Ralph Waldo Emerson

<p> In his 1837 speech The American Scholar Ralph Waldo Emerson noted life is our dictionary encapsulating a body of work that reached well beyond the American 19th century. This comprehensive study explores Emerson as a preacher poet philosopher lecturer essayist and editor. There are nearly 100 entries on individual texts and their personal historical and literary contexts. Emerson's work is placed within his relationships with family members fellow Transcendentalists and transatlantic friends and his commitment to ethics self-culture and social change. </p><p> This book provides the fullest possible exploration of Emerson's writing and philosophy. Far ahead of his own time the man enthusiastically questioned institutions communities friendships history individuality and contemporaneous approaches to environmental stewardship.</p>