Nature Book Reader June 2020 - Flipbook - Page 86
A Nature Book Reader
BEN MYRES
Man of letters whose works include ‘The Gallows Pole’ (2017), ‘Turning
Blue’ (2016), ‘Beastings’ (2014), ‘Pig Iron’ (2012) and ‘Richard’ (2010).
Walden; or Life In The Woods
by Henry David Thoreau
Forget Moby Dick,
Huckleberry Finn or The
Leaves Of Grass, Walden is
the single most important
book in early American
When he took to the woods
of Concord, Massachusetts in
1845 armed with little more
than an axe and a desire to
observe nature at the closest
of quarters Henry David
Thoreau can’t have imagined
the effect this “experiment in
simple living” would have
on the world. Walden Pond
was Thoreau’s muse, and in
its surroundings he found a
way of life and philosophy
that formed a blueprint for
living. Walden found Thoreau
seeking sanctuary in the
simple things – the things
we miss when our eyes and
ears are trained elsewhere:
nature’s soundtrack, the
changing face of his beloved
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pond and seasonal wildlife.
From his self-made cabin in
the woods, Thoreau explored
anarchism, civil disobedience
and transcendentalism via
the day-to-day tasks required
to existent in harmony with
ones surroundings. And in
observing that “I never found
the companion that was so
companionable as solitude”
he inspired generations of
hermits, conservationists,
hippies and free-thinkers the
world over.
Further Reading
The Shining Levels
by JohnWyatt
ThePoacher’s
Handbook
By Ian Niall
