About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherUniversity of Notre Dame Press

ISBN-100268107343

ISBN-139780268107345

eBay Product ID (ePID)23074487800

Product Key Features

Number of Pages258 Pages

Publication NameLessons from Walden : Thoreau and the Crisis of American Democracy

LanguageEnglish

SubjectHistory & Theory, Political, Subjects & Themes / Politics

Publication Year2025

TypeTextbook

Subject AreaLiterary Criticism, Political Science, Philosophy

AuthorBob Pepperman Taylor

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.7 in

Item Weight12.7 Oz

Item Length9 in

Item Width6.1 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceCollege Audience

LCCN2019-054909

Reviews"Lessons from 'Walden' is a welcome tonic in this moment of political and environmental crisis. Bob Pepperman Taylor's always-trenchant and insightful analysis reveals Thoreau's enduring relevance for modern democracies. His lessons are both important and timely." --Kimberly Smith, author of The Conservation Constitution, "Bob Taylor's Lessons from'Walden' brings Thoreau's classic text to bear on the present moment, into Trump's America, into an age of environmental degradation, into a time of cultural self-absorption, instrumental rationality, and neoliberal indifference to what is local, communal, and particular." --Shannon Mariotti, author of Thoreau's Democratic Withdrawal, "Lessons from 'Walden' delivers exactly what its title promises--an educational guide for an individual life committed to simplicity, moral responsibility, and ethical integrity. Like Thoreau, Taylor's goal is to wake us up." --Sandra Harbert Petrulionis, author of Thoreau in His Own Time, "Bob Taylor's Lessons from Walden brings Thoreau's classic text to bear on the present moment, into Trump's America, into an age of environmental degradation, into a time of cultural self-absorption, instrumental rationality, and neoliberal indifference to what is local, communal, and particular." --Shannon Mariotti, author of Thoreau's Democratic Withdrawal, "Lessons from 'Walden' allows Thoreau to enter today's conversation in a way that seldom happens: Bob Taylor's measured and fair-minded mediation allows the fullness of Thoreau's stance to appear to the reader with all his contradictions intact. The result is a true conversation in which Thoreau becomes the springboard to further deliberation. Time and again, Taylor returns to Thoreau as to a moral lodestone, bringing the discussion to a reasoned conclusion that still leaves one thinking." --Laura Dassow Walls, author of Henry David Thoreau: A Life, "Lessons from 'Walden' [is] an extraordinary book. . . . It offers a compelling, well-thought out argument about the relevance of Thoreau in our political time." --Perspectives on Politics

Dewey Edition23

Dewey Decimal818.309

Table Of ContentPreface Acknowledgments Introduction: The Challenge of Walden 1. Simplicity 2. Different Drummers 3. Learning from Nature Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

SynopsisOriginal and passionate, Lessons from Walden presents a wide-ranging inquiry into the nature and implications in the works of Henry David Thoreau. Henry David Thoreau's works are a backbone of American political philosophy, but how do his ideas translate into the tumultuous modern political landscape? Bob Pepperman Taylor closely examines Walden and Civil Disobedience , focusing on the philosophical questions Thoreau raises. He considers simplicity and the ethics of "voluntary poverty," examines the role conscience plays in democratic policies, and the truth of what "nature" means, and what, if anything, we can learn from it today. By drawing on a wide range of perspectives-from historians, philosophers, and popular media-Taylor breathes new life into Thoreau's work and shows how it is still alive for us today. He allows all sides to have their say, even as he persistently steers the discussion back to a nuanced reading of Thoreau's actual position. With a tone of friendly urgency, this interdisciplinary tour de force intersects American literature, environmental ethics, and political theory to address the concerns facing the current political landscape and the future of democracy., Original and passionate, Lessons from Walden presents a wide-ranging inquiry into the nature and implications in the works of Henry David Thoreau. Henry David Thoreau's works are a backbone of American political philosophy, but how do his ideas translate into the tumultuous modern political landscape? Bob Pepperman Taylor closely examines Walden and Civil Disobedience , focusing on the philosophical questions Thoreau raises. He considers simplicity and the ethics of "voluntary poverty," examines the role conscience plays in democratic policies, and the truth of what "nature" means, and what, if anything, we can learn from it today. By drawing on a wide range of perspectives--from historians, philosophers, and popular media--Taylor breathes new life into Thoreau's work and shows how it is still alive for us today. He allows all sides to have their say, even as he persistently steers the discussion back to a nuanced reading of Thoreau's actual position. With a tone of friendly urgency, this interdisciplinary tour de force intersects American literature, environmental ethics, and political theory to address the concerns facing the current political landscape and the future of democracy.