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Thoreau: Walden / Civil Disobedience  By  cover art

Thoreau: Walden / Civil Disobedience

By: Henry David Thoreau
Narrated by: Rupert Degas
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Publisher's summary

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.

©2010 Naxos Audiobook (P)2010 Naxos Audiobook

What listeners say about Thoreau: Walden / Civil Disobedience

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

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.

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30 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

amazing book, ok narration

The book is amazing but most of the literate world already knows this. The reading is ok. At first sounding poetic but as the tone of each sentence goes through the same cyle of inflection, it starts to become repetitious and boring. The narrator begins each sentence strong and clear and slowly meanders to a quiet finish, almost whispering the last words. This would be fine ocaasionally but as it continues to recur you get exhausted listening to him. By no way should this trump the importance of this book in every collection and if your prefered method of digestion is auditory, I maintain a high recommendation for the purchase of this work.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Thoreau wrote with passion and sometimes anger. The performance reflects Thoreau's bitterness with the government and people of Concord and the United States. Thoreau looks deep into himself and society. The writing is amazing and Degas played to the character almost as if he was an old friend of Thoreau.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Didn't care for the narration

This is a great book, but I couldn't get into listening to it. I found myself drifting off to sleep or day dreaming. I think this was partly because the narrator's voice is rather depressing to listen to--flat, sad and dejected--although this very well may be the tone of the writer's voice and not the narrator's fault.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Kudoes for Rupert Degas

Henry David could not read Walden's timeless words any better than Degas. I've listened to it many times, and I hear new wisdom with each listen. I first read Walden 50 years ago, and Thoreau's message is just as timey today as it was then. Degas does justice to this everlasting classic. Thoreau by Degas is a treasure for all nature lovers.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Pretentious

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I have a pretty open mind and thought this was a book I was "supposed" to read. However, it started getting a little 'preachy' at points and I rapidly became disenchanted. The last straw was when he started saying you are pretty much an idiot if you don't read the classics in the native tongue they were written in. Pretentious and condescending...

Has Thoreau: Walden / Civil Disobedience turned you off from other books in this genre?

No

Would you be willing to try another one of Rupert Degas’s performances?

Certainly

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thought provoking

Amazing book! I occasionally struggled with the narration but the content made that easy for me to keep listening.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

7 years ago

Should have listened to this 7 years ago before university. Most of the conclusions iv drawn have been the same about society but in our age if one is not apart of society they need to be fairly wealthy in order to live independently. I imagine small island life is the closest thing to this book and it feels like a serine vacation while I ignore strangers on the subway.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
  • O.
  • 05-23-15

Who taught this narrator how to pronounce stuff?

Would you try another book from Henry David Thoreau and/or Rupert Degas?

I may try just because it is HDT and reading him is supposed to change your life and make you cultured.

What was most disappointing about Henry David Thoreau’s story?

I expected to see him record his trials and how he grew and overcame them, as moving into the woods to live so simply would definitely warrant deep reflection and figuring some big things out. However his uppitiness and horribly cynical outlook on life resonated with me, but also gave me the impression that, maybe he meant to spend time away from civilization to have a break from them... but I wonder how many who knew his outlook and attitude didn't miss him. Times were definitely tough back then, but as a universal bit of reading that should offer something relevent to any generation, this just encouraged looking down on others as puny ants more flawed and pathetic than Thoreau, despite his own confessed flaws... that perspective isn't constructive to the survival of mankind anymore than any of the valid complaints he had of others.

What didn’t you like about Rupert Degas’s performance?

This guy... was very pronounced and careful with his articulation, but he so carefully pronounced even common words so strangely, it was distracting.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

It would be one of those Oscar Nominations everyone raves about and anticipates for a long time, then when you finally see it, you feel depressed and hopeless.

Any additional comments?

I know the Author deserves a lot of respect as an American Philosopher, and he definitely makes you think and evaluate anything you may be thoughtlessly doing or taking for granted in the world, I am just sad for him.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This should be read by everyone!

What made the experience of listening to Thoreau: Walden / Civil Disobedience (Unabridged) the most enjoyable?

This book will help you stop and reevaluate things. Too caught up in the struggles of modern life? Thoreau's Walden is a must read.

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1 person found this helpful