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Thursday, June 24, 2010

Thumbing Through Thoreau:   A Book of Quotations by Henry David Thoreau

About the Book
On July 4, 1845, when Henry David Thoreau moved into his cabin on the shores of Walden Pond, he was probably unaware that his abode in the woods, and the impact and influence of that endeavor, would forever echo through time.


Thoreau was an uncompromising idealist; an ardent maverick who criticized his fellow man. He urged that men and women ought to live more simply, and more deliberately. “The mass of men,” he famously wrote, “lead lives of quite desperation.”

Yet the scope of Thoreau’s message is much wider than social criticism. He speaks of spiritual transcendence in Nature and the unbounded potential of the individual. Thoreau is a dreamer and he speaks to dreamers. In a word, shun dogmatism and demagoguery; see beyond the immediate conventional religious explanations to reap a higher understanding.

In our commodified contemporary American society, with the rise of religious intolerance and fundamentalism, materialism and mass consumerism, Thoreau’s message is needed now more than ever.

Author Kenny Luck has thumbed through Thoreau’s voluminous journals, correspondences and other publications to make this the most comprehensive collection of Thoreau aphorisms available.

Illustrators Jay Luke and Ren Adams lend their talents to artistically interpret Thoreau's vision. Each quote is accompanied by an original drawing.

A collaboration of three individuals breathes new life into the immortal words of Henry David Thoreau.

Find out much more on the Book's website - http://www.thumbingthroughthoreau.com

My Take on the Book
It was hard to get a true picture of the book itself when I was only able to read the book via PDF, but I could tell that the hard cover book itself would be a great treasure for the lover of Thoreau.

The book is set up in such a way that each quote includes an illustration. The authors do a great job at selecting a wide variety of thoughts shared in the writings of Thoreau, not just staying with his more known quotes which was nice.

If you are a Thoreau aficionado or simply finding yourself enjoying the lilting style of Thoreau's words, this book would be a great one to add to your own collection.

One of my favorite thoughts in this book was:
Men talk of freedom! How many are free to think…No exercise implies
more real manhood and vigor than joining thought to thought.How few men can
tell what they have thought!
(Journal X, vol. 16,May 6, 1858, pp. 404-405)
If this book sounds like a book you would like in your own library you can find it on Amazon!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

1 comment:

  1. Dear Chris,

    Thanks for the review!

    "The authors do a great job at selecting a wide variety of thoughts shared in the writings of Thoreau, not just staying with his more known quotes which was nice."

    I couldn't agree with you more - Kenny Luck spent many hours in the library selecting just the right quotes to include.

    Best wishes,
    Nicole
    Tribute Books

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