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  • By: Ralph Waldo Emerson
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The most thorough statement of one of Emerson's recurrent themes, the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency, and follow his or her own instincts and ideas. It is the source of one of Emerson's most famous quotations, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." This essay is a considered a watershed moment in which transcendentalism became a major cultural movement. An American classic.

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  • On the Duty of Civil Disobedience

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This essay by Thoreau first published in 1849, argues that individuals should not permit governments to overrule their consciences. It goes on to say that individuals have a duty to avoid allowing the government to make them the agents of injustice. The quote: "That government is best which governs least," sometimes attributed to Thomas Jefferson or Thomas Paine, actually was first found in this essay. Thoreaus' thoughts were motivated by his disgust with slavery and the Mexican-American War but they are still relevant and resonate today.

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Walking audiobook cover art

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> Walking is not as well known as Thoreau's other works Walden, The Maine Woods, and Civil Disobedience. But it is a good place to start exploring his writing because it was his last book, in 1862, published by the Atlantic Monthly shortly after his death. It is less well known because it is general, as opposed to singular, in focus. It is his summing up of his thoughts on life: One should saunter through life and take notice; one need not go far.

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  • Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Here in one volume are both the Essays: First Series and Essays: Second Series from one of the most influential philosophers in American history. Although Ralph Waldo Emerson, perhaps America’s most famous philosopher, did not wish to be referred to as a transcendentalist, he is nevertheless considered the founder of this major movement of nineteenth-century American thought. Emerson was influenced by a liberal religious training; theological study; personal contact with the Romanticists Coleridge, Carlyle, and Wordsworth; and a strong indigenous sense of individualism and self-reliance.

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Meditations of Marcus Aurelius audiobook cover art

  • Meditations of Marcus Aurelius

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Meditations is former U.S. President Bill Clinton's favorite book. This audio consists of a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161-180 AD, setting forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy.

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Nature audiobook cover art

  • Nature

  • By: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sam Torode - foreword
  • Narrated by: Sam Torode
  • Length: 1 hr and 54 mins
  • Unabridged
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    4.5 out of 5 stars 12
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Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Nature" is perhaps the greatest original work of philosophy written by an American. This specially-prepared edition includes a foreword on the origin and significance the book.

Editorial Reviews

Walden is organized like a conversation. Thoreau moves from topic to topic in an easy flow, touching on politics, economics, and spirituality. William Hope's performance of the work brings out this quality wonderfully. Narrating slowly, with regular pauses, as if engaged in a conversation with a close friend, Hope allows readers to hear the rhythms of Thoreau's prose. But however it rambles, the essay always returns to the loving descriptions of nature and insightful reflections on personal identity that Thoreau developed in his cabin by Walden Pond. This is an accessible adaptation of an American classic.

Publisher's Summary

In 1845 Henry David Thoreau, one of the principal New England Transcendentalists, left the town 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 $8 a year. From this experience emerged one of the great classics of American literature, a deeply personal reaction against the commercialism and materialism that he saw as the main impulses of mid-19th century America.
Download the accompanying reference guide.
©2001 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd (P)2001 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

A little dry

I'm on a classics kick so I picked this one too. I have to give this one a big YAWN. But the book does have redeeming qualities from philosophical standpoint. The author's desire to "live life on purpose" and to question the precepts of modern society is relevant 160 years later.

10 of 13 people found this review helpful

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

Love the book Hated the perfomance

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Book yes. This reading no.
It sounded as though it was being read by Archie Bunker. I wish I could have a refund.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Walden?

Walden is a wonderful visual piece.

How could the performance have been better?

Having it narrated by Rupert Degas!

Was Walden worth the listening time?

Not this version narrated by Mr Hope!

Any additional comments?

There should be a means to obtain a refund or a credit when something is this awful!

0 of 1 people found this review helpful