-
Walden
- Narrated by: William Hope
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $14.76
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Great first listens
Editorial reviews
Walden is organized like a conversation. Thoreau moves from topic to topic in an easy flow, touching on politics, economics, and spirituality. William Hope's performance of the work brings out this quality wonderfully. Narrating slowly, with regular pauses, as if engaged in a conversation with a close friend, Hope allows readers to hear the rhythms of Thoreau's prose. But however it rambles, the essay always returns to the loving descriptions of nature and insightful reflections on personal identity that Thoreau developed in his cabin by Walden Pond. This is an accessible adaptation of an American classic.
Publisher's summary
In 1845 Henry David Thoreau, one of the principal New England Transcendentalists, left the town for the country. Beside the lake of Walden, he built himself a log cabin and returned to nature, to observe and reflect, while surviving on $8 a year. From this experience emerged one of the great classics of American literature, a deeply personal reaction against the commercialism and materialism that he saw as the main impulses of mid-19th century America.
Related to this topic
-
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
- By: Henry David Thoreau
- Narrated by: Jim Killavey
- Length: 1 hr and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This essay by Thoreau first published in 1849, argues that individuals should not permit governments to overrule their consciences. It goes on to say that individuals have a duty to avoid allowing the government to make them the agents of injustice. The quote: "That government is best which governs least," sometimes attributed to Thomas Jefferson or Thomas Paine, actually was first found in this essay. Thoreaus' thoughts were motivated by his disgust with slavery and the Mexican-American War but they are still relevant and resonate today.
-
-
10:22 p.m., 10th of January, 2018
- By Anonymous User on 01-11-18
-
The Maine Woods
- By: Henry David Thoreau
- Narrated by: Duncan Brownlehe
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thoreau gives an account of three canoe and hiking journeys - by himself and with others - through the mostly uninhabited forests of Maine in the 1850s. Identifying birds, trees and plants by their botanical as well as their common names, he also records the Indian names of lakes, rivers and plants. He investigates the connections between waterways and trails, and provides detail on camping, fishing and hunting in the woods, using whatever is at hand. Extolling the beauty of the wilds that he encounters, Thorough’s narrative is also imbued with elements of his philosophy.
-
-
Listened to this at least 3 times
- By Teagan MacEachern on 01-30-23
-
Essays of E. B. White
- By: E. B. White
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Legendary author and essayist E. B. White writes, "The essayist is a self-liberated man, sustained by the childish belief that everything he thinks about, everything that happens to him, is of general interest." Covering a large number of subjects, this classic collection features 31 of White's most memorable essays.
-
-
E.B. White writes honestly, fearlessly and clearly
- By Bonny on 09-03-17
By: E. B. White
-
A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains
- By: Isabella L. Bird
- Narrated by: Flo Gibson
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
These are the valiant and lyrically descriptive letters, written in 1873, by Isabella Bird, a courageous and spirited Englishwoman, telling her sister of her adventures on horseback over 800 miles of American wilderness.
-
-
The Solution to the Indian Problem
- By Samar on 09-26-16
By: Isabella L. Bird
-
The Adventures of Henry Thoreau
- A Young Man's Unlikely Path to Walden Pond
- By: Michael Sims
- Narrated by: David Rapkin
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Henry David Thoreau has long been an intellectual icon and folk hero. In this strikingly original profile, Michael Sims reveals how the bookish, quirky young man evolved into the patron saint of environmentalism and nonviolent activism. Working from 19th-century letters and diaries, Sims charts Henry’s course from his time at Harvard through the years he spent living in a cabin beside Walden Pond. Sims uncovers a previously hidden Thoreau - the rowdy boy reminiscent of Tom Sawyer, the sarcastic college iconoclast, the devoted son who kept imitating his beloved older brother’s choices in life.
-
-
Pleasant surprise
- By Norman Wendth on 10-21-14
By: Michael Sims
-
Growth of the Soil
- By: Knut Hamsun, Sverre Lyngstad - translator, Brad Leithauser - introduction
- Narrated by: BJ Harrison
- Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Growth of the Soil, Hamsun's Nobel Prize winning novel, is a classic of Scandinavian literature. The farmer Isak scarcely acknowledges the values of modern living. Illiterate but capable of carrying out the business of running a farm, he has physical strength and works with his hands. Although initially amazed by Isak's prowess - his wife Inger, who came into contact with modern society when imprisoned for killing her infant due to its birth defect, return to the home much less impressed by the country life.
