First published in 1854, Henry David Thoreau's groundbreaking book has influenced generations of readers and continues to inspire and inform anyone with an open mind, a love of nature, and a longing for simplicity and contemplation. This beautiful edition of Walden, published in honour of the bicentennial of Thoreau's birth in 2017, is more accessible and relevant than ever in an age of technological change and ecological crisis.
This edition of Walden features an introduction and annotations by renowned environmentalist Bill McKibben. This annotated edition was originally published in 1998, and Bill McKibben provides a newly revised introduction for the 2017 edition, and helpful annotations that place Thoreau firmly in his role as cultural and spiritual seer.
"We need to understand that when Thoreau sat in the dooryard of his cabin 'from sunrise till noon, rapt in a revery, in undisturbed solitude and stillness, while the birds sang around or flitted noiseless through the house,' he was offering counsel and example exactly suited for our perilous moment in time."
– Bill McKibben, from the introduction
Introduction by Bill McKibben
WALDEN
- Economy
- Where I Lived, and What I Lived For
- Reading
- Sounds
- Solitude
- Visitors
- The Bean-Field
- The Village
- The Ponds
- Baker Farm
- Higher Laws
- Brute Neighbors
- House-Warming
- Former Inhabitants; and Winter Visitors
- Winter Animals
- The Pond in Winter
- Spring
- Conclusion
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was a writer, philosopher, and naturalist. Walden is considered his masterpiece.
Bill McKibben has written a dozen books about the environment, including The End of Nature and Oil and Honey. Founder of the grassroots climate campaign 350.org, he is a scholar in residence at Middlebury College.
"Bill McKibben gives us Thoreau's Walden as the gospel of the present moment"
– Robert D. Richardson, Jr., author of Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind
"A stunning new edition [with an] illuminating introduction [...] McKibben's voice melds with, but never overtakes, that of Thoreau."
– The Oregonian
"McKibben provides the most Thoreauvian introduction to Thoreau's classic that I have ever seen."
– Lawrence Buell, author of Emerson and Writing for an Endangered World