Book Description
To live in a pristine land . . . roam the wilderness . . . build a home. . . . Thousands have had such dreams, but Richard Proenneke lived them. Here is a tribute to a man who carved his masterpiece out of the beyond.
Customer Reviews:
True to the man.......2007-09-29
Ten years ago I spent a summer volunteering for the National Park Service at Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, in Alaska. My remote rangers cabin was located at Twin Lakes. Being on the lower lake, I was about 9 miles from my nearest neighbor- Dick. We spoke daily on our walkie-talkies, checking in about the weather, any visitors, or interesting wildlife viewings. I trekked up his way several times over the summer, and enjoyed a few meals with him. I can't remember if it's in his book, but his favorite sandwich was the "Twin Lakes Special": sourdough flapjaks, raw onion, and honey; don't knock it 'til ya try it! Just like his book, he was a gracious, thoughtful man, a true naturalist. Also the most spry 82-year-old I think I'd ever seen! I was saddened to hear of his death several years ago, and was grateful the NPS kept his cabin as a historical site; it is a cozy place, dark inside, smelling faintly of woodsmoke and 1948 sourdough starter, with wonderful decorative touches throughout. Dick was truly a special person, and this book captures his voice, his no-nonsense manner of talking, as well as his appreciation of the beauty of the natural world, perfectly.
A modern day "Thoreau".......2007-09-16
You cannot visit Alaska without reading this book FIRST! Just the photography alone will make you want to go. I dentify in many ways with Dick as I lived in a cabin in the White Mountains of NH for many years. He didn't intrude on nature...he simply lived in harmony with it. He appeals to all of your senses in his simple but beautifully written words, never mind the pictures. He is definitely portrayed as a "loner" but that is a good thing..for a loner has much higher self esteem and sense of character than those who can't survive in the world without people around them all the time. Dick is a true steward of the land because of his deep, abiding love and connection for this piece of God's Creation. His beautifully chronicled life in Alaska will remind you of Robert Frost's words.."We love the things we love for what they are." Enjoy!
Just as Good the Second Time.......2007-09-12
I was telling my husband about this book as I started reading it. He said, "Don't you remember, we read that many years ago when Alaska Magazine published it"? I knew that Babe, the pilot, seemed familiar. It didn't matter. I was happy to read it a second time which is unusual for me. Oh, how I would have loved to have been able to do what Mr. Proenneke did and to live where he lived. There is nothing dull about this book and I suspect the people who find it dull haven't any interest in living in the wilderness without Blackberries, i-pods, automobiles and restaurants.
Even though most of us who enjoyed the book probably don't begin to have the skills that Richard Proenneke had which made what he did possible (and a pilot friend who delivered for free) I think we all wish we could do what he did. I know I do. I didn't realize that a sequel exists. It costs big bucks, but if it's anything close to as interesting as this book, it's worth it. Maybe I'll find out if the Mission Girls ever showed-up.
Homesteading in Alaska.......2007-08-16
The year was 1968. The setting, the Alaskan bush. The mission, to live simply, deliberately, and self-sufficiently off the land, free of the trappings of contemporary society. The protagonist, clearly not what you might expect given the era. He was not some young, free spirited hippie, luddite, or draft dodger. Rather, he was a skilled hard working machinist/woodsman, who at age 51 decided to permanently leave the rat race behind.
Why this man, Dick Prenacke, suddenly left behind his conventional existence to live in a remote and unforgiving section of Alaska is never fully explored in the book. While snippets do reveal his distain for modernity, it never fully embellishes on what ultimately drove the author to do what few would ever conceive of doing. Perhaps Dick realized that at 51, the physical and physiological fortitude required to make such a transition would soon be out of his reach. More likely however, he foresaw the end of an era. No more than a few years after his departure into the wild, Alaska would enact laws prohibiting trappers and homesteaders from freely trudging off into the woods to live the quintessential "Alaskan experience." Soon Alaska would become like the rest of the lower 48, where people like Dick would be considered trespassers and evicted from any land that they did not rightfully own. Fortunately for the author, the laws were grand fathered in.
While the book is essentially a personal account of Alaskan homesteading, the author episodically weaves social commentary into his writings. He laments a society that is wasteful and superficial. The hunters that come into his Alaska, products of such a society, leave garbage and animal meat behind, unaware that the author cleans up after as well as makes use of their squander.
The author also reveals his anxiety for a society that is increasingly consumed by materialism. He feels that man is entrapped by things that he doesn't need and he seeks to avoid the superfluous at all costs. To the outsider, surviving in the wilds of Alaska would seem to require an extravagant amount of equipment and gear. One can only imagine the bill the average suburbanite would amass at the local REI in preparation for such an endeavor. Yet the author demonstrates just how little is required to not only to survive but also to prosper in such an inhospitable region.
The book closes with some thoughts on technology, and the rapidity of change that comes with it. The author's words are both haunting and prescient as he elaborates on his first year in Alaska and how his experience conflicts greatly with society at large.
inspiring.......2007-07-14
Inspiring book. Diarist was over 50 when he began this journey. Helps me look to the future for myself.
Amazon.com
How to Wrestle Free from an Alligator: 4. If its jaws are closed on something you want to remove (for example, a limb), tap or punch it on the snout.
Though it's being marketed as a humorous title--after all, it's unlikely you'll be called upon to land a plane, jump from a motorcycle to a moving car, or win a swordfight--the information contained in The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook is all quite sound. Authors Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht consulted numerous experts in their fields (they're cited at the end of the book) to discover how to survive various and sundry awful events. Parachute doesn't open? Your best bet for survival is to hook your arms through the straps of a fellow jumper's chute--and even then you're likely to dislocate both shoulders and break both legs. Car sinking in water? Open the window immediately to equalize pressure, then open the car door and swim to the surface. Buried in an avalanche? Spit on the snow--it will tell you which direction is really up. Then dig as fast as you can.
