Friday, June 20, 2014

The Adventures of Henry Thoreau by Michael Sims


We bookish sorts can't always stop at having one edition of a certain book, so it might not surprise you to know that I have two copies of Henry David Thoreau's Walden

One copy is a Modern Library edition (1937) that contains not only Walden, but Thoreau's Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, Walking, and Civil Disobedience. 

The other volume contains only Walden and I bought it simply because I liked the cover with its autumn leaves and examples of early penmanship:




Even though these two editions sit on my shelves, I have yet to read Thoreau's account of his two years, two months, and two days spent in a tiny cabin on the banks of Walden Pond.

But, as August 9th of this year will mark the 160th anniversary of the publication of this classic, it seems a fitting time to finally hunker down and find out just what went on during those years in the woods.

In preparation for this occasion, I just finished reading Michael Sims's biography of this strange and brilliant fellow in The Adventures of Henry Thoreau (2014). The book looks at Thoreau's life growing up in Concord, Massachusetts, his wanderings in the forests and fields and his excursions on the waterways in the area, and his fascination with the tales of the native Americans who once hunted and lived on the very land that he now walked. I learned about his friendships with Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and other literary movers and shakers of the time. And, I found out that the first word in his first journal was Solitude. 

Although Thoreau graduated from Harvard and taught school for a while he never really could settle down to a steady profession. He helped his father in the family pencil manufacturing business, did some tutoring, and took on a few odd jobs. Over the years, he became an abolitionist, spent a night in jail for refusing, on principle, to pay a state tax, wrote bad poetry, and kept on writing in his journals. 

By the time Thoreau died of tuberculosis at the age of forty-four, Mr. Sims writes, "he had written two million words in this private storehouse, filling seven thousand pages in forty-seven volumes between October 1837 and November 1861."

The tale presented here is based on information gathered from letters and diaries of Thoreau's family and friends and the author has put together an informed look at the young man's searching for self and solitude. Mr. Sims has an intriguing way of bringing the reader into the time and place of Thoreau's world with historical details, sights, and sounds of that era. Reading this biography has certainly introduced me to this quirky fellow journal keeper.

And although I am certainly not off to build a cabin in the woods, I will open to the first pages of Walden and pretend. Care to join me?

10 comments:

  1. I have read Walden, many years ago, but I think I would appreciate it more now. My husband and I visited the site of Thoreau's cabin during our New England trip in October, and it was possibly my favorite place on the whole trip. I wrote briefly about it and posted pictures here: http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2013/11/the-travel-effect.html

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    1. HI, Kathy. I just looked at your photos again of Walden Pond. I remember thinking when you first posted about your trip what a wonderful time you all must have had! I once rode past WP (I was at the mercy of someone else's plans at the time) so I will have to be content for now with your lovely pictures. Thank you.

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  2. I just might do that, Belle; join you in reading Walden. I have read bits and pieces of Walden, quoted from Thoreau, and even wandered the pathways of Walden Pond, but have not read the missive from cover to cover, though it sits patiently on a shelf.

    I have a beautifully illustrated "Men of Concord", writings taken from the Walden journal, edited by F.H. Allen. The illustrations are N. C. Wyeth's and it is treasure I snatched up several years ago for a pittance. "Thoreau's World . . . " is another compilation, edited by Charles R. Anderson, and then there is his essay "Walking" in a beautiful volume put out by The Nature Company, which sits on an easel on one of my shelves. I won't promise to read it in its entirety, but, I will to dig deeper. Thank you for the invitation to come along to Walden.

    Tom and I spent a glorious October day on Walden Pond a few year's ago. We brought a picnic lunch and ate on the shore, then wandered the paths, seeing the site of the cabin. I would not want to spend a year in one, either, but, I could understand the beauty and simplicity of such a magnificent place in nature.

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    1. Hi, Penny. Like you, I have read bits and pieces of "Walden" but never made the commitment to read it 'deliberately'.

      Your library of Thoreau books causes me to swoon. I will be on the lookout now when I go scavenging at used book stores/sales.

      Your picnic by the pond sounds glorious. What a happy memory for you. Thanks for sharing the experience.

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  3. I hope you enjoy Walden. It's one of my favorites; I love Henry David Thoreau and his quiet thoughtful gems. I practically filled a notebook once with quotes just from Walden. Happy Reading!

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    1. Hi, Lark. I have read parts of 'Walden' but now am committed to reading it all. I hope you still have your notebook of quotes! I never can make myself stop reading long enough to write down anything from a book that I find notable. I always think I will remember its place and go back, but rarely ever do. Thanks for chiming in.

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  4. I have read Walden a couple of times. If it seems to start slowly, stay with it to get the whole picture of Thoreau's life there.

    He could certainly turn a phrase and you will recognize dozens that are often quoted, so he has become a secular saint. Thoreau is not without his shortcomings, however. Pay attention to what he says about earning a living -- both as it applies to himself and to the requirements of others. I was dismayed by his dismissal of cooperation versus individualism. He doesn't approve of obligations or of industry, yet to build his cabin he borrows an axe. Who made the axe and who entrusted him with it?

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    1. Thanks for your comments, SS. I do believe I have started "Walden" many times but have never persevered. I am familiar with so many of the quotes that I somehow feel in my mind that I have entirely read the book. I will have to study this one rather than race through it.

      Fair point about the axe! He was quite peculiar.

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  5. Belle, I would love to join you! If I could just find my copy... What a great anniversary! I LOVE LOVE LOVED Walden when I was a teenager. Oddly, I have a couple of middle-aged friends who are angered by Thoreau's philosophy. I personally loved his ideas, though I hate camping and will not be moving to Walden Pond soon.:)

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    1. Yes, Kat, my idea of camping is a nice, air-conditioned B&B with a view of the woods! Before I begin "Walden" I decided to read Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods" which is his account of hiking parts of the Appalachian Trail. He is a hoot. He takes a kindly dig at Thoreau's liking of 'civilized' nature.

      Find your copy of 'W' and we can compare notes.

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