Walden: With an Introduction and Annotations by Bill McKibben (Concord Library) Paperback – June 27, 2017

And `Tis a shame that I cannot claim this is a re-read after 40 years or so. I can only cite the very well-worn cliché: Better late than never.Walden is a pond, just outside Concord, Massachusetts, and for two years in the mid-1840's Henry David Thoreau lived a largely solitary existence there, in a simple wooden cabin which he constructed. This book is a collection of his mediations on the natural world, and a person's place in it. Thoreau also ruminates on an individual's place in society and certainly demurs about the hurly-burly existence led by so many, or, in an expression that I had always attributed to T. S. Eliot, but was first coined by him: "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation."The first third of the book is on "economy," and the house that he built near Walden. He describes his labor, and provides a table indicating the total cost, and compares that with the annual rental cost of housing. Similarly, he covers his food, clothing and fuel expenses (the "essentials"), and the underlying theme remains the subject verse, taken from a Shaker song, "Simple Gifts," written about the same time: if you simplify your life, and rid yourself of the bondage of so much self-imposed clutter, you really are much freer, and that includes having the opportunity to take a ramble in the woods, which was a major aspect of his two years at Walden. As Thoreau phrased it: "Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them." Or in another passage: "I also have in my mind that seemingly wealthy, but most terribly impoverished class of all, who have accumulated dross, but know not how to use it, or get rid of it, and thus have forged their own golden or silver fetters." Contrast that with the constant exhortations of our consumer society to "buy, buy, buy" and if we can only get the American consumer spending again, our "economy" will be OK. The beauty of Thoreau is an independent mind writing against the grain of conventional thought.Much of the latter portion of the book features his observation and outlook on the natural world around him. These observations range from the scientific to the poetic, with an emphasis on the latter, but he does not hesitate to make controlled measurements, like determining the true depth of the pond, which had previously been the subject of speculation. He describes how ice is harvested from the pond, and shipped to Boston for summer use, and is continually intrigued by the color of both the ice and the water in the pond. For those who are overwhelmed with "light pollution" and do not know what the phase of the moon is, Thoreau provides a suitable admonition: "It would be well, perhaps, if we were to spend more of our days and nights without any obstruction between us and the celestial bodies, if the poet did not speak so much from under a roof, or the saint dwell there so long. Birds do not sing in caves, nor do doves cherish their innocence in dovecots."There is much else as well. He describes the life of poverty of his nearest neighbor, an Irish family who are recent immigrants. He also observes a battle between red and black ants, and plays "hide and go seek" with a loon on the lake. He leans towards vegetarianism, but praises hunting, and considers it a vital rite of passage for any boy (and yes, it was so long ago, the other half were not even considered).Walden is not an easy read. In part it is due to the turgidity of Thoreau's prose style. There is also the aspect that portions of the book resemble the Desiderata poem that was plastered to so many bedroom walls in the 60's: a string of exhortation on the proper way to conduct one's life. The meaning of some of these aphorisms are quite understandable, for example: "While England endeavors to cure the potato-rot, will not any endeavor to cure the brain-rot, which prevails so much more widely and fatally"? But it would take some true assumptions and extrapolations, and they could be quite divergent, to squeeze the meaning from: "The volatile truth of our words should continually betray the inadequacy of the residual statement. Their truth is instantly translated; its literal monument alone remains. The words which express our faith and piety are not definite; yet they are significant and fragrant like frankincense to superior natures." I'd welcome reader comments as to what that really means.Walden was hardly a "commercial success" in Thoreau's lifetime, but its impact on numerous historical figures was significant. He was admired by the naturalists John Muir, Joseph Wood Krutch, Loren Eiseley, and David Brower. His companion volume, (On Civil Disobedience) influenced Tolstoy, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, as well as many others.It is a book to be read slowly, with some tolerance for his style, and the occasional still quirky observations. Walden remains a 5-star read, and is an essential book for everyone to read, at least once in their life, even if it is in the latter phases.Finally, proving that once again there are those unlikely connections that add the zest to life: each day I look 70 miles to the west, and enjoy the view of the mountain most commonly called Mt. Taylor, named after Zachary Taylor, the President of the United States who started the Mexican-American War, and is the reason this piece of earth that I inhabit is part of the USA. Henry David Thoreau practiced civil disobedience, and was briefly jailed for his failure to pay his taxes as a protest against that war.

Parts of it can be a little boring, but there's definitely some poignant introspection in HDT's manuscript from his time at Walden Pond. Humankind has become woefully detached from it's primordial desire to be wild.

The brilliance of Henry David Thoreau is evident from the first chapter. You cannot read this book at the fast pace of today's society. I started reading it during a leisurely vacation, but once I returned to the frenzied speed of work, I could not relax within its pages. Therefore, I read it in spurts when I needed a sigh and perspective. Not that I agree with all of his viewpoints, I don't, but I do appreciate his presentation of them. I love nature and admire independent thinking. These commonalities proved the communal ground for the author and reader. The last portion of the book presents his social viewpoints for the consideration of the Americans of his day and all to follow. Even by those who disagree, it bears reading again today. A calm and reasonable conversation might emerge between individuals. After all, individuals make up governed communities, states, and countries. However, Thoreau would prefer it at the individual level. As a whole, this literary treatise is a unique experience. It is beautiful in relation to nature. You can see and feel the rhythm of the time period. This is soothing as well as frustrating. Many might stop relishing the descriptive prose. This penned oration is a bit too long and self-indulgent in places. Still, it is a beautiful literary window into a defining time and place in history. I recommend it.