Each survival skill is explained in simple steps with helpful illustrations. Most stress the need to be prepared--both mentally and physically. For example, to escape from quicksand, you will need to lay a pole on the surface of the quicksand, flop on your back atop the pole, and pull your legs out one by one. No pole? No luck. "When walking in quicksand country, carry a stout pole--it will help you get out should you need to."
Hopefully you'll never need to know how to build a fire without matches, perform a tracheotomy, or treat a bullet wound. But in the words of survival evasion resistance escape instructor "Mountain" Mel Deweese, "You never know." --Sunny Delaney
Book Description
Danger! It lurks at every corner. Volcanoes. Sharks. Quicksand. Terrorists. The pilot of the plane blacks out and it's up to you to land the jet. What do you do? The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook is here to help: jam-packed with how-to, hands-on, step-by-step, illustrated instructions on everything you need to know FAST-from defusing a bomb to delivering a baby in the back of a cab. Providing frightening and funny real information in the best-selling tradition of the Paranoid's Pocket Guide and Hypochondriac's Handbook, this indispensable, indestructible pocket-sized guide is the definitive handbook for those times when life takes a sudden turn for the worse. The essential companion for a perilous age. Because you never know...
Download Description
Danger! It lurks at every corner. Volcanoes. Sharks. Quicksand. Terrorists. The pilot of the plane blacks out and it's up to you to land the jet. What do you do? The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook is here to help: jampacked with how-to, hands-on, step-by-step, illustrated instructions on everything you need to know FAST -- from defusing a bomb to delivering a baby in the back of a cab. Providing frightening and funny real information in the best-selling tradition of the Paranoid's Pocket Guide and Hypochondriac's Handbook, this indispensable, indestructible pocket-sized guide is the definitive handbook for those times when life takes a sudden turn for the worse. The essential companion for a perilous age. Because you never know...
Customer Reviews:
The book works..........2007-07-13
I read the book. I saw a car accident. I can't go into further details because it is illegal to perform medical procedures without a degree in medicine. The boy didn't survive (he was brain dead immediately (happens when your head takes a cars bumper)) but his body did and was used to keep two other kids alive.
Laughter and Skills You Hope You Never Need.......2007-04-10
The odds may not be very good that you'll end up in some of these situations, but if you ever do, you'll be glad you read this book. If you never need these skills, then it's great for a laugh.
Entertaining.......2007-02-22
Extreme and extremely funny. Some are more plausible than others but all are thought provoking.
Really good.......2007-01-31
When I bought this book, my girlfrind and some friend where making fun of me, but as soon as one of them started reading it, he couldn't let it down and everybody was reading it. It contains information that I hope I'll never need. It's funny, but at the same time the information provided was well researched.
Great for having at your coffee table, since everyone will comment on it.
I belive it might be useful also for actual surviving....
Three Reasons To Buy This Book.......2007-01-20
One: You just might learn how to save your own life.
Two: You just might learn how to save someone else's life.
Three: You just might impress the hell out of your next date.
I like this book. It's like one of the Dummies titles devoted only to survival skills. It makes you feel like you're just a leetle bit superior to everybody else. The basics are here, but so are some of the coolest factoids, techniques, and tricks I've ever read. If someday you're in a falling elevator/locked in some pervert's trunk/facing an oncoming flash flood/freezing your epidermis off in a snow-covered SUV while driving home from a ski resort where you had a fight with your significant other who was wrong, not you, you'll be glad you bought this book and spent a day reading it. It's cool, it's fun, it's empowering, and it reminds me of someone I knew in college. (Yes, that last detail won't make you rush out and buy it, I know, but...)
Read The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook and you'll feel like you're ready for anything life might throw at you!
Book Description
Originally published in 1854, Walden, or Life in the Woods, is a vivid account of the time that Henry D. Thoreau lived alone in a secluded cabin at Walden Pond. It is one of the most influential and compelling books in American literature.
This new paperback edition--introduced by noted American writer John Updike--celebrates the 150th anniversary of this classic work. Much of Walden's material is derived from Thoreau's journals and contains such engaging pieces as "Reading" and "The Pond in the Winter." Other famous sections involve Thoreau's visits with a Canadian woodcutter and with an Irish family, a trip to Concord, and a description of his bean field. This is the complete and authoritative text of Walden--as close to Thoreau's original intention as all available evidence allows.
For the student and for the general reader, this is the ideal presentation of Thoreau's great document of social criticism and dissent.
Customer Reviews:
The Hobo Philosopher.......2007-09-24
My first copy of this book was indubitably from some other publisher. So I'm not commenting on this particular volume but the content of the work itself.
I have always loved this book but it wasn't until recent years that I realized what a controversial book this was. Thoreau published this book at his own expense and he sold very few copies. Later on he stored most of his unsold copies in an attic. He once claimed to have the largest collection of book published by Henry David Thoreau than anyone alive - and I'm sure he did.
But why didn't people buy this book? Well, for one thing it was critical of "the neighborhood". For another thing it was critical of "the values of his neighbors". For another thing it was critical of the values of his countrymen; it was critical of Capitalism; it was critical of modern life; it was critical of the "consumer mentality"; it was critical of the work ethic; it was critical of buying things; it was critical of "getting ahead" and "accumulating; it was critical of working for a living; it was critical of achieving; it was a critique on the civilization of the day - and it was not positive.
So why did it make me feel good to read it then and why does it have the same effect on me today?
I don't know but whenever I get lonely to go have a talk with an old friend I go to the book shelf and pick up Walden by Henry David Thoreau.
Pertinent and well written.......2007-09-17
Strangely surprising how pertinent many of Thoreau's perceptions, opinions and insights on habits and values are to modern day society and culture. And impressive how vehemently he professes these views in some sections. No sugar coating here. This is raw stuff, presented with language and skill we've lost over the years.
My favorite quote: "One generation abandons the enterprises of another like stranded vessels"
Thoreau is inspired and inspiring.
