Walden (The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau)

Thoreaus Walden ostensibly a simple account of a year spent alone in a cabin by a pond in the woods is one of the most influential and complex books in American literature. After eight years in the writing the first edition of 1854 was largely ignored and it was not reprinted until 1862 the year of Thoreaus death. But by 1900 Walden was acclaimed by many as a classic among the finest prose works of the century. It has been increasingly recognized as an important document of social criticism and dissent. It has been seen as a religious testament with a kinship to oriental mysticism. It has been described as a mythic book and it has been used as a Freudian key to the mind of its iconoclastic author. Thoreaus words have become increasingly significant in modern times. Anticipating the evils of modern society and the problems of modern man Waldens meanings seem more relevant every day.