Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by branomander
Walking by Henry David Thoreau
3.0
Real rating - 2.5
I'm conflicted on this one. Here and there are some genuinely interesting notions, but they get lost in a parade of Thoreau's elitism. He just goes on and on about how special he is and how lost other people are. A lot of the text is dedicated to mere personal preferences. He doesn't really build a case for a naturalistic or wild lifestyle, he just talks about how much he likes that kind of stuff and how much he detests towns and civilization.
In that way, this book is probably going to be enjoyable for people who already share his mindset. Even then, I don't think there is much of substance to be found here.
Sometimes Thoreau says something that really hits home, and it's moments like these that redeem the book for me. The lines concerning private property specifically caught my attention. I'd been feeling similarly and he expressed exactly that feeling. I also can't help but praise how well written this is. While it lacks substance, this is overflowing with style. It doesn't save the book, but it does make it extremely readable.
I've seen other people say that Walden is just this, but better. I haven't read Walden yet, but if you are interested in this book, I'll defer to their judgment and say to just read Walden.
I'm conflicted on this one. Here and there are some genuinely interesting notions, but they get lost in a parade of Thoreau's elitism. He just goes on and on about how special he is and how lost other people are. A lot of the text is dedicated to mere personal preferences. He doesn't really build a case for a naturalistic or wild lifestyle, he just talks about how much he likes that kind of stuff and how much he detests towns and civilization.
In that way, this book is probably going to be enjoyable for people who already share his mindset. Even then, I don't think there is much of substance to be found here.
Sometimes Thoreau says something that really hits home, and it's moments like these that redeem the book for me. The lines concerning private property specifically caught my attention. I'd been feeling similarly and he expressed exactly that feeling. I also can't help but praise how well written this is. While it lacks substance, this is overflowing with style. It doesn't save the book, but it does make it extremely readable.
I've seen other people say that Walden is just this, but better. I haven't read Walden yet, but if you are interested in this book, I'll defer to their judgment and say to just read Walden.