Henry Thoreau

Thoreau s "Wild Apples" first appeared in The Atlantic Monthly in November of 1862. The story begins with a short history of the apple tree, tracing its path from ancient Greece to America. Thoreau saw the apple as a perfect mirror of man, and eloquently lamented where they were both heading. Though his words were written more than 150 years ago, they live on today as a reminder of the need to preserve what is wild. Thoreau wrote, " our wild apple is wild only like myself, perchance, who belong not to the aboriginal race here, but have strayed into the woods from the cultivated stock." This short work is part of Applewood's "American Roots" series, tactile mementos of American passions by some of America's most famous writers and thinkers."

“Our life is frittered away by detail. . . . Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!.” Henry David Thoreau built his small cabin on the shore of Walden Pond in 1845. For the next two years, he lived there as simply as possible, learning to eliminate the unnecessary material and spiritual details that intrude upon human happiness. Thoreau described his experiences in Walden, using vivid, forceful prose that transforms his reflections on nature into richly evocative metaphors. In a world obsessed with technology and luxury, this American classic about seeking “the essential facts of life” seems more relevant today than ever. This beautiful, fully illustrated edition of Walden brings a rarely seen visual and artistic dimension to Thoreau’s philosophical masterpiece.

Thoreau's "Wild Apples" first appeared in The Atlantic Monthly in November of 1862. The story begins with a short history of the apple tree, tracing its path from ancient Greece to America. Thoreau saw the apple as a perfect mirror of man, and eloquently lamented where they were both heading. Though his words were written more than 150 years ago, they live on today as a reminder of the need to preserve what is wild. Thoreau wrote, "...our wild apple is wild only like myself, perchance, who belong not to the aboriginal race here, but have strayed into the woods from the cultivated stock." This short work is part of Applewood's "American Roots" series, tactile mementos of American passions by some of America's most famous writers and thinkers.

Kolme matkaa erämaahan on matkakirjallisuuden klassikko ja Pohjois-Amerikan villin luonnon ylistys. Luontokirjallisuuden ja ympäristöajattelun uranuurtaja Henry Thoreau teki 1800-luvun puolivälissä kolme retkeä Mainen erämaihin. Hän meloi matkatoveriensa ja intiaanioppaan kanssa pitkin alueen jokia, laski koskia ja kiipesi vuorille. Hän kirjasi tarkasti muistiin intiaanien ja alueella työskentelevien tukkilaisten tapoja sekä luonnon ilmiöitä. Vaellusten aikana Thoreau myös pohdiskeli henkevään tapaansa ihmisen suhdetta erämaihin ja kauhisteli niiden tuhoamista. Kolme matkaa erämaahan sisältää kolme esseetä, jotka Thoreau julkaisi elinaikanaan aikakauslehdissä. Kirjan muodossa ne ilmestyivät ensimmäisen kerran vuonna 1864.

Self-described as 'a mystic, a transcendentalist, and a natural philosopher to boot', Henry David Thoreau dedicated his life to preserving his freedom as a man and as an artist. Nature was the fountainhead of his inspiration and his refuge from what he considered the follies of society. Heedless of his friends' advice to live in a more orthodox manner, he determinedly pursued his own inner bent - that of a poet-philosopher - in prose and verse, in his masterpiece Walden, from which this work is taken. Edited by noted Thoreau scholar Jeffrey S. Cramer, this edition is the new standard for those interested in discovering the great thinker's influential ideas about everything from environmentalism to limited government.

Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.Thoreau's account of his solitary and self-sufficient home in the New England woods remains an inspiration to the environmental movement - a call to his fellow men to abandon their striving, materialistic existences of 'quiet desperation' for a simple life within their means, finding spiritual truth through awareness of the sheer beauty of their surroundings.