Henry David Thoreau dedicated his life to preserving his freedom as a man and an artist. Nature was the fountainhead of his inspiration and his refuge from what he considered the follies of society. Heedless of his friends' advice to live in a more orthodox manner, he determinedly pursued his own inner bent, which was that of a poet-philosopher, in prose and verse.

Carl Bode brings together the best of Thoreau's works in The Portable Thoreau, a comprehensive collection of the writings of a unique and profoundly influential American thinker. The complete texts of Thoreau's classic works Walden and “Civil Disobedience,” as well as selections from The Maine Woods, Cape Cod, the Journal, and eighteen poems are included. Bode's introduction rounds out this compact volume, offering a thorough and informative analysis of Thoreau and the forces that shaped his life and writing.

“This compact book, containing infinite riches in a little room, is a simple setting for sound sense, nugget-like thought, the refined essences of a point of view”
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch