Walden: A Fully Annotated Edition

By Henry David Thoreau and illustrated by Ethelbert White: Henry David Thoreau

Book Overview

The ultimate gift edition of Walden for bibliophiles, aficionados, and scholars

"Replaces all other available editions of Walden as the most attractive and reliable way to approach this great American book."--Joel Porte, author of Consciousness and Culture: Emerson and Thoreau Reviewed

This is the authoritative edition of an American literary classic: Henry David Thoreau's Walden, an elegantly written record of his experiment in simple living. With this edition, Thoreau scholar Jeffrey S. Cramer has meticulously corrected errors and omissions from previous editions of Walden and here provides illuminating notes on the biographical, historical, and geographical contexts of the great nineteenth-century writer and thinker's life.

Cramer's newly edited text is based on the original 1854 edition of Walden, with emendations taken from Thoreau's draft manuscripts, his own markings on the page proofs, and notes in his personal copy of the book. In the editor's notes to the volume, Cramer quotes from sources Thoreau actually read, showing how he used, interpreted, and altered these sources. Cramer also glosses Walden with references to Thoreau's essays, journals, and correspondence. With the wealth of material in this edition, readers will find an unprecedented opportunity to immerse themselves in the unique and fascinating world of Thoreau.

Anyone who has read and loved Walden will want to own and treasure this gift edition. Those wishing to read Walden for the first time will not find a better guide than Jeffrey S. Cramer.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300110081
• ISBN13: 9780300110081
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 454 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.0" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

The Map Back to Eden

After I crashed and burned in a college intro to philosophy course, I wanted to see if I could find a work by someone who was both a thinker and a writer.Thoreau, in his book Walden, proves himself to be it.Walden is the narrative of the author's two year stay at the aforementioned pond. He has decided to live life simply, and in a collection of loosely connected essays, he describes the people, animals, and the pond that make up his new home. If you haven't spent real time out in nature, you might think this book is ridiculous. But go into the woods, and stay there until boredom and longing for the city stops. Just then you'll realize the awe he felt when examining the ice bubbles and listening to vagabond squirells. Thoreau has rediscovered the patches of Eden that still exist in the world. And if we are open-minded enough to listen to his instructions, we can find our way back to them.Even if his insights into the idyllic perfection in nature fail to sway you to live more lightly in the world, Thoreau will open your eyes to the benefits of philosophy. He understands the man who marches to the beat of a different drummer, and shows through his clear, crisp text the results that thought and contemplation can hold for anyone.