Walden Paperback – October 25, 2018

One has to remember that this was written about 170 years ago and the language was quite different back then. Thoreau wrote in a verbose and very descriptive style which seems wordy today, but the meaning is very clear. He describes in detail the things that he saw and observed and enables the reader to fully comprehend what he was talking about. This is not a murder mystery, a harlequin romance, or a profane laden thriller. It is a view of an individual who had a lifestyle very different from today's rushed and hectic pace. He did not have to be entertained but was able to entertain himself in his day to day functions of life, observing in detail the things going on around him. Even though he lived only two miles from town, that two miles was through the woods on a footpath, not a highway. He lived a simple lifestyle and was not "connected" by social media and personal devices like most are today. Boredom was not a problem to him, he was comfortable in the lifestyle that he chose to live. It is very interesting to look at another's point of view on life. He was not concerned with material possessions and wealth but found great value in the simple things in life. I have found that I have similar views as I grow older. Wealth, status and possessions are not that important to me. Being satisfied with what I have and my life as it is matters more to me now. Walden was a very good view of that.

It's been a little while now since I've read Henry David Thoreau's Walden but I'll do my best to write from recollection. Basically, Thoreau goes to live on Walden pond in a little town in Massachusetts for two years. He built the place himself and he starts to grow his own beans, I think. This is for him an experiment in living.What he hopes to achieve is a life lived simply and deliberately. What this means is a little difficult to ascertain but it seems to me this. He wants to be more mindful and appreciative of what the natural world has to offer him and not be so dependent on the technology and busy city life. By stripping away all of these amenities, he thinks he can arrive at some deeper understanding about his place in the world and what really matters to him.The life he describes is somewhat paradoxical. As much as he protests to not being lonely, there is an air of loneliness to his writing. And he's never one to turn down the company of strangers who come to visit him. He also seems to be curious about the people who spend their days retrieving blocks of ice from the pond to go back and sell at the market (Thoreau is only a couple miles out of town). But Thoreau does, in spite of all that, begin to feel genuinely as though he has learned something about the human spirit, namely that it's all right to march to the beat of your own dream, to obey your higher spiritual laws, and find beauty in nature, even in its occasional wildness and savagery.Walden isn't a perfect book but no book ever is. I'd heard some advice to read the first chapter last and that's what I did. I think it changes the experience of reading the book for the better if you read the first chapter as a kind of afterword. Just my two cents.

Even though it was written more than 170 years ago, I agreed with many of his ideas. If the material things are important for you more than anything else in life, this book is not for you.

There are a lot of misprints in this book. It is poorly edited.

I have read Walden so many times I have lost count starting at age 12 and now At 46 I just listened to it for first time on Kindle, each time I learn something new. Some say Thoreau was mentally ill, I read this book and I learn so much about how to live that I wonder is mentally ill a bad thing then because Thoreau is one of the greatest Spiritual Teachers ever and people tend to miss the point of this book. I have actually done a shorter version of Thoreau's experiment at Walden Pond, just to see if I was correct after at least 10 reads of this book, and I have visited Walden many times. I have taken many a nature trip to perform these experiments for myself, and to help teach Truth. Most people don't even know that Thoreau discovered Quantum Physics in this Novel, the lessons for life that if we all learned to live by would create a Truly peaceful planet but I have yet to find a person who has actually read this book in my lifetime, I don't mean flipped the pages and looked at the words, to receive the message one must actually do the experiment, nature is everywhere, sit in silent meditation after before and after you read each chapter or as I have each paragraph, I hope more people will learn what Thoreau and so many others have been trying so hard to teach us all. What do we really need? hint, It's not money :) and it's free and It is in All Of Creation no matter what your spiritual path or beliefs, There is only one True need, Rakhma (Ancient Galilean Aramaic-The Language Jesus Christ Spoke). Best Wishes Peace on Your journey, Namaste

This is book reflects the unconventional genius that brought to light the American movement called Existentialism. As well as being a book of great popularity for university-level English Literature courses, its pithy, witty and wholesome writing makes it worthy for anyone curious about what it truly means to be a member of our modern society. The freedoms we consider in this present-day as an indisputable right, in his day were considered impudent, even vulgar. He swept aside all thoughts of such prissiness and convention to challenge at every turn what could be called the insanity of established societal norms. His highest goal, explicit and implicit, were to honour the ascendancy of the Individual as paramount, along with rational thought, in the determination of one's personal conduct and life's purpose. In effect, reading his words is to listen to the muses of an enlightened man, as so he was, Henry David Thoreau.

No me acostumbro al formato digital.

This book is something one has to read once in a life if you’d ask me. The way Thoreau sees things maybe changes your way of thinking in a very positive way. Love it and it’s one of the 3 books I read several times!

Wonderful and timeless. Defines the true spirit of an outdoorsman. The man has put to paper what so many men have visualized and experienced through "hands on" living in nature's playground. Although not only does learn to meld with nature but also uses its solitude to evaluate his stance on society and all that's contained within society. He draws some deep and insightful conclusions from his viewpoint from afar that are still comparable and quite relevant in today's society. He strips down the excess of people massed together in one place and the shallowness that permeates from it. I recommend this book to all, and you can't beat the price. Enjoy people

Sometimes you run across a book that has the power to really inspire you. This is one of those books. But like anything worth having, you have to work hard at it, so if you're expecting an easy read, then this probably isn't for you. The prose is archaic and heavy going in places. But if you can keep ploughing through, you will be rewarded with some remarkable insights into the mind of an extraordinary character. Although the language sounds dated, the themes Thoreau touches on could not be more contemporary as he speaks of the traps we make for ourselves with our consumerism, our fundamental need to connect with nature and the evils of invasive government. This is a really thought-provoking and inspirational work that will reward you time and again as you return to its pages.

Really nice. If buy this book is not by error, you usually know what you are looking for.Thank you. LC.