Online resources; book recommendations; related organizations; environmental information… It’s all here!
Online Resources about Thoreau and Walden Pond
Thoreau Quotations
Browse quotations from Thoreau by category, including quotes on nature and conservation.
Selected Teacher Created Lessons
Sample curriculum units on Thoreau, Walden, or the environment from participants in Approaching Walden, a seminar from The Walden Woods Project.
Digital Thoreau
A collaborative initiative of the Walden Woods Project, The Thoreau Society, and SUNY Geneseo, offering a “fluid text” edition of Walden that traces the work’s development across its seven manuscript versions, as well as a social reading platform for exchanging ideas in the margins of Thoreau’s works.
NPR: Thoreau’s Walden – Present at the Creation
National Public Radio presents a short biography of Thoreau and an overview of his experiment at Walden Pond. Audio and transcript are available.
The Thoreau Society
The Thoreau Society, founded in 1941, is the oldest organization dedicated to Thoreau. Visit the website to find out about preservation activities, opportunities for students, and essays on Walden from 11 different countries.
Concord Museum: The Henry David Thoreau Collection
The museum of Thoreau’s native Concord presents information and photographs of artifacts plus links to learn more about the town.
Botanical Index to the Journal of Henry David Thoreau
Provides the scientific name as well as the common name for plants referenced in Thoreau’s journal. As the European Thoreau Website notes, it may a useful resource for translating into other languages.
NYTimes: Thoreau is Rediscovered as a Climatologist
Describes a study by Harvard and Boston University biologists that used Thoreau’s journal to study environmental changes in New England.
Recommended Editions of Walden
Walden. Edited by Jeffrey C. Cramer, published by Yale University Press
Cramer’s extensive annotations serve like a miniature encyclopedia of Thoreau on the margins of Walden.
150th Anniversary Edition of Walden with photography by Scot Miller
Beautiful photographs of Walden Pond and its surroundings fill the pages of this 150th anniversary edition published by Houghton Mifflin.
Walden. Houghton Mifflin 1906 edition, available online or PDF download from The Walden Woods Project.
Books about or inspired by Thoreau
The Days of Henry Thoreau by Walter Harding
Leading Thoreau expert Walter Harding’s The Days of Henry Thoreau, first published in 1966, is considered by many the essential biography of Henry David Thoreau.
People of Concord by Paul Brooks
Brooks introduces the prominent townspeople of Concord in the year 1846, giving a vivid and human picture of Thoreau, Emerson, the Alcotts, Hawthorne, and outstanding women such as Margaret Fuller and Elizabeth Peabody. The book is written in short, simple chapters which can stand on their own or as part of the whole.
Heaven is Under Our Feet edited by Don Henley and Dave Marsh
Musicians, actors, writers, politicians, and environmentalists unite to contribute essays on the importance of Thoreau and Walden Woods.
An Observant Eye: The Thoreau Collection at the Concord Museum
The curator’s book contains large, color photographs from the exhibit accompanied by text discussion of the Thoreau Collection.
The Spirit of Thoreau, series from Mariner Books
Volumes include: Thoreau on Water; On Education; On Science; On Land; On Mountains (drawn from his journal, various editors).
A Yearning Toward Wildness, compiled by Tom Homan
A compilation of quotes from Thoreau’s various experiences with the outdoors and conservation.
DVD
Life with Principle: Thoreau’s Voice in Our Time
The Thoreau Society presents an interactive educational DVD which explores Thoreau’s philosophy and how his ideas continue to influence Americans today. Includes classroom activities correlated to standards.
