Ralph Waldo Emerson: Selected Essays, Lectures and Poems (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson (Author)
Key Phrases: West Indian, House of Commons, Granville Sharpe (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A new, wide-ranging selection of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s most influential writings, this edition captures the essence of American Transcendentalism and illustrates the breadth of one of America’s greatest philosophers and poets.

The writings featured here show Emerson as a protester against social conformity, a lover of nature, an activist for the rights of women and slaves, and a poet of great sensitivity. As explored in this volume, Emersonian thought is a unique blend of belief in individual freedom and in humility before the power of nature. “I become a transparent eyeball,” Emerson wrote in Nature, “I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God.” Written over a century ago, this passage is a striking example of the passion and originality of Emerson’s ideas, which continue to serve as a spiritual center and an ideological base for modern thought.

About the Author

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 —1882) was a renowned lecturer and writer, whose ideas on philosophy, religion, and literature influenced many writers, including Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman. After an undergraduate career at Harvard, he studied at Harvard Divinity School and became an ordained minister, continuing a long line of ministers in his family. He traveled widely and lectured, and became well known for his publications Essays and Nature.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Classics (September 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553213881
• ISBN-13: 978-0553213881
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #216,904 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful selection of essays!, October 4, 2002

By	Joanna Mechlinski (CT, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've had to read parts of this book for various classes, and read the rest on my own. Whether he's talking about his day, or the future, Emerson is right on the mark for many things, from the need to be self-reliant to society's views on religion. Of course, there are some things I don't agree with, as you'll also find...but there are just so many quotable lines here, which are incredibly thought-provoking and inspirational. If you haven't read this, please do!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At long last: someone worth reading...., March 12, 2006

By	Kavity Killer (denver, colorado United States) - See all my reviews

I discovered Emerson at age 34, and it was like coming home. I have always been, I guess, a natural "transcendentalist". In other words, I instinctively and intuitively fell into a transcendentalist mindset and way of thinking without ever having read any. So I've read Thoreau and Annie Dillard and frankly can't stand either of them. I find them a little strained. Emerson, to me at least, is a different story. He writes like a god. He writes with authority, poetry and insight. He, to me, is worlds apart from someone like Dillard...hard to say exactly how. I just know that his writing is brilliant, brilliant...free, courageous, honest. A big part of it for me is his passionate and deep understanding of God coupled with his rejection of "corpse-cold" religion. If you are a seeker, if you have an open mind, you will find few better than this.

3.0 out of 5 stars Too smart for me., December 17, 2008

By	L. Polfer "Toddler Whisperer" (clermont, Florida United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this thinking it would be a good way to get to know the author through his short works but I guess I need to be an english major or in an English composition class 'cause I didn't get past a few pages. I'm still trying tho.