Henry David Thoreau and Michael Meyer - Walden and Civil Disobedience

Pros: Beautiful writing, work of art

Cons: Readers thinking this book is a diary

The Bottom Line: A book worth reading, and reading again, for the sheer buoyancy of its prose and the clarity of its message.

Review: The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.

Henry David Thoreau, a member of the transcendental movement centered in Concord, Massachusetts, in the 19th century, retreated to Walden Pond in 1845. During the two years and some...

Pros: A beautifully-written, profound book.

Cons: None.

Review: I love shorewalks in the evening. I love the way great, grey waves, shaggy
with foam, shatter on the broken shoreline; the meandering jags of chalky
cliffs scrawled along the skyline. I love how the sea seems to sweat
sunbeams, as the...

Pros: Sincere, exquisitely written, best advice around.

Cons: easily misinterpreted.

The Bottom Line: Absolutely read this! BUT...keep in mind that most of the details do not apply to you. Thoreau is honest and passionate AND an individual to the core.

Review: Henry David Thoreau and his masterpeice, Walden or Life in the Woods, has a curious reputation. The reviled enemy of highschool students throughout the US, it is simultaneously gaining respect and admiration from intellectual circles. Truth be told,...

Pros: Philosophy and love of nature from a truly great thinker

Cons: No solace for the down-and-out greed in these hard time on Wall Street

The Bottom Line: If you truly value yourself, you'll read it.

Review: It's hard for me to believe how old Thoreau's Walden actually is. The book was published in 1854, recalling experiences of ten years earlier, in 1844, when Thoreau spent over a year living in a self-built cabin on the shores of Walden...

Pros: It is possibly Henry David Thoreau's most literary acclaimed work. It is great for nature enthusiasts.

Cons: It is very boring, and very cut and dry. It has no plot. It has a very limited list of characters. It has no emotion.

Review: Walden Pond is not a book that one would read for excitement.
Nor is it a book that one would read in search of humor, drama, or suspense. There is certainly no mystery involved and a weak plot. The only romance contained in this book is between...

Pros: None, I was forced to read this book

Cons: Everything is a metaphor

Review: When Thoreau wrote Walden, he was expressing the need for society to go back to the basics of life. To do this Thoreau lived in the wilderness surrounding Walden Pond for two years. He used items that he found in nature to sustain himself during his...

Pros: Slightly Stimulating, Unique Style

Cons: Doesn't Really Say Anything, Everything Else

Review: Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, is Thoreau's philosophy of life and his quest for individuality in the world. The book is really nothing more than common sense written eloquently. Thoreau's rants are sometimes thought provoking, but his opinions are...

Pros: One of the greatest political essays ever penned.

Cons: None, unless you are the oppressor.

Review: "I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right." These immortal words were first written by Henry David Thoreau in response to an overnight stay in the...

Pros: Inspiring in Parts

Cons: Many sections are boring

Review: Walden is about Henry David Throeu's experiment in living a simplified life. He goes out into the woods and writes about simplicity solitude and nature. This book is a most read for those interested in nature and simplifying their life. It offers...