Chicago Botanic Garden

Education — Lenhardt Library

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PHOTO: bookcover

Henry David Thoreau.
Wild Apples and Other Natural History Essays.
Edited by William Rossi.
Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2002.
paper, 236 p., ISBN 0-820-32413-2, $19.95.

Walden is familiar to most of us, but in this volume we are presented — in chronological order — with other essays by the man who "went to live simply in the woods." William Rossi, the editor, presents Thoreau's life in an introductory essay, creating a context for his writings based on his education, excursions, political views and, of course, his great love of nature. Rossi's essay is both informative and enjoyable, providing a depth to the essays that makes them even more fascinating. This slender volume is filled with an amazing range of topics, and it gives us great insight into the world of Thoreau as well as into life in America in the 19th century.

— Barbara G. Mahany, Volunteer, Library, Chicago Botanic Garden.