Free Thoreau And The Art Of Life: Reflections On Nature And The Mystery Of Existence Ebooks To Download
Featuring nearly 100 luminous watercolor illustrations, Thoreau and the Art of Life collects eloquent passages from the writings of the seminal author and philosopher. Drawn mainly from his journals, the short excerpts provide fascinating insight into his thought processes by presenting his raw, unedited feelings about the things that meant the most to him. The book reflects Thoreau’s deep beliefs and ideas about nature, relationships, creativity, spirituality, aging, simplicity, and wisdom. By eloquently expressing his thoughts about life and what gives it value, he leads the reader to a closer examination of life. Thoreau’s work asks us to live our own truths with joy and discipline and to recognize that we live in a universe of extraordinary beauty, mystery, and wonder. An avid reader of Thoreau, editor and illustrator Roderick MacIver organized the passages by themes: love and friendship; art, creativity, and writing; aging, disease, and death; human society and culture; nature and the human connection to the natural world; and wisdom, truth, solitude, and simplicity. The book includes a chronology and brief biography. Thoreau’s words of wisdom combined with MacIver’s vivid illustrations of the American landscape will resonate with nature enthusiasts and a broad range of readers interested in art, environmentalism, literature, and philosophy. “It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful, but it is more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour.”—Henry David Thoreau
Paperback: 116 pages
Publisher: North Atlantic Books (March 16, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1556438834
ISBN-13: 978-1556438837
Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.4 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #330,912 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #171 in Books > Arts & Photography > Painting > Landscape #307 in Books > Reference > Quotations #453 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Nature Writing & Essays
Even if you've read every book and journal by Henry David Thoreau, you will find this work a revelation, as it pairs beautiful artwork with the best of Thoreau's most memorable quotes about love, creativity, truth, solitude, simplicity, and the art of leading a meaningful life. It's designed so you can pick a subject and become instantly inspired. Beautifully produced.
This book is a beautiful combination of watercolor paintings and prose. It's one of my "go to" books when I'm looking for inspiration, peace, and beauty.
Thoreau is an interesting character, but he can be too much at once.This collection of his best thoughts is well chosen and concentrated. It resists a quick reading. If Thoreau is about anything he's about having time to stop and stare and think. This book also makes you stop and think.In this book you have a good collection of his thoughts, presented at their crux points, without the meandering narrative to reach them. This saves time in reading, but means you need to allow yourself to be stopped in your tracks every so often. For someone who reads as quickly as I do this can be a bit disconcerting.In this context however it is a great pleasure to be stopped. Roderick McIver's illustrations compliment the text beautifully, and making stopping a moment or two pleasurable.There's a huge amount to savour in this book- both Thoreau's thoughts and McIver's illustrations. The book is beautifully produced and printed, and this is one to get as a physical book, not in an electronic format.I can recommend this book to those readers who are willing to take time to savour it, and maybe return to it several times in the future.
This is a rich collection of images and passages from two of my favorite Nature lovers that doesn't disappoint. I recommend this to anyone who appreciates Thoreau's works and would like a great collection of many of the "stand alone" gems that are not easily found again, once a text has been read through. And the art, well, it is at times sublime, haunting and at other times more realistic than any photo ever thought of being. Thanks a million!!!
It is imperative to know about Thoreau if one is to understand an old American way of life. To be exposed to the paintings Rod came up with, did not make me an expert, but made me part of the tableau.I recommend this book to lovers of art and literature.
I can't wait to get it with the courier.I don't stop to read and watch the gorgeous paintings....I want to get much more.....but step by step
Nice bits and pieces of Thoreau in a beautiful environment, but it doesn't match actually slogging through his thinking in the original.
Thoreau and the Art of Life: Reflections on Nature and the Mystery of Existence Elevating Ourselves: Thoreau on Mountains (Spirit of Thoreau) The Greetings from Somewhere Collection: Mysteries Around the World: The Mystery of the Gold Coin; The Mystery of the Mosaic; The Mystery of the Stolen Painting; The Mystery in the Forbidden City The Process of Creating Life: Nature of Order, Book 2: An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe (The Nature of Order)(Flexible) Life of Henry David Thoreau (1896) Reflections & Dreams: Reflections, Dance of Dreams Cultivating Inner Peace: Exploring the Psychology, Wisdom and Poetry of Gandhi, Thoreau, the Buddha, and Others Thoreau and Emerson Boxed Set: Classic Works (Dover Thrift Editions) American Bloomsbury: Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau: Their Lives, Their Loves, Their Work Twelve Henry David Thoreau Bookmarks (Dover Bookmarks) The Illustrated Walden: Thoreau Bicentennial Edition Thoreau's Maine Woods Thoreau: Walden / Civil Disobedience The Nature of Order: An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe, Book 1 - The Phenomenon of Life (Center for Environmental Structure, Vol. 9) Discourses Upon The Existence and Attributes of God (2 Volume Set) Existence and Attributes of God, The Organize and Create Discipline: An A-to-Z Guide to an Organized Existence Blessed John Duns Scotus: The Case for the Existence of God and the Immaculate Conception Existence: A Story What Brings a Marriage into Existence?: An Historical Re-examination of the Canon Law of the Latin Church
