Walden
A Library of America Paperback Classic
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A special edition of “the most remarkable book in the American canon”—Thoreau’s timeless ode to the beauty of a life lived simply and among nature (Bill McKibben)
In 1845 Henry David Thoreau left his pencil-manufacturing business and began building a cabin on the shore of Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. This lyrical yet practical-minded book is at once the record of the twenty-six months Thoreau spent in withdrawal from society—an account of the daily details of building, planting, hunting, cooking, and always, observing nature—and a declaration of independence from the oppressive mores and spiritual sterility of the world he left behind. Elegant, funny, profound, and quietly searching, Walden remains the most persuasive American argument for simplicity of life and clarity of conscience.
For almost thirty years, The Library of America has presented America's best and most significant writing in acclaimed hardcover editions. Now, a new series, Library of America Paperback Classics, offers attractive and affordable books that bring The Library of America's authoritative texts within easy reach of every reader. Each book features an introductory essay by one of a leading writer, as well as a detailed chronology of the author's life and career, an essay on the choice and history of the text, and notes.
The contents of this Paperback Classic are drawn from Henry David Thoreau: A Week, Walden, The Maine Woods, Cape Cod, volume number 28 in the Library of America series. That volume is joined in the series by a companion volume, number 124, Henry David Thoreau: Collected Essays and Poems.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Shrinking Walden into picture book size is somewhat like trying to fit Moby Dick into an aquarium. Still, Lowe's selections from Thoreau's iconoclastic work will give children a brief taste of this classic. Using only quotations from the original work, Lowe tells the story of Thoreau's year in the woods, emphasizing his descriptions of nature,stet comma and action rather than his philosophical musings. Readers see the young Thoreau putting shingles on his roof, hoeing beans, welcoming a stranger; they can revel in the natural wonders he describes--the ``whip-poor-wills,'' in summer, the drifting snow in winter, the ice breaking in the pond in spring. Sabuda's superb linoleum-cut prints lend a hard-edged brilliance to the dark woods--where sunlight is filtered through etched leaves, and moonlight shimmers on the waters of the pond made famous by a young man's experiment with life. All ages.
