The University Bookman decided I was the right guy to review the new Thoreau biography, presumably because of all these years living off-grid and the defense of Thoreau I wrote when The New Yorker published its scandalous, fact-free attack on the man. So I read the biography – a nice one, by Laura Dassow Walls – and penned a review, which you can find on their site. In general, the more I know about Thoreau as a man, the more I admire him.
One Comment
I couldn’t agree more. Thoreau is above all a satirist. When he says that as we honor a Sabbath as the best and highest, is it not logical that everyday be such. He is not literal but in every reflection quite radical. Yes the New York Times review was dunce-worthy.