Walden

Written by Henry David Thoreau

Narrated by The Synthetic Voice of Brian

Immerse yourself in the tranquility of nature with Henry David Thoreau's timeless classic, 'Walden,' in this serene edition. Join Thoreau as he retreats to the solitude of Walden Pond, seeking simplicity and spiritual renewal amidst the beauty of the natural world. Let our expert narrators transport you to the serene shores and lush forests of Concord, Massachusetts, where every page is filled with profound observations and timeless wisdom. Immerse yourself in Thoreau's introspective musings on life, society, and the pursuit of meaning, as he invites readers to live deliberately and awaken to the wonders of existence. Experience the transformative power of nature and the enduring relevance of Thoreau's insights in this captivating audiobook that will inspire and uplift listeners of all ages. Please note: The audiobook narration was digitally synthesized, and the cover was made in collaboration with AI tools.

• Language: English
• Publisher: RetroSynth Classics
• Release date: May 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9781094473963

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) was an American author and naturalist. A leading figure of Transcendentalism, he is best remembered for Walden, an account of the two years he spent living in a cabin on the north shore of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, and for Civil Disobedience, an essay that greatly influenced the abolitionist movement and the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

Reviews for Walden

[farrhon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Astounding luminous profound

Also disingenuous (mom did his laundry) and bitchy haha

[spoko_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I vacillated as I read this. I was often engrossed in Thoreau's twin urges—to simplicity, and to presence in each moment within nature. But I was repelled by his twin delusions—that the poorer a person is, the happier he must be, and that Thoreau himself was aware of the One True Way to live. He spends an awful lot of time disparaging the common actions & manners of virtually every human being other than himself. And over & over again he valorizes poverty, in a way that makes one doubt he's ever actually experienced it.

But after all, those are mostly just faults in the author's voice, and they're more than outweighed by the moments of clarity and presence that suffuse the book. I remembered a lot of the quotes, of course—"In wildness is the preservation of the world", "If you have built castles in the air...", "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer", etc.—but to come across them again in context was to encounter them as new. There's a richness and texture to Thoreau's philosophy that's really quite gorgeous. I was glad to spend time there.

[chip1o1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It uses beautiful descriptions, but it really is just a glorified camping book.

[therebelprince · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Devastatingly wonderful. I had read parts of this at uni, of course, but never the whole work. I wouldn't recommend this for everyone, or perhaps many, but it is the heart of a movement which I hold very dear.

[thebooksofwrath · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Coincidently enough, a neck-bearded misanthrope is exactly the picture that comes to mind when I imagine how eccentric a man must be to inflict such a wacky self-flagellation upon himself as to slough himself off in a kettle hole within a stone's throw of civilization, for the haphazard purpose of a "spiritual awakening". I don't know, but it sounds to me like he might have been cultivating more than just beans.

[5points-802560 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Thousands of reviews have been written about "Walden" by the most famous member of theTranscendal Club in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
I used to take this tiny 4.5 x 3 inch Shambala edition on multi-day hiking trips ... Perfect!

[mykl8s · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A classic. One worth rereading, quoting, thinking about.

[autumnesf · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I must be the only person that found this boring - but I did.

[m.belljackson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Henry leads off pretty deeply against farmers, many of the pre-corporate ones who may well have been happy with their lives.

(Had to look up "Flying Childers.")

He moves on with intriguing ideas for students to build their own schools,
a plan which Booker T. Washington greatly expanded!

[santifarfa · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thoreau goes to live alone for just over two years in an austere house that he built himself in the woods, a few meters from Walden Pond. With beautiful descriptions, he immerses us in his adventure and his reflections. (Translated from Spanish)

[s_grace-106807 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book connects to my human experience immeasurably. If you grew up in a conservative Christian environment the book will perhaps lead to a born-again experience and a baptism and resurrection to new life apart form popular forms of American religion. Thoreau's relationship with the divine is beyond the piety of any Christian I've met and the his wisdom pours out everywhere, like a new Jesus preaching the kingdom of heaven to come on earth. A man of deep spiritual insight into the natural world of all sorts of animals, especially of human animals, Thoreau recounts the insights he learned while living in the woods for a short time and rejecting common social conventions. Spirituality here is connected to the earth from whence it was created. Nothing is free of criticism, especially not even the pro-next, anti-this, life Christian religion. If you like this book, you might want to get a hold of "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers" by the same author.

[rajivc_18 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There are books you realize you must read again, and this is one of them. "Walden" describes Henry David Thoreau's first year in the woods beside the Walden Pond.
He built his house in the woods and settled into a comfortable routine. During this time, he grew his own food, mingled with a few neighbors, and reflected on life and nature.
In this time and age, when we are obsessed with our gadgets and have little time for anything else, this book comes as a timely reminder that a simple life exists, and it is for us to find it.
The concluding chapter sums up everything neatly and is a brilliant summation of the book, and how we should conduct ourselves.
This is a book for our times, and not just the times he lived in,

[kevn57-163679 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this book and have read it many times, I don't believe that any other book I've read has had as much influence over me. I remember reading it for the first time and just feeling that I knew exactly that what Thoreau was saying was true. A real minimalist before his time, not just for his economy however he knew how to spend the time that he had gained, luckily he realized this early in life as he didn't have nearly enough time.

[booklove2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I had been meaning to read this for a few summers! Finally got around to it. I wanted nature, nature, nature. And yes, the most memorable stuff here is about nature: the ant war, the crafty loon, the upside down tree in the lake, the winged cat which is apparently a thing? Otherwise, I could do without the preachiness, and the above-it-all attitude he has towards other people... he was thirty when he wrote this, and it does seem that way. He needed some aging, maybe, but he did have some lovely things to say if you could ignore some of the other things he had to say. I love that he noticed the day is like a year, like I did a long time ago: spring/dawn, summer/noon, autumn/dusk, winter/night. YES. Also, with no mention of all those trees he burned down... which would have been interesting.

[paul_s-289480 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Mostly trite observations and nihilism dressed up as romanticism. Stealing nuts from squirrels is a novel experience but rather unilluminating to read about.

[lgcullens · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Here again, adding books as I remember them, I read this book as an early teen on a remote ranch in western Wyoming (early 1950s). Beyond the differences in community and geography, I remember reading this book several times, so I must have been interested in aspects of it. One part I vaguely remember is Thoreau trying to persuade a penniless farmhand to free himself of his employers and creditors by living a simple, independent life in the woods. Of course, with human population exponentially greater now, such isn't a viable alternative for most anymore.

A confluence of influences at the time was the more natural world culture of Shoshone friends.

Still a book worth reading.

[agos ponce · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thoreau is another one of those authors ahead of his time who already envisioned a society consumed by technology. What this book presents is simply accurate and flawless. It is an excellent critique of consumerism and our consumption of animals, interwoven with his sensitive admiration for nature. It is one of those books that MUST be read. (Translated from Spanish)

[obtusata · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Admittedly, I pretty much gave up on this after the first (very lengthy) chapter. I stopped focusing on it and eventually just skipped to the last chapter. It was an audiobook version, and I think part of the problem was the reader (slow, too many annoying and un-needed pauses, almost breathy - just bad to listen to). But, I've read about the book and the importance of the book many times, so I decided that I knew enough and that it was ok to call it quits.

[Luissandoz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A good book that will teach you to experience new things in your life. (Translated from Spanish)

[jigarpatel-6 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The first chapter, Economy, is mildly interesting and I enjoyed it in a haze of self-congratulatory glee. From then onwards, Thoreau's urge to preach via forced metaphors becomes increasingly tiresome. Half way through I gave up and skipped to Conclusion.

[canteraleandro · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The closest a person can get to describing the experience, the essence of things, our wild side, our Walden... because we all carry that same spark of the universe that Henry wanted to share with us. (Translated from Spanish)

[sweetiegherkin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Thoreau set aside all worldly things and spent time in a small self-made home along the large pond known as Walden. Here he wrote down his musings on the natural world and everything else after spending so much time in near solitude.

This book is a classic and one of the titles on the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list, so it was only a matter of time before I finally got around to it. I had been looking forward to it as well, and perhaps that was my downfall. Quickly I learned that this wasn't really the book for me. Thoreau does make some excellent points about living a simpler life and being more concerned about a person's character than their clothing (and other worldly trappings). However, he goes a great deal further than I think most of us would agree with -- for instance, he seems to think furniture and coffee are among the needless luxuries we all indulge in far too much. True, these aren't strictly necessities, but I don't think many of us really want to part with them unless we absolutely had to do so. In a similar vein, he sneers at the education provided by colleges and pretty much dismisses them as useless; while I agree that practical skills are needed as well, I don't think we need to get rid of education all together!

In fact, it was too difficult for me to not get frustrated by Thoreau's perceived superiority in doing this little experiment. He struck me as someone who would fit in perfectly today as the stereotypical hipster mansplaining why his lifestyle is the best and only way. Not everyone is able to just squat on another's land without getting shot by the police; not everyone is physically able to build their own home or live in relative isolation away from access to doctors among other things; and while Thoreau claims he could be left alone with just his thoughts forever (a point which I highly doubt or he would never have returned to society), there are few people who could get by without other human interaction. At one point, Thoreau essentially mocks the builders of the pyramids for being slaves who obeyed their masters rather than revolted -- as if things were as simply cut and dry as all that.

The audio version of the book I had was read by Mel Foster who did an adequate job -- nothing to write home about, but not bad either.

[nicocarrivale · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I will talk about Walden. Wonderful, fantastic. It magically describes the connection with the inner self, nature, beauty. Pure transcendentalism. (Translated from Spanish)

[MelOrionis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Walden is a vision of the American lifestyle expressed in a unique way. On the Duty... is a protest against government interference in individual freedoms, very interesting. (Translated from Spanish)

[Elmoro · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mandatory reading! A gem. (Translated from Spanish)

[angelillo1510 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

To be an essay written in the 19th century, when man did not depend so much on technology, it was already announcing something to us. The simplification of life and the admiration and respect for nature are concepts that today's dehumanization should rescue. It takes enormous sensitivity to narrate a battle between red and black ants (something unnoticed by most mortals) and turn it into an epic tale. (Translated from Spanish)

[lrquinn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Here's a timeless treasure to be revisited time and again. I always find something new in this book. It is very thought-provoking and inspirational.

[cal8769 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I am having a very hard time getting through this book. A lot of the text is very boring. I love finding an inspiration or uplifting quote but they are few and far between.. So many descriptions, so many judgments on his part. Thoreau comes across as a very independent, self sustaining person but it seemed to me that he had to rely on many people who were living their lives the 'mainstreamed' way. I agree with a lot of his views but not to the extreme as he talked. The trouble, IMHO, is that man can't live in moderation.
I'll keep plugging away at this book. Hopefully I can finish it.

[palaephata · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

For the purposes of this review, I want to review not Walden, but this particular edition (ed. by McKibben and published by Beacon in 2017), which I received through LibraryThing's "Early Reviewer" programme. The literary merits and influence of Thoreau more generally are already rather well acknowledged, hence (presumably) the reason this edition exists.

First, the book itself is very attractive. The typeface is pleasant, the paper is good quality, and the margins are not crowded. I did not read the full text of body of Walden again, but the chapters I re-read were physically easy to read. Though paperback, the cover is a nice creamy matte in a medium card stock weight, pleasant to touch and hold.

McKibben notes that there are three types of "annotations" in this volume: definitions and citations for Thoreau's language and literary allusions, and also McKibben's "own occasional passing comments." He explains that the first two types of annotations are largely taken from other, previous critical editions, and, indeed, I did not think these differed at all from any of the other texts of Walden I have read, including versions in anthologies (such as the Norton). McKibben's own reflections I will address later.

McKibben's introduction is reflective and not scholarly: he does not refer to any prevailing criticism of Thoreau, and instead previews the book by explaining his own experiences with the natural world and Thoreau, and trying to explain why Thoreau is still relevant to the modern reader. He makes a lot of claims about people who live today (c.p. "We've been suckled since birth on an endless elaboration of consumer fantasies, so that it is nearly hopeless for us to figure out what is our and what is the enchanter's suggestion," p.xviii). As the quotation I've just included will show, McKibben very much enjoys his figurative language and metaphors; both the bulk of the introduction and his own footnotes reflect similar stylistic choices. The introduction feels like a defense of reading Walden in today's world, but it did not illuminate my own understanding of Thoreau's text. Similarly, the "annotations" [really footnotes] of McKibben's own point out passages that he found interesting, and thoughts that he had while reading the book, but did not substantially illuminate the text or contribute to my enjoyment thereof. For instance, McKibben footnotes a reference to the locomotive by noting that "It is a sign of how much the times have changed that the railroad whistle now sounds like a quaint echo of the past--like the chorus of a country-western song" (109f). Not only do I not find this to be particularly true, but it does not actually benefit me as a reader, and there are many such annotations. They are not bad or wrong; they just did not really benefit me as a reader.

I am an English teacher, and have taught Walden to students in both secondary school and at college/university. At $10.95 retail, I think this edition offers good value for money: it is readable, nicely formatted, and has a number of useful footnotes in addition to the discursive ones. However, I expect that it would break down under repeated use (I would not encourage my former high school, which re-issues texts to students from year to year, to buy it), and it does not include the depth of criticism that I would want as a university teacher. There are many good scholarly editions available under $20. However, this would probably be a nice gift for a friend who was unacquainted with Thoreau and enjoyed reading and/or the outdoors, especially as the tone of McKibben's footnotes is very discursive, friendly, and almost like a conversation ("what did you think? I was just pondering how . . .")

In short, this isn't my favourite edition of Walden, but it has some very pleasant qualities.

[cheetosrapper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A classic work that still inspires. I shall enjoy reading this and passing it along to others.