A lesson for us all.......2007-08-18
Imagine a man, living in the present time, who is fed up with life in our ever-changing electronic world. So, he goes to live in a hut he's re-built out by a gentle pond, reasonably away from civilization. He throws away his cell phone, computer, TV, radio, etc. and lives simply and quietly, observing naature with his eyes and a microscope. He's not a hermit, because he visits and is visited by, friends and neighbors. He examines his life in solitude and writes about the sights and sounds of the woods and the pond.
For two years living alone this way, he comes to know nature and himself intimately and when he returns to civilization, he is refreshed, spiritually, emotionally and mentally.
Now, imagine all this as done 160 years ago when technology consisted of things like the newly invented telegraph (which he disdained), railway system, and others. Thoreau, like many of us today, longed to live simply and in harmony with Nature. The inspiration for hundreds of hippies, eco-freaks, Luddites and anti-technologists, he showed us that we sometimes need to get back to simple and clean living with no one and nothing to intrude on our thoughts.
And by the time you've finished this little gem of a book, the weekend will be over, and it will be time to go back to the ugly, long commute to a place where technology and stress seemingly go hand in hand.
Great classic/ but too expensive here.......2007-07-16
I brought this book because I had a class that required it. I got it within 2 weeks so that wasn't bad but I hadn't realized that I paid more for the book here then I would have had I gone to a local store! The back of the book says it's only $2.50. The lowest price I could find on Amazon was $4. I guess that's why people don't have to pay for shipping when they purchase items that exceed $25! (The free mailing gets paid for (at least in this case), with higher book prices.
BTW I found out that this book is a free e-book via the web. Next time I'll make sure to check that avenue first.
Mr. Thoreau's Work: Walden.......2007-04-22
It looks like I rated it 4 stars. I can't seem to change that. I really meant to rate it a 3.
Fortunately, I read The Annotated Walden, annotated by Phillip Van Doren Stern. Thank goodness I chose it. Without Mr. Van Doren Stern's introduction, side bars, pictures and comments, I think I would have been thoroughly lost.
I have to agree with a few of the reviewers who stated how pompous Thoreau sounds; he does. He tries to act superior,only to have the side bar notations state something different; something that a friend mentioned. For example, he says he "could easily do without the post-office," yet a contemporary, Sanborne, is quoted off to the side of the annotated version as having said about this quote: "Few residents of Concord frequented the Post Office more punctually or read the newspapers more eagerly than Thoreau."
He contradicts himself constantly. He mocks people who don't read, and then says he barely read a few pages of one book in the two years he was at Walden pond. He could be vindictive; lashing out at Flint's Pond (and Mr. Flint) because Flint would not let him build a cabin on his pond. He comes off as a snob, saying most men learn to read only as a necessity; for work, to add up their profits. But *true* readers are hard to come by. "I aspire to be acquainted with wiser men than this Concord soil has produced.."
Yet, he also has some really great words of wisdom. He questions the wisdom in working so hard during the best part of your life (youth) only to spend the fruits of your labor "during the least valuable part of it." Enjoy life while you are young. Why work so hard when the endgame is death? He comments on things that are still true to this day; fashion and our obsession with appearance. Work to provide for yourself, not to overburden yourself and keep yourself in debt.
Someone reviewing this book on Amazon wrote that it was a failed experiment; that he meant to live in the woods as a hermit of sorts and failed miserably to do so. That was never the extent of his experiment. He never says he's going to lead a solitary life. He states he visited the village every day or two. "As I walked in the woods to see birds and squirrels, so I walked in the village to see men and boys."
I find myself having mixed feelings regarding this book. He is so contradictory, but then, so am I. He can be judgemental and then he can be spot-on. It was a difficult book to get through, Again, had I not had the annotated version, I would have been truly lost. He frustrated me at times. I was not reading literature. I was reading someone's diary that often went off-tangent (like this review). Is it Top 100 book worthy? My opinion: no. It was good at times, painful at others. I took 2 months to trudge through it, all the while reading 5 other books just to keep me going. I am glad I read it. I won't do it again though. Sorry, Mr. Thoroeau
Amazon.com
Born in 1915, the mountaineer and outdoorsman David Brower has arguably been the single most influential American environmentalist in the last half of the 20th century; even his erstwhile foes at the Department of the Interior grudgingly credit him with having nearly single-handedly halted the construction of a dam in the heart of the Grand Canyon, and he has converted thousands, even millions, of his compatriots to the preservationist cause through his work with the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, and other organizations.
Brower was in the thick of battle when John McPhee profiled him for the New Yorker in a piece that would evolve into Encounters with the Archdruid. McPhee follows Brower into unusually close combat as Brower faces down a geologist who is, it seems, convinced that there is no sight quite so elevating as that of a fully operational mine; a developer who (successfully, it turned out) sought to convert an isolated stretch of the Carolina coast into a resort for the moneyed few--and who provided the title for McPhee's book, wryly opining that conservationists are at heart druids who "sacrifice people and worship trees"; and, most formidable of all, former Interior Secretary Floyd Dominy, who oversaw the construction of a structure that for Brower stands as one of the most hated creations of our time, Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River. McPhee offers up an engaging portrait of Brower, a man unafraid of a good fight in the service of the earth, making Encounters an important contribution to the history of the modern environmental movement. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
The narratives in this book are of journeys made in three wildernesses - on a coastal island, in a Western mountain range, and on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. The four men portrayed here have different relationships to their environment, and they encounter each other on mountain trails, in forests and rapids, sometimes with reserve, sometimes with friendliness, sometimes fighting hard across a philosophical divide.
Customer Reviews:
McPhee's Best Work - Still Relevant Today.......2007-08-15
I read this book for the first time 36 years after it was written, yet it seems like it was written today. The battles now have different names but the perspectives are still the same. My conclusion after reading it is that as a species human's have the capacity to view the same scenery and information and come to radically different conclusions; lets build on it or lets preserve it. The fundamental difference seems to be how an individual views the world around us; our surroundings exist to serve us or we an integral part of the world. This dichotomy in thinking may explain why some of us become engineers and real estate developers and others become artists and conservationists.
