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Henry David Thoreau / Henry David Thoreau
Forest Walker and Rebel. A Biography
With numerous images
July 12, 2017 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), the dropout, nature lover, stubborn and fascinating free spirit and rebel – who became an American national saint.
Who was this man who, raised as the son of a pencil manufacturer, studied ancient languages at Harvard and read the ancient classics in the original? Who put his career as a teacher on the line because he refused to cane his students. Who, a...
Who was this man who, raised as the son of a pencil manufacturer, studied ancient languages at Harvard and read the ancient classics in the original? Who put his career as a teacher on the line because he refused to cane his students. Who, a...
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July 12, 2017 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), the dropout, nature lover, stubborn and fascinating free spirit and rebel – who became an American national saint.
Who was this man who, raised as the son of a pencil manufacturer, studied ancient languages at Harvard and read the ancient classics in the original? Who put his career as a teacher on the line because he refused to cane his students. Who, a 28-year-old misanthropic bachelor, withdrew for two years, two months and two days to a self-built log cabin at Walden Lake to live outside all social conventions, and wrote a book about it, Walden, that has remained a must-read for many people around the world to this day. Who went to prison rather than support the USA with tax money for its slavery policy and the expanding Mexican War, and wrote about it his treatise »On the Duty to Disobey the State«, which belongs to the canon of political protest literature and that Mahatma Gandhi distributed to his students as a textbook, that Martin Luther King and the American civil rights movement carried in their marching baggage and that the Occupy movement of today has discovered for itself.
Frank Schäfer's scholarly, excitingly narrated biography of the influential thinker, politician and writer answers these questions. He draws a portrait of a man whose »experiments« and books changed the world and are more relevant today than ever.
Who was this man who, raised as the son of a pencil manufacturer, studied ancient languages at Harvard and read the ancient classics in the original? Who put his career as a teacher on the line because he refused to cane his students. Who, a 28-year-old misanthropic bachelor, withdrew for two years, two months and two days to a self-built log cabin at Walden Lake to live outside all social conventions, and wrote a book about it, Walden, that has remained a must-read for many people around the world to this day. Who went to prison rather than support the USA with tax money for its slavery policy and the expanding Mexican War, and wrote about it his treatise »On the Duty to Disobey the State«, which belongs to the canon of political protest literature and that Mahatma Gandhi distributed to his students as a textbook, that Martin Luther King and the American civil rights movement carried in their marching baggage and that the Occupy movement of today has discovered for itself.
Frank Schäfer's scholarly, excitingly narrated biography of the influential thinker, politician and writer answers these questions. He draws a portrait of a man whose »experiments« and books changed the world and are more relevant today than ever.
»A pleasure to read« Sylvia Prahl, taz. die tageszeitung
»[Schäfer's] biography [...] contains many, hitherto unknown details about Thoreau's life and his intellectual environment.« Willy Hochkeppel, Süddeutsche Zeitung
»Frank Schäfer presents us with a knowledgeable biography of Thoreau that ploughs through this work of travelogues, diaries, political essays.« Susanne Mayer, DIE ZEIT
»To mark the 200th anniversary of Thoreau's birth, music journalist and literary critic Frank Schäfer has written a vividly narrated, knowledgeable biography« Benjamin Moldenhauer, SPIEGEL ONLINE
»The literary and music critic Frank Schäfer presents a brilliantly written and well-researched biography ...« Dieter Thomä, Neue Zürcher Zeitung
»[Schäfer's] biography [...] contains many, hitherto unknown details about Thoreau's life and his intellectual environment.« Willy Hochkeppel, Süddeutsche Zeitung
»Frank Schäfer presents us with a knowledgeable biography of Thoreau that ploughs through this work of travelogues, diaries, political essays.« Susanne Mayer, DIE ZEIT
»To mark the 200th anniversary of Thoreau's birth, music journalist and literary critic Frank Schäfer has written a vividly narrated, knowledgeable biography« Benjamin Moldenhauer, SPIEGEL ONLINE
»The literary and music critic Frank Schäfer presents a brilliantly written and well-researched biography ...« Dieter Thomä, Neue Zürcher Zeitung
»A pleasure to read« Sylvia Prahl, taz. die tageszeitung
»[Schäfer's] biography [...] contains many, hitherto unknown details about Thoreau's life and his intellectual environment.« Willy Hochkeppel, Süddeutsche Zeitung
»Frank Schäfer presents us with a knowledgeable biography of Thoreau that ploughs through this work of travelogues, diaries, political essays.« Susanne Mayer, DIE...
»[Schäfer's] biography [...] contains many, hitherto unknown details about Thoreau's life and his intellectual environment.« Willy Hochkeppel, Süddeutsche Zeitung
»Frank Schäfer presents us with a knowledgeable biography of Thoreau that ploughs through this work of travelogues, diaries, political essays.« Susanne Mayer, DIE...
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2017, 252 pages
Persons
Frank Schäfer
Author
Frank Schäfer, born in 1966, lives in Braunschweig where he works as a writer and music and literary critic. He writes for publications such as taz. die tageszeitung, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Rolling Stone and others. In addition to novels and short stories, he has published various essay collections and non-fiction books.
Frank Schäfer
Author
Frank Schäfer, born in 1966, lives in Braunschweig where he works as a writer and music and literary critic. He writes for publications such as...
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