Henry David Thoreau - Collected Works, incl. Walden (54 books)

* Henry David Thoreau - Collected Works, incl. Walden (54 books)

HENRY DAVID THOREAU (1817–1862) was a foundational American essayist, poet, philosopher, and naturalist whose writings championed individualism, simple living, and a deep, spiritual connection to nature. As a leading figure in the Transcendentalist movement alongside Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thoreau questioned the materialist, industrializing direction of 19th-century America. He advocated for personal integrity, arguing that individuals should follow their own consciences rather than conform to societal demands or unjust government policies. Though not widely famous during his lifetime, his work has had a profound, lasting impact on environmentalism and nonviolent political resistance.

His first book, A WEEK ON THE CONCORD AND MERRIMACK RIVERS (1849), was a self-published account of a boating trip with his brother, interspersed with musings on literature, philosophy, and nature. While it was not a commercial success, it established his style of interweaving personal experience with deep observation. Following this, he published a landmark political essay, RESISTANCE TO CIVIL GOVERNMENT (1849)—commonly known as "Civil Disobedience "—based on his refusal to pay taxes in protest of slavery and the Mexican-American War. This piece later inspired advocates of nonviolent resistance, including Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr..

Thoreau’s masterpiece, WALDEN; OR, LIFE IN THE WOODS (1854), recounts his two-year experiment living in a self-built cabin near Walden Pond. In it, he urged readers to "live deliberately" and avoid the "quiet desperation" of societal conformism. This work is a detailed chronicle of his life in nature, advocating for minimal consumption and maximum contemplation. Though modestly received at first, Walden later became a cornerstone of American literature and environmental thought. Thoreau continued his social activism with works like SLAVERY IN MASSACHUSETTS (1854) and the essay "A Plea for Captain John Brown" (1859), both of which were fierce condemnations of the institution of slavery and the state's role in its preservation.

Following his death from tuberculosis in 1862, several of Thoreau's travelogues and nature essays were published posthumously, further cementing his reputation as a pioneer of environmental literature. These include EXCURSIONS (1863), a collection of outdoor essays like WALKING (1862) and AUTUMNAL TINTS (1862), as well as his detailed accounts of wilderness travels in THE MAINE WOODS (1864) and CAPE COD (1865). Another posthumous collection, A YANKEE IN CANADA, WITH ANTI-SLAVERY AND REFORM PAPERS (1866), further highlighted his roles as both a nature writer and a dedicated reformer. Together, Thoreau's principal writings form a body of work that bridges literature, philosophy, and environmental consciousness, ensuring his enduring influence well beyond the nineteenth century.

The WRITINGS OF HENRY D. THOREAU (Princeton UP, 1971–present), projected to span some 30 volumes, comprises the complete and authoritative texts of his works, including previously unpublished essays, correspondence, and journals, as well as editions of his best-known titles. A substantial portion—especially the later Journals—are still yet to be published.


The following books are in ePUB and/or PDF format as noted:

== WRITINGS OF HENRY D. THOREAU (in progress) ==

* A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers [ed. Hovde] (Princeton, 1980) – PDF
* Cape Cod [ed. Moldenhauer] (Princeton, 1988) – PDF
* Correspondence: Vol. 1, 1834-1848 [ed. Hudspeth] (Princeton, 2013) – ePUB / PDF
* Correspondence: Vol. 2, 1849-1856 [ed. Hudspeth et al.] (Princeton, 2018) – ePUB / PDF
* Correspondence: Vol. 3, 1857-1862 [ed. Hudspeth et al.] (Princeton, 2026) – ePUB
* Early Essays and Miscellanies [ed. Moldenhauer et al.] (Princeton, 1975) – PDF
* Journal: Vol. 1, 1837-1844 [ed. Witherell et al.] (Princeton, 1981) – PDF
* Journal: Vol. 3, 1848-1851 [ed. Sattelmeyer et al.] (Princeton, 1990) – PDF
* Journal: Vol. 4, 1851-1852 [ed. Neufeldt & Simmons] (Princeton, 1992) – PDF
* Journal: Vol. 5, 1852-1853 [ed. O'Connell] (Princeton, 1997) – PDF
* Journal: Vol. 6, 1853 [ed. Rossi & Kirk Thomas] (Princeton, 2000) – PDF
* The Maine Woods [ed. Moldenhauer] (Princeton, 1972) – PDF
* Reform Papers [ed. Glick] (Princeton, 1973) – PDF
* Translations [ed. van Anglen] (Princeton, 1986) – PDF
* Walden [ed. Shanley] (Princeton, 1971) – PDF