McPhee's genius in this book was to get the archetypes of those two positions to spend time together in a proposed open pit copper mine in the Cascades, a potential resort in Cumberland Island off the coast of Georgia, and in and around dams along the Colorado River; recording the dialog while describing the landscape. This book is a paean to conservation and one of McPhee's best.
Encounters with the Archdruid.......2007-01-03
David Brower is a major conservationist who leads many environmental groups. In Encounters with the Archdruid, Brower travels to a mountain, an island, and a river, and has battles with various developers in each of the aareas. In the mountains, he encounters Charles Park, a geologist who is pick-happy. ON the island, he meets Charles Fraser, a developer who wants to build a resort on the island. He also goes fafting with Floyd Dominy, who is bent on building a dam to make a lake out of the end of the river. Brower winds some, and loses some, but for the sake of the enfironment, he never gives up.
Encounters with a bad book.......2007-01-02
This book is not very interesting. It is very jumpy and hard to understand. There are many enviormental issues that are barely if at all touched on by the author. Characters are over developed and there is to much background information on unimportant characters. Brower is just on big whinner. Overall it is not that good of a book.
identity and idealism.......2006-09-15
This is not a hagiography, and readers who think McPhee is portraying David Brower as a hero are not reading deeply enough. McPhee presents Brower as a human with faults. But this too is not his purpose. All ideals need champions, and Brower was the environmental champion of the 1970s. That he was a hypocrite to his own cause bears little relevance to his symbolic importance. McPhee carefully establishes Brower's identity such that the reflective reader can draw parallels to their own self-conception and ideas of perfection. Oh, and it's readable too.
hello.......2006-02-28
Part one is very informative. It talks alot about the characters, their personalities, and their backgrounds. We didn't like the fact taht
copper" and "mine" was in just about every other sentence. IN part, we believe the author was trying to emphasize about the characters' obsession and how strongly each man felt for his argument, however it made the section extreemly boring, long, and hard to read. In the second sectoin, the story line picked upi. We enjoyed how throught the novel, the author would continuely add depth and different demensions to the characters with more background information about each characer. Part three was definatly the most enteretaining out of the three with it's fast paced storyline and action scenes. The beginning of the book was slow but then it picked up and ended well.
Average customer rating:
- Like panning for gold...
- Rich and Profound
- An Entirely New Level
- Tied for second place among the annotated Waldens
- INSOMNIA'S CURE
|
Walden
Henry David Thoreau
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Classics
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
19th Century
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Collections & Readers
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Essays
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| Classics
| Comic
| Contemporary
| Literary
Movements & Periods
| History & Criticism
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| Arthurian Romance
| Beat Generation
| General
| Gothic Revival
| Medieval
| Modernism
| Postmodernism
| Renaissance
| Romanticism
| Surrealism
| Victorian
Thoreau, Henry David
| ( T )
| Authors, A-Z
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Nature & Ecology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Natural History
| Nature & Ecology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Nature Writing
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Outdoors & Nature Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Science Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Walking
-
The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Modern Library Classics)
-
Letters to a Spiritual Seeker
-
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience (new edition)
-
Walden: A Fully Annotated Edition
ASIN: 0395720427 |
Book Description
On July 4, 1845, Henry David Thoreau moved into the cabin he had built on the shore of Walden Pond. Now, on the 150th anniversary of that event, Houghton Mifflin is proud to publish an exceptional new edition of what is perhaps the most important book in our history as a publisher. Walden: An Annotated Edition features the definitive text of the book with extensive notes on Thoreau's life and times by the distinguished biographer and critic Walter Harding. In the third chapter, Thoreau writes, "How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book?" For many readers, Walden is that book. Written a century and a half ago, it grows more meaningful every day, and whether you are reading it for the first time or the hundredth, Walter Harding's insightful comments will open your eyes to the true depths of this masterpiece.
Customer Reviews:
Like panning for gold..........2006-12-31
...you have to sift through a lot.
Thoreau has some really great, original ideas and approaches to life. He has whole sections that seem incredibly tangential but after you reread them, you realize they were perhaps the greatest parts of the book.
That being said, he also has sections that are just incredibly tangential, and when you finish you miss things like narratives, a centered topic, main points, etc. These are just stream of consciousness it seems.
Rich and Profound.......2006-01-05
To a citydweller who enjoys the modern conveniences, the idea of building a primitive shed in the woods and observing Nature for days on end was entirely unappealing. I felt I would have no sympathy with the Thoreauvian worldview.
I was pleasantly surprised. Thoreau has a distinct sense of humor. While a lot of the book is descriptions of Nature, the writing was lovely enough to make up for my disinterest in the subject. In fact, Thoreau's enthusiasm communicated itself to me, and I found myself becoming more interested as I read on.
Thoreau has a reputation for being unworldly, but interestingly the longest chapter in the book, "Economy," lays out in great detail the cost-effectiveness of his experiment in simple living. Although living in an isolated shed, he is no misanthrope but displays much affection and compassion for his fellow man. He is a keen observer of human nature and his descriptions of his friends and visitors were some of the best parts of the book. He is a man of sensibility, sincerely concerned about the direction he sees society taking.
The annotations were useful, as was the map of Concord.
An Entirely New Level.......2005-03-22
Henry David Thoreau did something truly magical in Walden. He brought boredom to an entirely new level I never knew existed. The amount of pointless and extraneous details that overflowed the pages of the book never ceased to amaze me.
I was forced to read the book for an english class. My life has never been the same since. Thoreau's brilliant writing technique has allowed me to realize the full potential of other "books." I often find myself engrossed in the phone book or the dictionary, which have become suspenseful thrillers in comparison to Walden.
Tied for second place among the annotated Waldens.......2004-08-10
WALDEN has rarely been out-of-print since its first publication in 1854. Copies come in all sizes, shapes and price ranges. Today's Thoreauvians have three ANNOTATED versions of WALDEN to choose from. Each one provides same-page explanatory notes that help the reader interpret the sometimes esoteric references in Henry David Thoreau's original text. The three books are "The Annotated Walden" (edited by Philip Van Doren Stern, 1970), "Walden: An Annotated Edition" (edited by Walter Harding, 1995), and "Walden: A Fully Annotated Edition" (edited by Jeffrey S. Cramer, 2004). Each one has at least one map of Concord and/or Walden Pond. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses. Each one has appeal for a devoted audience.
