Emerson

The Mind on Fire

By: Robert D. Richardson

Narrated by: Michael McConnohie

Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of the most important figures in the history of American thought, religion, and literature. The vitality of his writings and the unsettling power of his example continue to influence us more than a hundred years after his death. Now Robert D. Richardson Jr. brings to life an Emerson very different from the old stereotype of the passionless Sage of Concord. Drawing on a vast amount of new material, including correspondence among the Emerson brothers, Richardson gives us a rewarding intellectual biography that is also a portrait of the whole man.

These chapters present a young suitor, a grief-stricken widower, an affectionate father, and a man with an abiding genius for friendship.

The great spokesman for individualism and self-reliance turns out to have been a good neighbor, an activist citizen, a loyal brother. Here is an Emerson who knew how to laugh, who was self-doubting as well as self-reliant, and who became the greatest intellectual adventurer of his age.

Richardson has, as much as possible, let Emerson speak for himself through his published works, his many journals and notebooks, his letters, his reported conversations. This is not merely a study of Emerson's writing and his influence on others; it is Emerson's life as he experienced it. We see the failed minister, the struggling writer, the political reformer, the poetic liberator.

The Emerson of this book not only influenced Thoreau, Fuller, Whitman, Dickinson, and Frost, he also inspired Nietzsche, William James, Baudelaire, Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, and Jorge Luis Borges. Emerson's timeliness is persistent and striking: his insistence that literature and science are not separate cultures, his emphasis on the worth of every individual, his respect for nature.

Richardson gives careful attention to the enormous range of Emerson's readings - from Persian poets to George Sand - and to his many friendships and personal encounters - from Mary Moody Emerson to the Cherokee chiefs in Boston - evoking both the man and the times in which he lived. Throughout this book, Emerson's unquenchable vitality reaches across the decades, and his hold on us endures.

©1995 Robert D. Richardson, Jr. (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

All I was looking for and more

Any additional comments?

I really wanted to learn 'why do I know this name'. Sure I knew he was a famous writer, but sadly I knew nothing else. This was completely engaging! 26 hours and I have listened twice through already. Excellent work by the author and narrator.

Great Book

This is an excellent biography of a great man. The author does a good job showing the development of Emersons thoughts.

The sage of Concord

Richardson says he wrote an intellectual biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) but had to include the normal biography information so the reader would have context to the events. Richardson has, as much as possible, let Emerson speak for himself through his published works, his journals and note books, his letters and reported conversations. The author not only covers Emerson’s writings and his influence on others but his life as he experienced it. Richardson gives careful attention to the enormous range of Emerson’s readings and to his friendships. Richardson goes into Emerson’s founding of the Transcendentalist Club.

The author points out the wide range of people that Emerson influenced such as, Thoreau, Alcott, Dickerson, Fuller, Whitman, and Frost. He also inspired Nietzsche, William James, Baudelaire, Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf and Jorge Luis Borges.

Richardson did meticulous research for the book. The book is more or less easy to read but I felt there were too many repetitions and diversions that were unnecessary to the main point of the biography. I did enjoy learning more about Emerson. The book was 27 hours long and Michael McConnohie narrated the book.

The reader’s voice was so easy to listen too and follow. I will listen to this book again.

One year ago 2024 I was home in the Boston area, and visited Emerson’s home in Concord, MA. I had heard much about him from my mother and wanted to learn more. This book plus several others I have purchased are providing wonderful accounts of this fascinating man. I’ve already read biographies of Alcott, and Margaret Fuller. All accounts are inspiring. The historical accounts of the times in which they lived, and how they influenced the thought of not only New Englanders, but so many others is so fascinating to me. Thank you for providing this wonderful resource.

well worth the time

I had a copy of Richardson's book in my hand and listened to the recording. It was a pleasure to experience the admirable piece of scholarship with the aid of McConnohe's clear, effective reading.