"Mr. Buells book powerfully motivates us to treat Thoreau 'not as an oracle but as a stimulus to see and be beyond the ordinary'." -Christopher Irmscher, The Wall Street Journal^r"The best brief introduction to Thoreau we now have. His book is a schoolroom. Enroll in this class." -Todd Shy, Los Angeles Review of Books"An indispensible tool and truly impressive achievement" -- Cristin Ellis, New England Quarterly"A short but capacious text, the judicious, timely product of decades of thinking about ecocriticism." -- John Kerrigan, Times Literary Supplement"Lawrence Buell's Henry David Thoreau: Thinking Disobediently is the essential guide to the essential Thoreau. Distilling a career's worth of study and thought, Buell deftly situates Thoreau, the 'confessed misfit,' at the center of 'the Transcendentalist centrifuge,' and proceeds to reveal how, in one too-short lifetime, this man of many gifts succeeded in leaving behind for us treasures of his own: a hybrid style of creative writing, a biocentric conception of life on our planet, a road map for political action, and perhaps the greatest of all, his 'vision of human infinitude.
'" -- Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Margaret Fuller: A New American Life, The Peabody Sisters, and Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast"A scintillating distillation of Buell's career-long engagement with Thoreau's life and times, this volume stands as the best introduction to this iconic figure in American culture. Buell captures the essence of Thoreau's compelling personality as he details his remarkably varied contributions to antebellum intellectual life. This book is yet another gem in Buell's scholarly diadem." -- Philip F. Gura, William S. Newman Distinguished Professor of American Literature and Culture, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill"Mr. Buell's book powerfully motivates us to treat Thoreau 'not as an oracle but as a stimulus to see and be beyond the ordinary.'" -- Christopher Irmscher, The Wall Street Journal"The best brief introduction to Thoreau we now have.
His book is a schoolroom. Enroll in this class." -- Todd Shy, Los Angeles Review of Books"Henry David Thoreau: Thinking Disobediently by Lawrence Buell, meanwhile, seeks to make some broader sense of the complex figure behind the work." -- Costica Bradatan, TLS"Thinking Disobediently by Lawrence Buell.seeks to make some broader sense of the complex figure behind the work. For all the disconcerting variety, Buell finds a sense of unity and harmony in Thoreau." -- Times Literary Supplement"A distinguished scholar of New England's men of letters, Buell tackles several aspects of Thoreau's brief life and contexts.Highly recommended.
Lower division undergraduates through faculty; general readers." -- Choice"A helpful primer on the historical Thoreau's thought. succeeds at defamiliarizing Thoreau, leaving us better equipped to grasp the complexity of his project." -- Ashley C. Barnes, Commonweal.