Where I Lived and What I Lived For

Henry David Thoreau (1817-62) was born in Concord Massachusetts and educated at Harvard. He became a follower and a friend of Emerson and described himself as a mystic and a transcendentalist. Although he published only two books in his lifetime Walden (from which this book is taken) is regarded as a literary masterpeice and one of the most significant books of the 19th century. <p>Throughout history some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate dissent war and revolution. They have enlightened outraged provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers pioneers radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.<br><br>Thoreau's account of his solitary and self-sufficient home in the New England woods remains an inspiration to the environmental movement - a call to his fellow men to abandon their striving materialistic existences of 'quiet desperation' for a simple life within their means finding spiritual truth through awareness of the sheer beauty of their surroundings.</p> <p>Throughout history some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate dissent war and revolution. They have enlightened outraged provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers pioneers radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.<br><br>Thoreau's account of his solitary and self-sufficient home in the New England woods remains an inspiration to the environmental movement - a call to his fellow men to abandon their striving materialistic existences of 'quiet desperation' for a simple life within their means finding spiritual truth through awareness of the sheer beauty of their surroundings.</p>