"Walden: An Annotated Edition" by Walter Harding was released in 1995, a year before the editor's death. Harding was a founding member of the Thoreau Society and devoted his entire life to the man and his writings. He is still regarded as *the* HDT expert of the 20th century. In addition to the text of WALDEN, this volume includes a few "extras": a four-page forward that contains a biographical summary; a bibliography; journal entries and original HDT sketches scattered throughout the book's margins (a favorite Harding technique); and a special appendix regarding the story about "a hound, a bay horse, and a turtle-dove." The explanatory notes -- the essence of an annotated edition -- define a number of references both in word and phrase. Harding didn't copy anything from Van Doren Stern's previous work, and he also didn't include as many stylistic comments as his predecessor. He offered more frequent explanations and backed them up with a variety of source materials. He also throws in his own opinion every once in a while. The occasional ink doodlings from the journals serve well to break up the text. But lack of an index is a major failing. This is a handsome volume that improves upon Van Doren Stern's previous WALDEN analysis.
Lining up the three versions side by side is an interesting experiment, best conducted on a rainy summer day when no other work has appeal. Let's use two well-known and oft-debated passages for an initial sample interpretive comparison.
"I long ago lost a hound, a bay horse, and a turtle-dove, and am still on their trail." ("Economy") Do those three animals stand for actual individuals in Thoreau's life? Or does this passage simply refer to Life's losses? Philip Van Doren Stern devotes a page-length note to this paragraph. He mentions a few of the major interpretations and refers readers to the bibliography for more. His conclusion is: "Since there is no clear explanation, each reader will have to supply his own." Walter Harding offers three pages in a special appendix that covers all the major theories. At the end, he too suggests that "each reader is free to interpret them as he wishes." Jeffrey Cramer's paragraph cites two similiar excerpts found in other Thoreau pieces, and his explanation states that "no analysis has been generally accepted as valid." So the three men agree: we have to decide for ourselves what we think of the story.
"There was an artist in the city of Kouroo who was disposed to strive after perfection." ("Conclusion") Is the parable that follows that opening sentence based on some of the Eastern texts that Thoreau was fond of reading at the time? Or is it a thinly-disguised depiction of his own struggle to perfect the final WALDEN manuscript? Philip Van Doren Stern simply says that "no one has been able to find a source for the legend" and agrees with Arthur Christy that it is an allegory about Thoreau's own life. Walter Harding offers several possible origins of the legend but eventually cites and agrees with Christy's allegory statement. Jeffrey Cramer devotes just a two-sentence annotation, concluding with "It is generally agreed that the following fable is by Thoreau." In this instance, Cramer has the benefit of time over his colleagues. Most Thoreauvians have come to the same realization during the past decade after much gnashing of teeth.
Explanatory differences are more pronounced at other various junctures in the text. Each man obviously was intrigued by certain references more than others. I can say that overall, I found Jeffrey Cramer's annotations to be the most helpful of the three. Maybe someday someone will have the courage to tell all the makers of posters, bumper stickers, and t-shirts that "Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in" is NOT about fishing at
all.
Every school and public library should own at least one of these annotated editions. Academic libraries will want at least two of the three versions. If you want a book that has a lot more HDT than just WALDEN, find a used copy of the Philip Van Doren Stern book. If you want to hear from expert Walter Harding, choose his. Individuals who want the most comprehensive interpretation should go with the newest volume by Jeffrey
Cramer. It's a worthy addition to the Thoreau legacy.
INSOMNIA'S CURE.......2004-05-13
I first read Solitude in high school(over 10 years ago), not as part of the regular curriculum but for US Academic Decathlon. To think about it even now still bores me. Reading Solitude may have been the most boring part of USAD, & that ain't a little bit of boredom. Thoreau, Emerson, those other guys I can barely differentiate, especially the 'fire & brimstone' types were some of the reasons I took British lit instead of American lit in college. I also took British lit rather than American because it is 800+ years vs. 200+. (Thanks Mr. M, my h.s. English lit teacher). But back to Walden.
Think of it. You decide to live in solitude for a couple of years, in the 19th century! The very idea is boring. Let's not get into no t.v., et.c. But not even the daily news? Didn't they have newspapers back then? Before some make the mistake of thinking I don't understand, I (yawn) say I can appreciate one's desire to engage himself by the near total exclusion of others. I just don't believe its something you need to read about some guy doing over 150 years ago. On the other hand, if you wanted to avoid those very interesting times, you'd do what Thoreau did if you could so afford. If not you'd read about it, to quiet the debate going on outside one person's journey of self-discovery. Specifically, if I wanted to learn more about those times I'd check up on abolitionist writings, women's suffrage, and other things from the period that were more topical.
Nevertheless, I could use a copy though, for those troublesome nights when I can't get to sleep.
P.S. Thoreau is one of those authors you list that maintains your "with it-ism" in our increasingly 'my country, right or wrong' times.
Book Description
The Photographs of Ansel Adams with the Writings of John Muir
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ansel Adams whose landmark early photographs of wild America, originally taken for the Works Progress Administration, fill the pages of this splendid volume. Adams' breathtaking images are accompanied by excerpts from the writings of Sierra Club founder John Muir, the renowned conservationist who devoted his life to celebrating and preserving the American wilderness.
Customer Reviews:
American Photography at its Best.......2007-06-15
Breathtaking photos. Especially in light of the rudimentary equipment available at the time they were taken. Proves that Ansel Adams is still unsurpassed in American photography. Captures the majesty and beauty of the vanishing American wilderness. Members of Congress should view this work before voting to open refuge or wild lands to drilling and logging.
