A sturdy individualist and a lover of nature, Henry David Thoreau was the epitome of the Yankee spirit. In March 1845, he set out to live life in a new way. Borrowing an axe, he built himself a wooden hut on the edge of Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts, where he lived until September 1847. Walden is a record of his experiment in simple living. In this fascinating work, Thoreau describes his Robinson Crusoe-like existence, bare of creature comforts but rich in contemplation of the wonders of nature and the ways of man. "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience" is Thoreau's classic protest against government's interference with individual liberty. One of the most famous essays ever written, it came to the attention of Gandhi and formed the basis for his passive resistance movement. In addition to these timeless works, this Signet Classic edition includes a representative selection of Thoreau's poetry.
'No truer American existed than Thoreau.'
Emerson
