Contemporary Notices and Reviews of 
Walden; or, Life in the Woods
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"Walden; or, Life in the Woods"
Christian Inquirer [New York] (30 September 1854):  p. 2, col. 6.

             A gentleman who lives five [sic] years all alone by himself, by the side of a pond in the woods, in a house costing $28 12, and whose yearly expenses for food, raiment, and luxuries, amount to $19 44, and who thinks that is the best way of living, will hardly persuade his readers that he is free from all extravagance.  If any one, however, thinks "this is some crazy man," he will find himself much mistaken if he reads his book.  The great value of the work consists in the nice observation of nature which it shows.  Its author has a rare gift not only of observing, but of describing all he saw and heard in the woods.  He is also a scholar and a great admirer of the Greek and Latin classics.  He keeps up his college studies, loves books, music, and pictures, though he lives in a shanty.  Whatever may be thought of his oddities, no one can deny that he has written a work full of suggestion, and having here and there considerable wisdom.  Almost every page is marked by a quaint humor which few can resist, and the style throughout is singularly nervous and racy.

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