Poor quality.......2007-05-03
Poor reproduction quality. Actually no quality. As educational book, to study composition or something like that, perhaps the book serves.
Not Worth Looking At.......2006-04-05
Poor reproduction quality. Actually no quality. Not approved by the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust.
Adams wouldn't have approved.......2005-07-18
While some photos are reasonable, most are seriously flawed. Some are flat, some are excessively contrasty, others seem murky and indistinct. Some of the photos need cleaning to remove dust spots, etc. Even the title is wrong , as the book includes photos of dams and sheep. There are many other excellent books, which have been prepared from Adams prints and produced with much more care. Buy one of those.
Are we looking at the same book?.......2005-01-02
Many of Ansel Adams' exquisite photographs call out for large reproductions, and this book displays them in a decent size format. But what a waste. The reproductions are nearly all flat and murky, with little detail in the shadow. If I had read far enough down into the customer reviews, I would have been warned; but the reviews at the top of the stack were quite favorable. Which leads me to wonder: Are we looking at the same book? I advise readers to purchase Adams books published by Little, Brown, and Company (aka "Bulfinch"). Even at smaller sizes their books display much more detail and clarity than does this disappointing edition.
Book Description
The author delves into the science, psychology, and art of wilderness survival. His analysis is riveting, his conclusions startling.
After her plane crashes, a seventeen-year-old girl spends eleven days walking through the Peruvian jungle. Against all odds, with no food, shelter, or equipment, she gets out. A better-equipped group of adult survivors of the same crash sits down and dies. What makes the difference?
Examining such stories of miraculous endurance and tragic deathhow people get into trouble and how they get out again (or not)Deep Survival takes us from the tops of snowy mountains and the depths of oceans to the workings of the brain that control our behavior. Through close analysis of case studies, Laurence Gonzales describes the essence of a survivor and offers twelve "Rules of Survival." In the end, he finds, it's what's in your heart, not what's in your pack, that separates the living from the dead. Fascinating for any reader, and absolutely essential for anyone who takes a hike in the woods, this book will change the way we understand ourselves and the great outdoors.
Customer Reviews:
Captivating Read.......2007-10-06
This book is a captivating read. Once you start reading it you won't want to put it down. This is a must read for anyone venturing off of their couch and beyond the bounds of their metropolitan life style. Lawrence Gonzales provides real life examples of the human plight in our world where nature is king.
Where was his editor?.......2007-09-17
There is the potential for a great book hidden in this one. Unfortunately the authors ego hamstrings his own ability to bring it to fruition. A good editor coulda/shoulda done it for him. 60% of the book is the author's attempt to review the latest neuro- and other science explaining how our brains work when under extreme stress. 20% of the book is devoted to the completely superfluous stories of his own brushes with danger and palling around with famous buddies like Lyle Lovett and Lyle's Dad. That leaves 20% of book left for the meat - the real stories of real people in extreme situations. The science is interesting, but his attempts to synthesize wildly diverse fields is rambling, repetitious and often just boring.
Apparently I am in the minority.......2007-09-10
I thought this book was VERY poorly written and primarily a pontification of the author"s very boring, "oh and then I survived again aren't I amazing and wonderful, this little humble miracle that I am" *accomplishments*. Personal perspective is certainly valid, but not to the degree that he took it. I would have prefered to have heard other people's stories. I am a RN, EMT, trained as a wilderness first responder,climber, skier, trekker,runner, horsewoman, former river guide and I do not underestimate the value of his information and the importance of sharing it, but his style of writing and his boasting just turned me off. I say borrow it from the library, don't waste your money by buying it.
Great book for insight into the psychology of survival.......2007-08-28
I found this well written, informative and very enjoyable to read. If you are studying wilderness survival skills then consider this as the flip-side of your training. Studying the psychological aspects of survival is as important as the physical skills. This is a very good book.
The Human Spirit.......2007-08-22
There are a number of reasons why you should read this book. It is well written and engaging. It gives you an insight into the human spirit. And, the descriptive tales of survival when people are stranded in conditions that seem beyond hope are extraordinary.
Average customer rating:
- Book cover commercialization?
- Amazon Purchases August 9, 2007
- He heard a different drummer- The sun is but a morning star
- Isolate, Nonconformist
- Ho hum
|
Walden and Civil Disobedience (150th Anniversary) (Signet Classics)
Henry David Thoreau
Manufacturer: Signet Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
General
| Classics
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
19th Century
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Collections & Readers
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Essays
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Classics
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Thoreau, Henry David
| ( T )
| Authors, A-Z
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
( T )
| Authors, A-Z
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
| Tolstoy, Leo
| Twain, Mark
Essays
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Classics
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
19th Century
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Classics
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Collections & Readers
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Nature and Selected Essays (Penguin Classics)
-
Self-Reliance and Other Essays (Dover Thrift Editions)
-
Leaves of Grass: The First (1855) Edition (Penguin Classics)
-
Moby-Dick or, The Whale (Penguin Classics)
-
The Scarlet Letter (Penguin Classics)
ASIN: 0451529456
Release Date: 2004-08-03 |
Book Description
Henry David Thoreau's masterwork, Walden, is a collection of his reflections on life and society. His simple but profound musings-as well as "Civil Disobedience," his protest against the government's interference with civil liberty-have inspired many to embrace his philosophy of individualism and love of nature.
Customer Reviews:
Book cover commercialization?.......2007-09-23
A previous reviewer asked what Thoreau might think of how society has developed commercially since he wrote this book. I have to also wonder what he would think of the ridiculous (in my opinion) and jingoistic cover of this current edition? The person who chose the cover design should have read the book. The cover is offensive, given the ideas the book contains. Penguin should be ashamed.
Amazon Purchases August 9, 2007.......2007-08-09
This is a classic novel. It's value as literature speaks for itself.
I received the product in the condition advertised, in two days.
I am completely satisfied with the purchase and service.
He heard a different drummer- The sun is but a morning star.......2006-01-15
Thoreau is more than simply a writer who produced a great American classic. He exemplified the idea which perhaps as much as any other has come to be at the heart of the American creed. "If a man does not keep pace to his companion, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away."
