Walden: With an Introduction and Annotations by Bill McKibben

Introduction by Bill McKibben
In honor of the bicentennial of Henry David Thoreau’s birth, this edition of Walden features an introduction and annotations by renowned environmentalist Bill McKibben

"Bill McKibben gives us Thoreau's Walden as the gospel of the present moment, as a neccessary book because it is useful right now."
--Robert Richardson, author of Henry Thoreau, A Life of the Mind and Emerson: The Mind on Fire

“We need to understand that when Thoreau sat in the dooryard of his cabin ‘from sunrise till noon, rapt in a revery, in undisturbed solitude and stillness, while the birds sang around or flitted noiseless through the house,’ he was offering counsel and example exactly suited for our perilous moment in time.”
—Bill McKibben, from the introduction

First published in 1854, Henry David Thoreau’s groundbreaking book has influenced generations of readers and continues to inspire and inform anyone with an open mind, a love of nature, and a longing for simplicity and contemplation. Bill McKibben provides a newly revised introduction and helpful annotations that place Thoreau firmly in his role as cultural and spiritual seer. This beautiful edition of Walden, published in honor of the bicentennial of Thoreau’s birth, is more accessible and relevant than ever in an age of technological change and ecological crisis.
Bill McKibben gives us Thoreau's Walden as the gospel of the present moment. --Robert D. Richardson, Jr., author of Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind

'[Thoreau] says so many pithy and brilliant things, and offers so many piquant, and, we may add, so many just, comments on society as it is, that this book is well worth the reading, both for its actual contents and its suggestive capacity.' --A. P. Peabody, North American Review, 1854

'[Walden] still seems to me the best youth's companion yet written by an American, for it carries a solemn warning against the loss of one's valuables, it advances a good argument for traveling light and trying new adventures, it rings with the power of powerful adoration, it contains religious feeling without religious images, and it steadfastly refuses to record bad news.' --E. B. White, Yale Review, 1954

'Bill McKibben gives us Thoreau's Walden as the gospel of the present moment.' -Robert D. Richardson, Jr., author of Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was a writer and philosopher as well as a naturalist. Walden is considered his masterpiece.

Bill McKibben is the author of Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age as well as The End of Nature and The Age of Missing Information. He lives with his family in the Adirondack Mountains.
Introduction by
Bill McKibben

WALDEN
Economy

Where I Lived, and What I Lived For

Reading

Sounds

Solitude

Visitors

The Bean-Field

The Village

The Ponds

Baker Farm

Higher Laws

Brute Neighbors

House-Warming

Former Inhabitants; and Winter Visitors

Winter Animals

The Pond in Winter

Spring

Conclusion

About

In honor of the bicentennial of Henry David Thoreau’s birth, this edition of Walden features an introduction and annotations by renowned environmentalist Bill McKibben

"Bill McKibben gives us Thoreau's Walden as the gospel of the present moment, as a neccessary book because it is useful right now."
--Robert Richardson, author of Henry Thoreau, A Life of the Mind and Emerson: The Mind on Fire

“We need to understand that when Thoreau sat in the dooryard of his cabin ‘from sunrise till noon, rapt in a revery, in undisturbed solitude and stillness, while the birds sang around or flitted noiseless through the house,’ he was offering counsel and example exactly suited for our perilous moment in time.”
—Bill McKibben, from the introduction

First published in 1854, Henry David Thoreau’s groundbreaking book has influenced generations of readers and continues to inspire and inform anyone with an open mind, a love of nature, and a longing for simplicity and contemplation. Bill McKibben provides a newly revised introduction and helpful annotations that place Thoreau firmly in his role as cultural and spiritual seer. This beautiful edition of Walden, published in honor of the bicentennial of Thoreau’s birth, is more accessible and relevant than ever in an age of technological change and ecological crisis.

Reviews

Bill McKibben gives us Thoreau's Walden as the gospel of the present moment. --Robert D. Richardson, Jr., author of Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind

'[Thoreau] says so many pithy and brilliant things, and offers so many piquant, and, we may add, so many just, comments on society as it is, that this book is well worth the reading, both for its actual contents and its suggestive capacity.' --A. P. Peabody, North American Review, 1854

'[Walden] still seems to me the best youth's companion yet written by an American, for it carries a solemn warning against the loss of one's valuables, it advances a good argument for traveling light and trying new adventures, it rings with the power of powerful adoration, it contains religious feeling without religious images, and it steadfastly refuses to record bad news.' --E. B. White, Yale Review, 1954

'Bill McKibben gives us Thoreau's Walden as the gospel of the present moment.' -Robert D. Richardson, Jr., author of Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind

Author

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was a writer and philosopher as well as a naturalist. Walden is considered his masterpiece.

Bill McKibben is the author of Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age as well as The End of Nature and The Age of Missing Information. He lives with his family in the Adirondack Mountains.

Table of Contents

Introduction by
Bill McKibben

WALDEN
Economy

Where I Lived, and What I Lived For

Reading

Sounds

Solitude

Visitors

The Bean-Field

The Village

The Ponds

Baker Farm

Higher Laws

Brute Neighbors

House-Warming

Former Inhabitants; and Winter Visitors

Winter Animals

The Pond in Winter

Spring

Conclusion
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