There is no doubt that this is a nice book, with slick pages and some nice photos. But after purchasing it, and trying to read it, I was confronted with several drawbacks that I didn't expect. I almost feel like Thoreau was speaking to me on some level, about issues he would have with it.Being familiar with his life - especially through Walden and biographies - he was never interested in flashiness, glitz, or style. He went for the basic and simple, in wardrobe, possessions, and values/priorities. He never connected with fancy items. So, in that sense, he wouldn't be wowed or excited about this version of his book. He might even be a bit annoyed at the graphics - which great as they are - are not his own, and do distract a bit from what really is his (the text). It's sort of like taking a famous painting, and someone adding their own pictures or drawings inside it.More importantly, the book isn't user-friendly as to highlighting and making notes in it. The slick pages make highlighting - especially with pencil - difficult to impossible. The "good old'" standard rough paper is much more conducive to that. Thoreau's writings are especially philosophical, and timeless and relevant to modern times. There are lots of key passages that will especially stand out to readers, that they will want to quickly refer back to, without having to reread the full book. It's a shame that the text can't be highlighted easily with this version, and ultimately makes it not very practical. By the way, Thoreau is known for making wise use of books, and writing lots of notes in the books of his own library. He knew of the importance of connecting with great books, and making the most of them for usefulness. I can almost see him looking at this and shaking his head.What would be great would be to have the pictures in a separate book, as a companion book to the "standard" versions of Walden. Then we could have the best of both worlds. This was an expensive lesson to learn. I guess the higher cost of this version is due to the pictures and glossiness. It also serves a reminder that "prettier" and "fancier" doesn't always equate to "better". Thoreau could smile and nod his head with approval at that realization.Additionally, the Foreward (by one Edward Wilson) is utterly ridiculous and off-base. He has the nerve to inaccurately state that in Thoreau's experience at Walden, he reached "no mystic vision, no transformative flash of light". HUH??? Walden is full of insights, both in nature and the spiritual realm, which he (and many readers) have seen as connected. Wilson also talks about "millions of years of evolution". Excuse me, but Thoreau never suggested a cold, godless world that formed on its own, without purpose and without a central creator. The foreward is 180 degrees opposed to Thoreau's thoughts and beliefs, and mars the book further; right from the start.Some reviewers have commented that this is a nice "coffee table book". Come to think of it, it does look like a typical coffee table book. Glossy, colorful cover, big square shape. Something you might pick up and glance through for a few minutes here or there. Nothing to spend much time on, or get into deeply. This is again is 180 degrees opposite what Thoreau wanted, and essentially makes a mockery of this deep book. Well, I guess while you're at it, you might as well use it as a placemat or a door stop.5 stars for the timeless text, 2 stars for the format, so 3 overall average

This is a pretty poorly typeset edition of the book, and the printing is tiny...

I'm sorry but this book is impossible to read. The font size is so tiny one gets strained eyes after a bit. Text comes in 3 columns per page for some reason which adds to the "pleasure". The pages are not even numbered. No thanks

If you don’t mind suffering from eyestrain then this paperback is for you. I was so looking forward to a few hours of leisurely reading about Thoreau’s Walden pond experience and was very excited when the book arrived. The disappointment was great when I looked at the first few pages. Why would you publish a book that would require the average reader to resort to magnifying glasses in order to read it? For instance, the letter “t” measures just barely over 1 millimeter – not even close to 2 millimeters. For comparison I photographed pages from two other books with standard print; one is a page from a book by Jeffrey Archer and the other a page from Prentice Mulford’s “Thoughts are Things.” The tiny print of “Walden” doesn’t appear to be all that small in the photos, but they were taken with the camera’s Macro setting, otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to see/read it at all. Unless you have eyes like a hawk forget this edition. Very disappointing.

Can't tell you about the contents or author sorry.This book was "printed in the UK by Amazon" and it's of VERY poor quality. Its like one of those self-printed vanity books or an MS word document printed out.Terrible basic layout and font SO SMALL you can barely read it.Total waste of time, very poor quality indeed. Need to buy a replacement from a proper publisher now.Thanks for nowt Amazon.

Walden is a great if slightly challenging read about Thoreau’s 2-year stay in a forest log cabin and is full of the joys of simplicity and nature.Thoreau writes in long sentences that can be a little hard to decipher. But, once you get used to this old-fashioned prose, you’ll discover great wit and wisdom in his work.However, the second part of the book is entirely different and about American government and politics in the 19th century and was of no real interest to me.

Thoreau's 'Walden' is a beautifully written piece of American literature - describing the life and experiences of the author as he embarks on a year-long adventure: living a more simple, at-one-with-nature existence. Thoreau retreated from 'civilisation' and headed off to a remote woodland area, where he lived in a small cabin. It's here that he enjoys life at its fullest - without worrying about such things as money and bills, or keeping-up appearances. Thoreau lived by his own means - from fishing to picking fruit - and felt a new sense of freedom. He encourages other to pursue such an emancipated lifestyle - and presents this as a 'self-help' book.If you are fascinated by the anarchist ideal of living separate from 'social order' (i.e. government by others), and the naturists ambition of relying on what the environment provides, then I highly recommend this book. Not only is the 'idea' a grand one, but the way Thoreau expresses himself is so eloquent as to make this book a timeless classic.