Walden
Categories: Biographies & Memoirs
In 1845, Henry David Thoreau moved into a small cabin he had built by Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts. He wanted to live simply, close to nature and away from the distractions of society, and he stayed for just over two years. Walden, first published in 1854, is his account of that experiment. Mixing close observation of the woods and the pond with sharp reflections on work, money, and how to live deliberately, it remains a classic celebration of simplicity and self-reliance.
Recommended by 6 people
- Michael Pollan
- Emma Watson
- Jared Diamond: “The other book is Thoreau’s “Walden,” which I read once when I was young, and which was the single book that has most influenced me. ... Reading Thoreau felt like standing in dazzlingly bright light.”
- Ryan Holiday
- Shane Parrish: “Rarely out of print since its first publication in 1854, Walden has been called one of the most influential philosophical works in all American literature. Despite that, it remains largely unread — by myself included. The book is a reflection on simplicity.”
- Natalie Portman