A Yearning Toward Wildness: Environmental Quotations from the Writings of Henry David Thoreau [Paperback]

Henry David Thoreau (Author), Tim Homan (Compiler, Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 19, 1991

These words of wisdom from the father of American environmentalism offer advice on preserving the beauty and integrity of our planet.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This eloquent collection of quotations, drawn from [Thoreau's] diaries and published writings, celebrates the natural beauties of America and laments the wanton destruction of the continent's animals and plants.... Homan's anthology makes Thoreau's ideas accessible to readers leery of tackling the 19th-century prose of Walden." --Los Angeles Times Book Review

About the Author

Tim Homan is an experienced hiker and outdoor writer and the author of numerous hiking guides. He lives in Georgia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Peachtree Publishers; First Edition edition (October 19, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561450359
• ISBN-13: 978-1561450350
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,605,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a knowledgeable master of Wildness, April 25, 2009

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Bartok Kinski "A casual stroll through the lu... (Prague) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Yearning Toward Wildness: Environmental Quotations from the Writings of Henry David Thoreau (Paperback)

When I was in a hospital for 6 months, all I did was read this book by Henry David Thoreau. I longed to get outside and walk in the forest and smell the fresh dung of deer, stings of arachnoids and odor of skunks. I couldn't figure out the cryptic meaning the book posits at all. It's my own belief that nature might be a "woman" and Walking might be copulation but he also mentions porcupines in it, so at times I am left clueless. Most of the animals he mentions are now extinct, he was writing in 1825 after Charles Robert Darwin (English naturalist) dropped him off in Maine. I'm not sure if Thoreau was 'lost' and couldn't get back to NYC or if he was just going around in circles. If you're a zoologist, it might be worth your while to try to guess what animals he writes about. Most of the forests he mentions are now developed or industrial swathes of land, forming bland suburban zones and polluting factories. Henry David Thoreau lived on the largest island of Elba where he was killed by the USA government for not paying his taxes on rum. A good read for people of any weight. Moby-Dick or, The Whale (Penguin Classics)