Walden

Henry David Thoreau
Walden - Free
1854

Walden was just named by the Library of Congress’ Books that Shaped America list. Bufo Calvin of I Love My Kindle blog does a great job of linking the available titles on the list in the kindle store. I was already researching this title before the list came out. I really loved this book when I read it years ago.

Henry David Thoreau was an American philosopher, poet and author. Walden was a social experiment to see what life was like outside of mainstream society. Thoreau built a small cabin, about two miles outside of town, next to Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts. He lived a simple life of reading and writing; he analyzed his life and tried to learn what it had to teach him. Thoreau lived in solitude for two years and then spent about eight years writing and rewriting the book.

Walden’s central themes are solitude and introspection. Thoreau was a very influential philosopher and many of his ideas were penned while he was living in the cabin. He promoted solitude in order to understand what life is about. Introspection can only come through solitude in nature and was one of his goals. He said "To be awake is to be alive,” and you can only be awake when you understand who you are in relation to society.

Thoreau was a great writer and you come to almost envy his simple peaceful life. He paints a very vivid picture of his life in the cabin. You go through his daily routine from getting up early and baking his bread to tending his little garden. He inserts poems into the book that he wrote while he was out there and shows us what he learned from living this simple life. He examines his life and shows us how to examine ours. How to figure out what is important in life and what we can do to improve it.

The story is simple on the surface but as you read more you can see the social commentary that is hidden below the surface.

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion."

Even though Walden was written over 150 years ago, the ideas and themes are still relevant today. Download the free book and enjoy being led to new levels of insight.

Is there anything in your life that could use some evaluation? What books have moved you to action? What books have influenced your ideas? Leave comments below.

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