-
-
Top of my all time favorites list
- By Pete on 05-17-21
By: Knut Hamsun, and others
-
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
- By: Henry David Thoreau
- Narrated by: Jim Killavey
- Length: 1 hr and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This essay by Thoreau first published in 1849, argues that individuals should not permit governments to overrule their consciences. It goes on to say that individuals have a duty to avoid allowing the government to make them the agents of injustice. The quote: "That government is best which governs least," sometimes attributed to Thomas Jefferson or Thomas Paine, actually was first found in this essay. Thoreaus' thoughts were motivated by his disgust with slavery and the Mexican-American War but they are still relevant and resonate today.
-
-
10:22 p.m., 10th of January, 2018
- By Anonymous User on 01-11-18
-
The Maine Woods
- By: Henry David Thoreau
- Narrated by: Duncan Brownlehe
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thoreau gives an account of three canoe and hiking journeys - by himself and with others - through the mostly uninhabited forests of Maine in the 1850s. Identifying birds, trees and plants by their botanical as well as their common names, he also records the Indian names of lakes, rivers and plants. He investigates the connections between waterways and trails, and provides detail on camping, fishing and hunting in the woods, using whatever is at hand. Extolling the beauty of the wilds that he encounters, Thorough’s narrative is also imbued with elements of his philosophy.
-
-
Listened to this at least 3 times
- By Teagan MacEachern on 01-30-23
-
Essays of E. B. White
- By: E. B. White
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Legendary author and essayist E. B. White writes, "The essayist is a self-liberated man, sustained by the childish belief that everything he thinks about, everything that happens to him, is of general interest." Covering a large number of subjects, this classic collection features 31 of White's most memorable essays.
-
-
E.B. White writes honestly, fearlessly and clearly
- By Bonny on 09-03-17
By: E. B. White
-
A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains
- By: Isabella L. Bird
- Narrated by: Flo Gibson
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
These are the valiant and lyrically descriptive letters, written in 1873, by Isabella Bird, a courageous and spirited Englishwoman, telling her sister of her adventures on horseback over 800 miles of American wilderness.
-
-
The Solution to the Indian Problem
- By Samar on 09-26-16
By: Isabella L. Bird
-
The Adventures of Henry Thoreau
- A Young Man's Unlikely Path to Walden Pond
- By: Michael Sims
- Narrated by: David Rapkin
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Henry David Thoreau has long been an intellectual icon and folk hero. In this strikingly original profile, Michael Sims reveals how the bookish, quirky young man evolved into the patron saint of environmentalism and nonviolent activism. Working from 19th-century letters and diaries, Sims charts Henry’s course from his time at Harvard through the years he spent living in a cabin beside Walden Pond. Sims uncovers a previously hidden Thoreau - the rowdy boy reminiscent of Tom Sawyer, the sarcastic college iconoclast, the devoted son who kept imitating his beloved older brother’s choices in life.
-
-
Pleasant surprise
- By Norman Wendth on 10-21-14
By: Michael Sims
-
Growth of the Soil
- By: Knut Hamsun, Sverre Lyngstad - translator, Brad Leithauser - introduction
- Narrated by: BJ Harrison
- Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Growth of the Soil, Hamsun's Nobel Prize winning novel, is a classic of Scandinavian literature. The farmer Isak scarcely acknowledges the values of modern living. Illiterate but capable of carrying out the business of running a farm, he has physical strength and works with his hands. Although initially amazed by Isak's prowess - his wife Inger, who came into contact with modern society when imprisoned for killing her infant due to its birth defect, return to the home much less impressed by the country life.
-
-
Top of my all time favorites list
- By Pete on 05-17-21
By: Knut Hamsun, and others
-
Our National Parks
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Peter Coates
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this poetic audiobook, hear the words of legendary outdoorsman John Muir's entreaty to the American people imploring them to develop, as he did, a connection to their national parks. An ardent outdoorsman, a gifted writer, a dedicated preservationist, and a spiritual beacon, John Muir worked in his life and in his writing to inspire everyone to find a love for the wilderness and to become invested in its preservation.
-
-
A must read for anyone even remotely interested in forest preservation
- By "bchandle" on 05-17-21
By: John Muir
-
Good Poems
- Selected and Introduced by Garrison Keillor
- By: Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, and others
- Narrated by: Garrison Keillor
- Length: 4 hrs and 23 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Good Poems includes poems about lovers, children, failure, everyday life, death, and transcendence. It features the work of classic poets, such as Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and Robert Frost, as well as the work of contemporary greats such as Howard Nemerov, Charles Bukowski, Donald Hall, Billy Collins, Robert Bly, and Sharon Olds Good Poems includes poems about lovers, children, failure, everyday life, death, and transcendence.
