Books : The Essential Transcendentalists
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by: Richard G. Geldard
List Price: $15.95Amazon.com's Price: $12.44 You Save: $3.51 (22%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 141.30973
EAN: 9781585424344
ISBN: 158542434X
Label: Tarcher
Manufacturer: Tarcher
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 272
Publication Date: October 06, 2005
Publisher: Tarcher
Sales Rank: 572983
Studio: Tarcher
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
An anthology of core writings by the New England Transcendentalists, providing a unique overview of these landmark figures as spiritual thinkers.
Interest abounds in the work of the Transcendentalists, such as Emerson, Thoreau, and Bronson Alcott. Each year, tens of thousands of readers rediscover Transcendental thought in books and articles, and in visits to historic sites, such as Walden Pond. But few appreciate the truly mystical and contemplative qualities of the Transcendentalists, and the spiritual movements and figures they have since inspired.
As Richard G. Geldard-one of today's leading scholars of Emerson-illustrates in The Essential Transcendentalists, Transcendentalism adds up to a school of practical spiritual philosophy that aims to guide the individual toward inner development, much like that of Stoicism in Western antiquity. This current of New England mysticism has influenced modern-day luminaries as diverse as essayist Annie Dillard and Ernest Holmes, founder of the worldwide Religious Science movement.
Through revealing commentary, historical overview, and selections from classic works, The Essential Transcendentalists provides a distinctive and heretofore neglected examination of the spiritual breadth and depth of 'Yankee mysticism.'
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Better Collections Out There
I was not wholly impressed with this collection of transcendentalist works. The selections do not completely flow and the introductory material is often repetitive. I also did not completely agree with what are considered "essential" texts. It left me a bit confused at times. But probably a good intro to Transcendentalism if you are new to that genre.
Rating:  - An appetizer preparing us for a main course
When we think of Transcendentalism, we first turn to Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. But the literary movement was made up of more personalities than just those two men; and while "Nature" and "Walden" are key writings, they're not the only examples anyone can or should read. Hence the need and attraction of any transcendental anthology: it brings us multiple voices, perhaps even some unfamiliar or unusual ones.
This volume represents a very small portion of those possibilities. ... Read More
Rating: - Why I'm Reading This Book.
Early east coast settlements in America brought to the new frontier a basic fear and distrust of nature, not really a healthy attitude for a young nation with a whole continent of conquest ahead of it. Thus the Salem witch craft trials, and further extremes of puritanism that must have perturbed thinking individuals of the early 1800s. The early transcendalists looked for a way of dialoguing with these people, taking care not to alienate them, but at the same time not giving up their pursuit of freedom and ... Read More
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