== OTHER EDITIONS ==

* A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers [ed. Peck] (Penguin, 1998) – ePUB
* A Week, Walden, The Maine Woods, Cape Cod [ed. Sayre] (Library of America, 1985) – PDF^
* A Year in Thoreau's Journal, 1851 [ed. Peck] (Penguin, 1993) – ePUB
* Cape Cod [ed. Moldenhauer] (Princeton, 2004) – ePUB
* Cape Cod [intro. Theroux] (Penguin, 1987) – ePUB
* Collected Essays and Poems [ed. Witherell] (Library of America, 2001) – PDF^
* Complete Works (Delphi, 2013) – ePUB
* Essays of Thoreau [ed. Hyde] (North Point, 2002) – ePUB
* Essays: A Fully Annotated Edition [ed. Cramer] (Yale, 2013) – PDF
* Illustrated Walden [intro. Torrey] (TarcherPerigee, 2016) – ePUB
* Journal, 1837-1861 [ed. Searls] (NYRB, 2009) – ePUB
* Letters to a Spiritual Seeker [ed. Dean] (Norton, 2004) – PDF
* The Maine Woods [ed. Moldenhauer] (Princeton, 2004) – ePUB
* The Maine Woods [intro. Hoagland] (Penguin, 1988) – ePUB
* The Maine Woods: A Fully Annotated Edition [ed. Cramer] (Yale, 2009 – PDF
* Nature and Walking [intro. Elder] (Beacon, 1991) – ePUB
* Notes on Birds of New England [ed. Allen] (Dover, 2019) – ePUB
* October, or Autumnal Tints [intro. Richardson] (Norton, 2012) – ePUB
* Of Woodland Pools, Spring-Holes and Ditches (Counterpoint, 2010) – ePUB
* On Civil Disobedience [intro. Berkowitz] (Library of America, 2024) – ePUB
* On Reading [ed. Shanley] (Princeton, 2011) – ePUB
* Political Writings [ed. Rosenblum] (Cambridge, 1996) – PDF
* Portable Thoreau [ed. Cramer] (Penguin, 2012) – ePUB
* Quotable Thoreau [ed. Cramer] (Princeton, 2011) – ePUB / PDF
* Selections from Indian Notebooks, 1847-1861 [ed. Fleck] (Thoreau Institute, 2007) – PDF
* Thoreau: A Book of Quotations (Dover, 2000) – ePUB
* Thoreau's Animals [ed. Wisner] (Yale, 2017) – ePUB
* Thoreau's Wildflowers [ed. Wisner] (Yale, 2016) – ePUB / PDF
* Thoreau’s Notes on Birds of New England [ed. Allen] (Dover, 2019) – ePUB
* Walden [ed. Fender] (Oxford, 1997) – ePUB
* Walden [ed. McKibben] (Beacon, 2004) – ePUB
* Walden [ed. Sayre] (Library of America, 1991) – ePUB
* Walden [ed. Shanley] (Princeton, 2016) – ePUB
* Walden & Civil Disobedience [ed. Meyer] (Penguin, 1983) – ePUB
* Walden & Other Writings [ed. Atkinson] (Modern Library, 1992) – ePUB
* Walden & Other Writings [ed. Krutch] (Bantam, 2004) – ePUB
* Walden: A Fully Annotated Edition [ed. Cramer] (Yale, 2004) – PDF
* Walking [intro. Tuchinsky] (Tilbury House, 2017) – ePUB
* Where I Lived, and What I Lived For (Penguin Great Ideas, 2005) – ePUB
* Wild Apples & Other Natural History Essays [ed. Rossi] (Georgia, 2002) – PDF

PDF^ courtesy of Mohamed5438


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