Thoreau: Walden / Civil Disobedience

By: Henry David Thoreau

Narrated by: Rupert Degas

In 1845 Henry David Thoreau, one of the principal New England Transcendentalists, left the small town of Concord for the country. Beside the lake of Walden he built himself a log cabin and returned to nature, to observe and reflect – while surviving on eight dollars a year.

From this experience emerged Walden, one of the great classics of American literature, and a deeply personal reaction against the commercialism and materialism that Thoreau saw as the main impulses of mid-19th-century America. Here also is Civil Disobedience, Thoreau’s essay on just resistance to government, which not only challenged the establishment of his day but has been used as a flag for later campaigners from Mahatma Ghandi to Dr Martin Luther King.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2010 Naxos Audiobook (P)2010 Naxos Audiobook

Great book and narration

After to listening to other narrations I picked this one because it was enjoyable to my ears. I listened to it while driving and I never felt sleepy from his tone. I would suggest.

Great listen / read! I’m a fan

The performance was better than expected. With the poetic intelligence being effectively portrayed. We have very similar problems today.

One-note

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The reader conveyed a persistent tone of anger, resentment and scorn. Never just thoughtful. I kept wondering what voice I would have heard reading the actual book and how reading it myself would have changed my experience of the book.

Superb

Excellent book excellently read. Thoreau is a poet in every sense of the word. Every line heard of these books is music to my ears. He is a profound thinker and an astute observer on a plethora of subjects. A genius. Simply brilliant and very well read.

A classic for a reason and just as fresh in 2012.

Any additional comments?

I listened to this because a recent speaker quoted from it. I found it as fresh and relevant to daily life and humanity as when it was written. If you have no patience for the ritual of the world and want to get to the heart of the matter, this book delivers now and well into the future. It is timeless and amazing both. You will find it worthwhile.