Throreau when he went into the woods of Walden Pond on July 4, 1845 , a journey in solitude which would last just two years and two months, was the archetypal American individualist. He was the man 'doing his own thing' living in accordance with what only he could know was right for himself. This idea of 'radical individualism' has become part of the American common faith. Its abuses are legion and may be disastrous, but it also has brought about not simply 'better mousetraps' but a whole vast world of innovations and innovators, the like of which Mankind has never known before.
Thoreau as he writes in his introduction went to the woods to explore not simply the natural world, the outdoors he so much loved. He went to the woods to truly go more deeply into and know himself. As he says in his introduction:
" I should not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well. Unfortunately, I am confined to this theme by the narrowness of my experience. Moreover, I, on my side, require of every writer, first or last, a simple and sincere account of his own life, and not merely what he has heard of other men's lives; some such account as he would send to his kindred from a distant land; for if he has lived sincerely, it must have been in a distant land to me."
Thoreau in that enigmatic, epigrammatic aphoristic style, he shared with his great mentor and fellow pioneering poet- philosopher, Emerson connects the world within with the world without , connects the Concord woods with the Cosmos . He creates a work in 'Walden' of singular beauty and of its own special economy and principles in thought.
Thoreau was too an abolitionist, an opponent of the Mexican war, a civil disobedient who refused to pay the poll tax-, a pioneer
whose followers would include Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
But in his close looking at the world of nature and the world of himself he was first a great explorer of life and reality going out alone in his own way- however geographically close he may have been to home.
His words and his wisdom waken us even today to the hope of new and better worlds i.e. he also embodied the spirit of a great American optimism.
The great individual teaches us even in dark hours to find new worlds in ourselves outside our own darknesses. " There are new worlds yet to be born" he writes, " The sun is but a morning star"
Isolate, Nonconformist.......2003-10-14
Thoreau lived for two years and two months at Walden Pond. He said the mass of men live lives of quiet desperation. Henry Thoreau asked hard questions.
He related that when the Masschusetts Bay Colony was founded, earthen houses were built. They were convenient and suitable and they had the advantage of putting everyone in a position of equality and not making the poorer inhabitants feel discouraged. It distressed Thoreau that a good deal of the money spent for shelter and dress was for show, uneconomical.
He farmed organically because he was only a squatter. He found that by working for about six weeks he could meet all of the annual expenses of living. He claimed that memorable events transpired in the morning.
Thoreau went to the woods because he wished to live deliberately. The sounds of the railroad penetrated the woods. Visitors were frequent during three seasons. In the wintertime basically he had only himself for company and some of the animals.
In any season, the woods were surprisingly dark at night. Because he had no helpers or animals to assist him in cultivating the fields he felt that he ws more intimate with the beans in his beanfield. Songs have suggested that husbandry is a sacred art.
The scenery of Walden was on a humble scale. The first ice was especially interesting. He reported seeing fox, jays, chickadees, and red squirrels in the the winter.
In CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE he asserts that in a government that imprisons unjustly, the place of a just man is in prison. Thoreau underwent an overnight jail stay when he failed to pay a poll tax.
Ho hum.......2003-07-21
Isn't it a little bit incongruous to desire to detach yourself from society, seeking self-reliance, and then write a book about it? Just an observation...
While Thoreau is a curious individual - sort of a poor-man's G.K. Chesterton - he always seems to come up short. The Virtue of Civil Disobedience reads more like self-satire than a serious attempt at political philosophy. And while Walden is rich and fulfilling, it is ultimately just a vehicle for Thoreau to make baseless claims predicated upon his treasury of tidbits and odd knowledge.
Had Thoreau been blessed with living in the modern world, he could have just written "Living by a Pond on Your Own For Dummies" and saved himself (and us) a lot of trouble.
Instead of "Civil Disobedience," I recommend anything by Lysander Spooner (particularly "No Treason")
Instead of "Walden" I recommend "Two Years Before the Mast." It's both more relevant than Walden, and a heck of a lot Closer To Nature.
Book Description
Brian Keenan’s fascination with Alaska began when he was a small boy choosing his first library book in school: Jack London’s wondrous The Call of the Wild. And Alaska’s mesmeric wilderness has permeated Keenan’s life ever since. A short visit to Fairbanks several years ago was enough to seal his connection with the place, and he resolved to return. He eventually did so with a head full of questions about its inspiring landscape and a heart informed with his own love of the desolate places of the world. In a journey that takes him through four geographical quarters from snowmelt in May to snowfall in September, he discovers a land as fantastical as a fairy tale but whose vastness has a very peculiar type of allure.
From dog-mushing on a frozen lake beneath the colors of the aurora borealis to camping in a two-dollar tent in the tundra of the Arctic Circle, from skinning hides with an aging shaman and his wife to boating in the stormy Bering Sea, and along frozen inlets to a remote Eskimo fishing camp, Keenan seeks out the ultimate wilderness experience and connects with a spectrum of wildlife, including his own “spirit bear,” all of them roamers in “The Big Lonely.” En route, he encounters hard-core survivalists who know what struggle and endurance mean from their daily battle for existence. And finally, he discovers that true wilderness is as much a state of mind as it is a place and that ultimately, to make Alaska home, one must surrender to the land.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting, infuriating and more than a little self-indulgent.......2007-07-06
Brian Keenan is undoubtedly a talented writer. He conjures up the places and inhabitants of his Alaskan journey with vivid precision. At first, his fumbling cultural faux pas provided some amusement. But eventually, they got frustrating and detracted from my enjoyment of his story. There's some self-effacing humor throughout as he confesses to his cluelessness, but when I got to a chapter in which he imagined a spirited conversation between himself and a crow, I gave it up. By that point, Keenan reminded me of the character of the BBC reporter in Robert Altman's "Nashville." Too "deep" for his own good, and kind of missing the point.
