realize the awe he felt when examining the ice bubbles and listening to vagabond squirells. Thoreau has rediscovered the patches of Eden that still exist in the world. And if we are open-minded enough to listen to his instructions, we can find our way back to them.

Even if his insights into the idyllic perfection in nature fail to sway you to live more lightly in the world, Thoreau will open your eyes to the benefits of philosophy. He understands the man who marches to the beat of a different drummer, and shows through his clear, crisp text the results that thought and contemplation can hold for anyone.

This book was a true inspiration to me and was part of the reason I fell in love with Nature. Even if you don't WANT to fall in love with Nature you will find this book to be a veritable Bartlett's full of quotable quotes.

I've read Walden through twice and read my favorite sections inumerable times. When I lived in Massachusetts, I loved to read the book AT Walden pond. I've traveled to that little pond via bycycle, motorcycle and car and have seen the pond in every season and every state of weather. I have walked and run around the pond . I have swam across it many times, once at the price of mild hypothermia. I have skiid around and across it. I think the only part of that danged pond I have not seen is the bottom. The book is much like the pond -- you can read it over and over and it will always be fresh and you will never have plumbed its depths fully.

The only reason I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 is because the detailed nature observations may be tedious for readers not fortunate enough to be able to visit the pond. Still, everyone should read this book. It is your best reminder that "Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads."