Book Description
Henry David Thoreau was just a few days short of his twenty-eighth birthday when he built a cabin on the shore of Walden Pond and began one of the most famous experiments in living in American history. Originally he was not, apparently, intending to write a book about his life at the pond, but nine years later, in August of 1854, Houghton Mifflin's predecessor, Ticknor and Fields, published Walden; or, a Life in the Woods. At the time the book was largely ignored, and it took five years to sell out the first printing of two thousand copies. It was not until 1862, the year of Thoreau's death, that the book was brought back into print. Since then It has never been out of print. Published in hundreds of editions and translated into virtually every modern language, it has become one of the most widely read and influential books ever written, not only in this country but throughout the world. On the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the original publication of Walden, Houghton Mifflin is proud to present the most beautiful edition ever published of Thoreau's masterpiece. The price -- $28.12 -- is half a cent less than Thoreau himself spent to build his cabin in Walden Woods. This new edition features spectacular color photographs by Scot Miller that capture Walden as vividly as Thoreau's words do. The book is being published in association with the Walden Woods Project, which is dedicated to preserving the lands Thoreau wrote about. For each copy sold, Houghton Mifflin and Scot Miller are making a donation to the Walden Woods Project.
Customer Reviews:
SUMPTUOUS SIGHTS & TIMELESS TRANSCENDENTAL TEXT.......2007-01-15
* "I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion . . . I have thus a tight shingled and plastered house, ten feet wide by fifteen long . . . A lady once offered me a mat, but as I had no room to spare within the house, nor time to spare within or without to shake it, I declined it, preferring to wipe my feet on the sod before my door. It is best to avoid the beginnings of evil."
~ Henry David Thoreau; "Walden"
* "Walden has become as much a state of mind as it is a place."
~ Scot Miller; "Walden - 150th Anniversary Illustrated Edition"
For my birthday in 1984, my dear friend, Marty ("rhymes with party"), gave me the 1981 Avenel books hardcover edition of WORKS OF HENRY DAVID THOREAU. This compilation contained all of the famous transcendentalist's most significant writings and the thirty intriguing Herbert Wendall Gleason, black and white photographs that graced the 1906 publication of Thoreau's complete works.
My dear friend died in an auto accident five years later, but part of his legacy is the passion for Thoreau's philosophy that his gift awakened in me, and that book which occupies a prestigious place in one of my bookcases right between my Holy Bible and my 1st edition copy of Mark Twain's 1872, Roughing It. And my book, though yellowed now, looks pretty good for a volume 23 years without a dust jacket (I nearly always trash the things immediately), and for having been completely read twice, and thumbed through hundreds of times!
A couple of years ago, GFM (Good Friend Melanie) gave me a softcover copy of WALDEN AND OTHER WRITINGS, and I was glad to have it as it contained a couple of essays and excerpts I'd not previously read, and it provided me with a copy of Thoreau's best that I could loan out to others.
Therefore, when my friend, Pooh, and I flew into Philadelphia in late August 2005, to visit the birthplace of our nation, and then to drive north to visit Walden Pond and environs, I did not consider purchasing a copy of this 150th ANNIVERSARY ILLUSTRATED EDITION of WALDEN for myself while in Thoreau's hometown. I already had two copies of this true classic and couldn't see buying a third despite the stunning pictures included in this publication. I did, however, bring home a copy as a gift for GFM. (The woman in the bookstore in downtown Concord, Massachusetts, pointed out to me that the original publishing price - printed on the inside flap of the dust jacket - was $28.12, half a cent less than Thoreau tells us it cost him to build his little house at Walden's shore in 1845. (He officially moved into his homemade home on the appropriate date of July 4th, and an American classic was born!)
One day, shortly after returning from my memorable trip, I borrowed from GFM the copy I had given her, so I could gaze upon the nearly 100 SCOT MILLER photographs once again. And I was so awed by the indescribably gorgeous and practically breathtaking pictures of the Walden area and its flora and fauna, that I realized I needed to own this book like Thoreau needed solitude. And that's how I came by Thoreau's WALDEN for a THIRD time! While Marty's gift reigns for sentimental reasons, the 150th Anniversary Illustrated Edition is tops in exquisite beauty - a lovelier and more profound coffee table book is simply unimaginable; a richer gift for a valued friend couldn't be purchased at ANY price! This edition is simply a divine marriage of Thoreau's insight into the nature of Man and his place in nature, and Scot Miller's illustrations of the natural world wherein Thoreau made those treasured observations over a century and a half ago. Hey, I even left the dust jacket on this book despite the fact that the jacket's photograph is also reprinted on page 2, and it barely even hints at the wonders inside.