Christian Basher.......2006-11-01
I was enjoying the book UNTIL the part where he and his family arrive in a campground outside of Fairbanks.
As he is taking a stroll, he comments that he sees several campers with "Jesus Loves You" and "Are you saved?" He then HAS to add these comments "Where do all these people come from?" and that "I wish they would stay away."...or something to that effect. He then closes the paragraph by stating, "I could not get away fast enough."
Gee this guy really shows some tolerance. He has no idea who these people are and yet he has to put THIS in his book???...which is TOTALLY not necessary. Sorry but this book has been "deep sixed" after I read it.
Enlightening reading.......2004-11-29
A wonderful insight not just into the cold mosquito ridden vastness of Alaska, the life of native people, the eccentricities of the inhabitants, but the spiritual searching of the author.
Beautifully written.
Amazon.com
"People step into the [Alaskan] landscape and vanish without a trace," writes wildlife guide Lynn Schooler in this ode to the wild beauty of the Alaskan coast, an unusual friendship, and a mysterious bear with fur the color of "burnished metal." Schooler spent a decade searching for the elusive blue (or glacier) bear with Michio Hoshino, Japan's preeminent wildlife photographer. Hoshino was a gentle genius who would sit still for hours, his face swelling from mosquito bites, for the perfect photograph, and who had the same patience and consideration for a bruised heart like Schooler's. Schooler had lost all ability to trust, scarred first by the scorn of classmates for his twisted body and finally by the brutal murder of the woman he loved. But as a guide--both for wildlife photographers and for readers of this evocative and gracefully composed memoir--Schooler richly reveals the place that sustains him. He makes remarkable connections between whales and the complex workings of old-growth forests, between glaciers dropping 100-foot columns of ice into waiting fjords, and the breathing of the planet. Ultimately, though, it is Hoshino's death by a bear that finally enables Schooler to make peace with humanity and death. A quiet, profound gem. --Lesley Reed
Book Description
With a body twisted by adolescent scoliosis and memories of the brutal death of a woman he loved, Lynn Schooler kept the world at arm's length, drifting through the wilds of Alaska as a commercial fisherman, outdoorsman, and wilderness guide. In 1990 Schooler met Japanese photographer Michio Hoshino and began a profound friendship forged by a love of adventure and cemented by their mutual obsession with finding the elusive glacier bear, an exceedingly rare creature, seldom seen and shrouded in legend. But it was only after Hoshino's tragic death from a bear attack that Schooler succeeded in photographing the animal -- and only then that he Was able to complete his journey and find new meaning in his own life.
Set amid the wild archipelagoes, glittering fjords, and dense primordial forests of Alaska's Glacier Coast, The Blue Bear is an unforgettable book that shines with purity and passion.
Customer Reviews:
Not all that great a bear tale but...........2007-04-02
The theme of this is really the author's life, both past and now as a small boat captain in Alaska's dramatically beautiful south coast. If you are passionate about bear stories this is not that great. Toting the Japanese film crew got old and his own entry into photography was tedious. Taken in total with the cultural history, the sea, forests, wildlife, and glaciers, and the author's own qwest it is worthwhile, but certainly not epic.
A book to consider........2006-11-11
A slightly slow start, but please persevere, as this book has so much to offer. Set in Alaska, with glorious descriptions of this environment provided by Lynn during the search for the elusive blue bear. However, I believe the real story lies in Lynns life experience, his battle for a normal childhood, his relationship with his father, his yearning for true love, the pain of loss, and his almost self imposed exile in this heaven on earth.
A Beautiful Book.......2004-12-10
The Blue Bear is a fantastic read! If you are at all interested in Alaska, nature, wildlife or friendship I am certain you will love this book.
Beautiful book worth reading........2004-05-14
My only regret is that the book wasn't longer. Every page is full of descriptive prose and fascinating narrative. You will feel like you're there with the author, either on the boat, hiking in the wilderness, or examining the joys and sorrows of friendships gained and lost.
What a well-written book!
Elegant writing reveals love of wilderness.......2004-03-11
Elegiac is the perfect word to describe both the cadence and direction of this book: somber, straightforward, yet filled with joy. We come to know both men -- the author and the late Michio Hoshino -- through dialogue and description that is utterly natural, yet weighted with meaning. Pivotal scenes are described so elegantly that you want to read them again and again to extract every nuance of mood. Small vignettes speak volumes, such as the visit of the two men to a village where hundreds of native women and children died by starvation due to a US government relocation program. Or the choice of the author to pilot the boat away from Hobart because he could not bear the sight of the ravaged hillsides.
The author's lightness of touch is captivating especially because it is paired with such a deep knowledge and love of the flora, fauna and weather of the region. Reading Blue Bear, you become effortlessly acquainted with the Alaskan coast, as though it is indeed home, and come to mourn its slow, relentless destruction. I look forward to Lynn Schooler's next book.
Books:
- Paleocommunities: A Case Study from the Silurian and Lower Devonian (World and Regional Geology)
- Paradise for Sale: A Parable of Nature
- Patagonia: Natural History, Prehistory and Ethnography at the Uttermost End of the Earth (Princeton Paperbacks)
- Pole to Pole With Michael Palin: North to South by Camel, River Raft, and Balloon (Companion to the Pbs Series)
- Randy Wayne White's Gulf Coast Cookbook: With Memories and Photos of Sanibel Island
- Reworking Success: New Communities at the Millennium
- Safari Style
- SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea
- Secrets of Dripping Fang, Book Six: Attack of the Giant Octopus (Secrets of Dripping Fang)
- Spirit of Animals
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Software Asset Management
- Library Lion
- Julia Morgan, Architect of Dreams
- History: Fiction or Science
- Indigo Dreams: Relaxation and Stress Management Bedtime Stories for Children, Improve Sleep, Manage
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, Pearl: Verse Translations
- Molecular Modeling: Basic Principles and Applications
- Washington Dc Job Source: The Only Source You Need to Land the Job of Your Choice in Washington D.C
- Instant Interviewing
- The Lomy Convention Investment and Business Guide