Walden
114 Installments—Entirely free
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Members' Rating:
from 14 Ratings and 5 Reviews
Tags: Classics, Novel, Philosophy
ISBN:046087635X
Description
First published in 1854, Walden is Henry David Thoreau's famous account of his radical experiment in living. For one year, Thoreau threw off the burdens of society to live alone in the woods. In a simple cabin near Walden Pond, away from the complications and stresses of civilization, Thoreau is inspired to reflect on society and human nature itself. Walden is the story of a full year of simple, self-sufficient existence in Nature and a timeless record of American ideals.
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About the Author
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was a prolific author, noted naturalist, and key figure in the American Literary Renaissance of the nineteenth century. Although he held a more or less steady job at his family's pencil factory in Concord, Massachusetts, Thoreau established himself as one of the nation's foremost free-thinkers and individualists through such essays and other works as Walden, Civil Disobedience, and A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. Throughout his writing, Thoreau's message remains one of the importance of casting off the contradictions and complications of modern society in favor of honest reflection, clean living, and connection with the natural world.
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Back to topOpening Lines (Experimental)
When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. I lived there two years and two ...
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4/5
Reviewed by kiradog on Jun 22, 2009
A true scholar
I think I can summarize this book as a love-hate relationship.
There were parts where I could relate to the thoughts and emotions of the author and was amazed at his level of intellect and knowledge in so many diverse fields of study.
However, there were parts where I merely skimmed the passages, and felt annoyed at the sense of judgement and entitlement from the author, who in my view seems very hypocritical most of the time.
It is a good read to expose yourself to the classics however, it can be very monotonous and dry at times. Definitely not a page turner, but good for expansion of ideas and literature.
5/5 
Reviewed by diky on Apr 30, 2009
provocating, encouraging, enlightening...
Walden is, as Thoreau himself said, " - I know of no reading of another's experience so startling and informing as this would be. We, as readers know that the words startling and informing will only related to fact and truth. No one will read something which is not informative and not "true". Thoreau is right when he used the word "startling", because truth can be startling for people who live in illusionary foundation of life, who being deceived by their own foolishness. Walden is a book of a truth seeker's experience by learning and experiencing, by dealing with the fact and reality. In Walden, Nature become the guru or a ladder to achieve a higher level of living. To live harmoniously with nature means to live simple and free or independent (being self-sufficient). That kind mode of living will sharpen your faculties and potentials and thus elevate your living into a higher level of living.
4/5
Reviewed by w9eh on Apr 14, 2009
Now I know why it was so difficult to read 40 years ago.
Finished it and am happy that I found DailyLit to do so...made it less painful to digest this very dense classic.
5/5
Reviewed by xenobia on Apr 26, 2009
Thoreau is the man!
I read two pages of Walden a day and fall more and more in love with this great person. He is my new hero. I love his acceptance of Eastern ideas and the way he lives them mundanely instead of getting a big head about them and just intellectualizing them. I feel really connected to Thoreau and to Walden Pond when I read, and am always a bit startled to come to the end of the pages, look up, and realize I'm in 2009....
4/5
Reviewed by PMCGOLDRICK on Apr 23, 2009
Walden
Given some adjustment for the times, this is a thought-provoking read. Today, it is a worthwhile choice for readers.
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Ratings for 'Walden' by Thoreau, Henry David
| Alexei | | 2008-08-01 | |
| bookmark123 |  | 2009-02-09 | |
| caojunkai | | 2009-03-01 | |
| diky | | Read review | 2009-04-30 |
| everdeen | | 2008-11-19 | |
| jolly819 |  | 2009-05-13 | |
| kiradog | | Read review | 2009-06-22 |
| marniejh | | 2009-04-24 | |
| NDumas | | 2009-06-09 | |
| PMCGOLDRICK | | Read review | 2009-04-23 |
| w9eh | | Read review | 2009-04-14 |
| WorldTraveller202 | | 2008-07-28 | |
| wsimpson3144 |  | 2009-06-24 | |
| xenobia | | Read review | 2009-04-26 |
Walden
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