The Road to Walden

May 28, 2018
Naturalist and historian Dann (Expect Great Things: The Life and Search of Henry David Thoreau) uses Thoreau as a pretext for these rambling reflections on his 2017 walking pilgrimage from his home in Brooklyn to Walden Pond. Along the way, he tosses off New Age–flavored insights that he attempts to tie to Thoreau’s writings. For example, in Walden, Thoreau praises awakening at dawn, writing, “Morning is when I am awake, and there is a dawn in me,” which Dann translates into the considerably more hyperbolic injunction to “Awake! And know that you have slept with Angels.” Focusing on Thoreau’s acute interest in and observation of the natural world, Dann encourages readers to “sharpen perennially and perpetually” until “a sixth sense arises from your five.” Adding to the sense of strain, Dann refers to Thoreau familiarly as “Henry,” such as describing how he “felt close to Henry” during his journey. Dann reveals much about his own view of the world, but little about Thoreau’s. Agent: Myrsini Stephanides, Carol Mann Agency.

June 15, 2018

In this equal parts memoir, cultural criticism, and spiritual meditation, Dann (Expect Great Things) takes Henry David Thoreau as his guide and inspiration as he sets off on a 12-day, 235-mile walking pilgrimage from Manhattan to Walden Pond, Concord, MA. Dann finds himself in a town that provides him a jumping-off point--rock formations, town signs, a shopping mall--to examine a character trait or belief of Thoreau's and mingle it with cultural criticism and personal meditation. Each chapter centers on a day and theme or lesson, such as awake, create, sense, and transcend and incorporates elements of religion, nature, myth, history, and literature. While well written, chapter lessons aren't always clear until Dann spells it out at the end, which occasionally invites readers to wonder what he is leading up to. However, Dann's omnivorous intellect keeps the work interesting and well paced. VERDICT Readers curious about the spiritual aspects of Thoreau will find much to ponder here.--Stefanie Hollmichel, Univ. of St. Thomas Law Lib., Minneapolis

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