In Thoreau's WALDEN, the naturalist makes the following observation in the chapter titled, "Sounds": "I had this advantage, at least, in my mode of life, over those who were obliged to look abroad for amusement, to society and the theatre, that my life itself was become my amusement and never ceased to be novel. It was a drama of many scenes and without an end." And Scot Miller has brilliantly captured with his camera the splendor of that "drama of many scenes" at Thoreau's old stamping ground.
I'm not knowledgeable in the techniques of photography, so I can't explain to you HOW Miller was able to make photographs like these (it seems obvious to me, however, that he must employ an array of various filters and such). All that I CAN tell you is that words can't describe the virtual explosion of colors (like nature vibrantly celebrating that 1845 4th of July within Herself) and the uncommon degree of visible detail (staring at those rocks and leaves in "Still Life Under Ice", I can almost feel the bone-numbing cold that any one of those stones would penetrate my hand with). "Magical Fairyland Pond" is the perfect caption for that dreamlike picture of Walden's sister pond. I can almost hear a lonely dog barking from across the glittering snow while hidden deep in the distant, wooded shore, when I'm lost in the "Sunrise On Frozen Walden Pond." I'm not even going to attempt to describe the "Nature's Palette, Heywood's Meadow" photograph on page 32. Suffice to say that God is "The" Master Painter. Incredible! (And Scot Miller, you're a wonder, too!)
This five-star beauty of a book represents the pinnacle of the publisher's art, and it includes a shot of the exact site of Thoreau's 1845 cabin (previously obscured by a cairn), and Henry's simple tombstone, which I visited at the Author's Ridge section of the Concord cemetary where our hero's physical body gradually became a part of the nature that his spirit loved so much.
Revisiting Walden.......2006-07-09
On a family vacation many years ago, I visited Walden Pond and walked all around it. In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Thoreau's Walden, the Walden Woods Project published, in 2004, this illustrated edition of the work with stunning color photographs by Scott Miller of Walden Pond and its environs. The Walden Woods Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of Walden Pond and to the legacy of Thoreau. I found this book a fitting memorial of my walk around Walden Pond and of my earlier readings of Walden. The lovely edition, photographs, and memories inspired me to turn again to Thoreau's book.
Henry David Thoreau (1817 -- 1862) lived at Walden Pond, Masachusetts from July, 1845 -- September, 1847, in a cabin he built himself on a tract of land owned by his friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson. He was two miles from Concord, Massachusetts and one mile from his nearest neighbor. A railroad passed near the pond, and it was frequented regularly by farmers, hunters, picnickers, and others. During the two years, Thoreau left Walden Pond at times to visit friends in Concord, to lecture, and to visit other ponds and sites in the area. He made no pretense of being entirely isolated. In his book, Walden, published in 1854, Thoreau described the first year of his life at Walden Pond (he tells us that the second year was much the same) and his reasons for living there. Much of the book was written at Walden Pond, and Throreau also wrote other works there.
The book is short but it is written in a dense, difficult and condensed style with many long, complex sentences. It is also highly allusive and shows Thoreau's learning in classical literature and his interest in Eastern thought and religion. It is filled with many short, pithy, and provocative comments which have become proverbial in American literature.
In the opening and closing chapters of the book, Thoreau describes his motivations for living at Walden Pond and abandoning the life of commerce. For Thoreau, most people are owned by their possessions. He saw a need to live with little encubrance in order to understand himself and find inner peace. "Simplify, simplify, simplify" was his goal. In one of my favorite sentences of the book, he states (p. 67) "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." Then, towards the end of the book, Thoreau recounts some of the lessons he had learned in the following passage:
"We should be blessed if we lived in the present always, and took advantage of every accident that befell us, like the grass which confesses the influence of the slightest dew that falls on it, and did not spend our time in atoning for the neglect of past opportunities, which we call doing our duty. We loiter in winter while it is already spring."(p/253)
In the middle sections of the book, Throreau describes his life in the woods, again with recognition of his substantial interactions with other people during the time. (He was not a hermit.) He describes the books he read, his activites at his cabin, Walden Pond and woods, the changes of the seasons, and the plants and animals. The pond and its creatures are described with great detail, but Thoreau gives even more attention to internalizing his experiences and explaining their significance to his readers.
Scott Miller's beatiful photographs of Walden Pond add a great deal to this edition. They are well-placed to correspond with the discussion in the text, and they illuminate Thoreau's descriptive passages. The photographs, and the book itself, brought back reading and visiting memories and made me want to see Walden Pond again.
But much as Walden is revered for its descriptions of nature, the book remains for me primarily internalized and intropsective. Thoreau has many polemical things to say which will not, and should not, appeal to all readers. But the book documents the effort of an individual to try to understand his life, to reflect, and to understand change. As I have suggested, it is not an anti-social book as Thoreau was never far removed from friends and company. But it is a book about understanding one's life and learning not to be afraid of solitude or of being with oneself.
Robin Friedman
Walden: 150th Anniversary Illustrated Edition of the American Classic.......2005-08-15
I recently sent this to my daughter because during a phone converstation, I thought she sounded depressed, so I didn't actually see the book myself, but she called me to tell my how much she loved it. I could hear it in her voice as she decribed it to me. She said a friend was at the house when it was delivered and while looking at one picture, in a quiet voice, her friend said "I want to go there".
Self Help At Its Best.......2004-09-26
This is one of the most influential books in American history. I picked it up for the first time in thirty years only to realize that Throreau's philosophy had long ago permeated my being. I remember being blown away by my first reading more than half a century ago, but with each immersion new depths are achieved.
Thoreau sought both authenticity and simplicity in his life. He never abandoned Concord and the real world but merely sought refuge at Walden to plumb the depths of his being. Serious introspection and brilliant writing show each of us the the way to our own core. Can we stand the examination? That is for each of us to determine.
The Transcendentalists may never have been able to define their philosphy, but what remains of it more than a century after the movement's passing can be summed up in Thoreau's always upbeat outlook of "...if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet success unexpected in common hours."
One cannot read Walden without gaining confidence in one's ability to change direction in life and optimism about the future. We do not have to live lives of conformity and quiet desparation. "In the long run men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, though they should fail immediately, they had better aim at something high."
There has never been a book that better expresses American optimism, and there is no reason for us to lose confidence now. Simplify and be as close to authentic as you can be and all will turn out well. Oh, and while you're at it question authority.
If there could be a six star book, this would be my candidate.
A Great American Spiritual Genius.......2004-09-09
Reading "Walden" changed my life forever. Thoreau is perhaps the greatest American spiritual genius ever. This book inspired me to write my first book, which took five years--that is how deeply inspired I was by "Walden". So many of today's spiritual gurus are lightweights compared to Thoreau. He offers up a highly original take on the spiritual wisdom of the ages, not the mind candy you often find in today's books. While I found it a challenging read, it was worth it. If you are in the market for a spiritual paradigm shift, read "Walden"--and re-read it if you first read it under the age of 25. The pictures only make this spiritual classic better.
Book Description
Perhaps no other natural setting has as much literary, spiritual, and environmental significance for Americans as Walden Pond. Some 700,000 people visit the pond annually, and countless others journey to Walden in their mind, to contemplate the man who lived there and what the place means to us today. Here is the first history of the Massachusetts pond Thoreau made famous 150 years ago. W. Barksdale Maynard offers a lively and comprehensive account of Walden Pond from the early nineteenth century to the present. From Thoreau's first visit at age 4 in 1821--"That woodland vision for a long time made the drapery of my dreams"--to present day efforts both to conserve the pond and allow public access, Maynard captures Walden Pond's history and the role it has played in social, cultural, literary, and environmental movements in America. Along the way Maynard details the geography of the pond; Thoreau's and Emerson's experiences of Walden over their lifetimes; the development of the cult of Thoreau and the growth of the pond as a site of literary and spiritual pilgrimages; rock star Don Henley's Walden Woods Project and the much publicized battle to protect the pond from developers in the 1980s; and the vitally important ecological symbol Walden Pond has become today. Exhaustively researched, vividly written, and illustrated with historical photographs and the most detailed maps of Thoreau country yet created, Walden Pond: A History reveals the many ways an ordinary pond has come to be such an extraordinarily inspiring symbol.
Customer Reviews:
A lively account of the pond from early to modern times.......2004-09-09
Some 700,000 people visit Walden Pond annually and others journey to Walden mentally in contemplating of the region Henry David Thoreau made famous. It's surprising, therefore, to note that this is the first history of Walden Pond to appear in over 150 years, providing a lively account of the pond from early to modern times. W. Barksdale Maynard teaches architectural history at Johns Hopkins University and one might anticipate from this a dry perspective: not so. Walden Pond captures the social, political and conservation issues revolving around Waden over the decades.
A fascinating history of Walden Pond.......2004-02-15
For years to come, historians and literary scholars will know this book as the definitive history of Walden Pond. But it's also a delightful read. Combining impeccable scholarship with skillful writing, Maynard brings Walden Pond's storied history to life, from Thoreau's first visit as a little boy to today's preservation battles. "Walden Pond: A History" is a brilliant book.
AN AMAZING BOOK.......2004-02-07
Walden Pond: A History has received positive reviews during its first month of release. Kirkus gave it a coveted ?star.? Also, the ecologist Ed Schofield has written the following five-star review on a national bookstore website: ?AN AMAZING BOOK. I know a good deal about Walden Pond and Walden Woods as a result of many years of personal research. I never thought that anyone would be able to bring together, between the covers of one book, the astonishing amount of information Barksdale Maynard has compiled and integrated in this scrupulously researched and well written book. He has brought together facts from all sorts of sources: newspapers and magazines, books, unpublished letters and diaries, eyewitness interviews, videos, radio broadcasts, maps, and so forth. There are fifty pages of endnotes and bibliography - over 500 of each. I am in awe at what he has been able to do. (Wish I could have done it!) Anyone interested in historic preservation, nature conservation, human nature, grassroots activism, literature, or (most important) Thoreau and Walden itself will enjoy this book. It has lots of information, yet it reads easily and has a good ?story line?: how and why Walden has become the symbol it is and what people have done to protect it. The hero of heroes is Don Henley of The Eagles. There are lots of other people - heroes, villains, oddballs, famous people (Emerson, the Alcotts, John Muir, Walt Whitman, the Kennedys, the Clintons, and many others). I recommend the book highly.?
Should be titled "THE "History of Walden Pond.......2004-01-27
This is a book that has been over 200 years in the making.
Maynard has done a fabulous job of combining history,environmentalism, science, popular culture and "gossipy stories" in order to paint a highly interesting and balanced history of Walden Pond, before, during and after Henry Thoreau's famous sojourn there.
Thoreauvians will find lots to admire in this book. Maynard has obviously done his research on Thoreau and his times.In particular I was amused by the amazement of some Concordians,in Thoreau's time and after, who just couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about over the so-called hermit of Walden Pond. But more importantly, the book looks above and beyond Thoreau's realationship to the Pond and Maynard goes into exquisite detail about life at Walden after 1847. If dedicted Thoreauvians abhor the so-called commercialism of the place now, be thankful it's not the 1930's, when all vestiges of Walden as a "sacred" spot were practically destoyed. Maynard does well to explain the ups and downs that the Pond has been through the last 150 years.
In particular I was pleased to see the way the author treated Thoreau's contemporaries, particularly Bronson Alcott. All of the Transcendentalists had a special fondness for Walden and their love of the place-and the love that millions have shared over the last 150 years- really comes out. It is obvious that Maynard loves Walden as well.
And, he also does a good job of explaining the many fights to preserve Walden, and the in-fighting and back-stabbing that has, unfortunately, been as much a part of Walden's history as the Transcendentalists. But Maynard's reporting is fair and balanced and he doesn't seem to take sides. Still, I'm sure he will have stepped on somebody's toes with this book!
If anyone is interested in American History,Conservation, Henry Thoreau or just an interesting piece of Americana, "Walden Pond; A Hsitory" is a must read!
excellent history.......2004-01-25
Walden Pond by W. Barksdale Maynard is an excellent history, thoroughly researched and written in the best prose style.
Book Description
Stunning illustrations distinguish this lively fictional portrait of Henry David Thoreau, a man whose simple yet extraordinary vision made history — and reminded us that "heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads."
Everyone in the bustling town of Concord loves buying grand new things and stylish clothes. Everyone, that is, except Henry David Thoreau. He would rather sit on a pumpkin than a velvet couch. He likes his old breeches patched and his shirts worn and soft. Henry even prefers fresh air and the song of whippoorwills to the hazy breath of smokestacks and the thunder of wagons. But when Henry builds himself a cabin — "not one inch bigger than I need" — near Walden Pond and speaks out against a ghastly plan to destroy his beloved Walden Woods, the town brands him a trouble-some rooster. Can Henry prove once and for all that nature is worth more than sooty factories and fancy parasols? An afterword provides historical details and context.
Customer Reviews:
The Trouble with Henry.......2007-02-10
Wonderful book, my adult friends loved it as much as the children. Thoreau was cool 150 years ago and knew then what ignorant people like GW Bush will never know. This book should be read by everyone!!!
THE TROUBLE WITH HENRY.......2006-01-10
"The Trouble with Henry" provides children with an accessible classic story expressing the trials and tribulations of individuality and fostering sensitivity to the environment.
Lively and Thought-provoking.......2005-11-17
What a refreshing story! My daughter and I loved it. From the beginning to the end, children (and adults alike) will be caught up in the wonderful imagery created and clever "sounding" words chosen by its author. By celebrating the spirit of the individual and appreciating the simplicity and beauty of nature, children are introduced to Thoreau in a delightful and marvelously illustrated way. The Trouble with Henry is bound to be a favorite, especially among younger readers.
Wonderful book.......2005-11-09
Not only are the illustrations beautiful, the story is also beautiful. A gentle lesson on loving and respecting nature, and the power of what one person can do. A wonderful, relaxing read for both adults and children.
A Delightful Read!.......2005-11-09
As the mother of an inquisitive small child, I love books based in history (fiction or nonfiction) that have a clear moral lesson. The Trouble With Henry provides both, in an interesting and captivating story with purpose. My daughter was enthralled-she wants to read it over & over. Delightful-I highly recommend it!
Book Description
Paul Lauter, an icon of American Studies who has been a primary agent in its transformation and its chief ambassador abroad, offers a wide-ranging collection of essays that demonstrate and reflect on this important and often highly politicized discipline. While American Studies was formerly seen as a wholly subsidiary academic program that loosely combined the study of American history, literature, and art, From Walden Pond to Jurassic Park reveals the evolution of an independent, highly interdisciplinary program with distinctive subjects, methods, and goals that are much different than the traditional academic departments that nurtured it.
With anecdote peppered discussions ranging from specific literary texts and movies to the future of higher education and the efficacy of unions, From Walden Pond to Jurassic Park entertains even as it offers a twenty-first century account of how and why Americanists at home and abroad now do what they do. Drawing on his forty-five years of teaching and research as well as his experience as a political activist and a cultural radical, Lauter shows how a multifaceted increase in the United States’ global dominion has infused a particular political urgency into American Studies. With its military and economic influence, its cultural and linguistic reach, the United States is—for better or for worse—too formidable and potent not to be understood clearly and critically.
Average customer rating:
|
New England ice trade
Malcolm M Ferguson
Manufacturer: Jason H. Korell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
 Massachusetts
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B00072Y30Y |
Book Description
To be the best on the rink, skaters must spend endless hours strengthening and conditioning their bodies off the ice to build strength for the rigors of their performances. Illustrative and technical, yet user-friendly, Conditioning for Figure Skating provides detailed coverage of the physical preparation necessary for Preliminary through Senior-Elite skaters while concentrating on all disciplines of figure skating, including singles, pairs, and ice dance. More than 300 photos illustrate proper warm-up drills, flexibility stretches, cooldown routines, strength training exercises, jump and plyometric training programs, and endurance conditioning exercises for on-ice injury prevention. A periodization plan also helps skaters maximize their training potential.
Customer Reviews:
Great Information.......2007-06-11
A wealth of information that is hard to find elsewhere. After reading from cover to cover, I handed it over to my daughters coach and together we developed an off ice training regimen that suits her skill level and reflects her goals. Definite improvement in sucessful jumps completed noticed right away.
I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is serious about ice skating.
Great book for skaters of all levels and age.......2006-02-15
I highly recommend this book. It details off-ice conditioning programs for singles, pairs, or dance and skaters of all ages and skill levels. Strength training, effective warm-up and cool down, plyometric, and other off-ice conditioning programs are detailed, as well as effectively improving your muscular and cardiovascular conditioning on ice. The only negative to this book is the photos and text explaining some of the moves - they could be a bit more descriptive.
A great book from a very qualified author. These programs will yield great results on the ice if you put the time and effort in to conditioning.
Must have books for competitive skaters in differnt levels.......2006-02-03
This is a wonderful book that provides both in-depth analysis of why off ice training is critical to a successful skater and step by step off ice strength and conditioning manual. It totally changed my view of ice skating. It helps my daughter to train smarter. Highly recommend.
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