-
-
Very good, but. . .
- By KSmith on 01-27-11
By: Emily Dickinson, and others
-
My First Summer in the Sierra
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Brett Barry
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was June of 1869 when John Muir reluctantly accepted a job herding sheep from the central valley of California to the headwaters of the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers, high into the Sierra Nevadas and deep into the Yosemite region. He felt ill equipped for the work, and yet the opportunity thrilled his adventurous spirit. With a notebook tied to his belt, he set out for a summer he would never forget. My First Summer in the Sierra is Muir’s classic account of that extraordinary journey.
-
-
Almost every line is quotable
- By Kacy on 08-30-13
By: John Muir
-
A Most Remarkable Creature
- The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey
- By: Jonathan Meiburg
- Narrated by: Jonathan Meiburg
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An enthralling account of a modern voyage of discovery as we meet the clever, social birds of prey called caracaras, which puzzled Darwin, fascinate modern-day falconers, and carry secrets of our planet's deep past in their family history.
-
-
I don't leave reviews often, but . . .
- By Steven L Peck on 06-24-21
By: Jonathan Meiburg
-
Lorna Doone
- By: R. D. Blackmore
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 29 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
First published in 1869, Lorna Doone is the story of John Ridd, a farmer who finds love amid the religious and social turmoil of 17th-century England. He is just a boy when his father is slain by the Doones, a lawless clan inhabiting wild Exmoor on the border of Somerset and Devon. Seized by curiosity and a sense of adventure, he makes his way to the valley of the Doones, where he is discovered by the beautiful Lorna.
-
-
LORNA DOONE
- By Lisa on 02-07-19
By: R. D. Blackmore
-
Spoon River Anthology
- By: Edgar Lee Masters
- Narrated by: Patrick Fraley, Edward Asner
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From a cemetery in a mythical small town in Illinois, the dead speak about their lives. Each free-verse monologue stands as an epitaph for the person speaking, yet the play is ultimately about life, not death. Featuring 50 performers with specially commissioned original music, this is the only audio version of this landmark classic available.
-
-
Magnificent American poetry
- By Admiral Pike on 04-14-05
-
Roughing It
- By: Mark Twain
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1861, young Mark Twain found himself adrift as a tenderfoot in the Wild West. Roughing It is a hilarious record of his travels over a six-year period that comes to life with his inimitable mixture of reporting, social satire, and rollicking tall tales. Twain reflects on his scuffling years mining silver in Nevada, working at a Virginia City newspaper, being downandout in San Francisco, reporting for a newspaper from Hawaii, and more.
-
-
The wild humorist of the West
- By Tad Davis on 01-02-12
By: Mark Twain
-
The Innocents Abroad
- Or, The New Pilgrim’s Progress
- By: Mark Twain
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 18 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In June 1867, Mark Twain set out for Europe and the Holy Land on the paddle steamer Quaker City. His enduring, no-nonsense guide for the first-time traveler also served as an antidote to the insufferably romantic travel books of the period.
-
-
Twain's Hidden Gem
- By Cynthia Franks on 05-08-12
By: Mark Twain
-
Far from the Madding Crowd
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Far from the Madding Crowd, which first appeared in Cornhill Magazine in monthly installments back in the late 19th century, features the love life of the young Bathsheba Everdene who is as poor as she is beautiful. Fortunately, Bathsheba's uncle leaves her his farm, which she goes to manage in the small town of Weatherbury. Before she leaves, however, she has an interesting encounter with a young farmer, Gabriel Oak, for whom she does a tremendous favor ,and he becomes indebted to her....
-
-
Loved this delightful listening experience !!!
- By Robin Wardle on 07-15-16
By: Thomas Hardy
-
Death Comes to the Village
- Kurland St. Mary Mystery Series, Book 1
- By: Catherine Lloyd
- Narrated by: Susannah Tyrrell
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Major Robert Kurland has returned to the quiet vistas of Kurland St. Mary to recuperate from the horrors of Waterloo. However injured his body may be, his mind is as active as ever. Too active, perhaps. When he glimpses a shadowy figure from his bedroom window struggling with a heavy load, the tranquil façade of the village begins to loom sinister....
-
-
Starts slowly, gets better
- By TabithaD on 02-16-24
By: Catherine Lloyd
-
What Men Live By
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Max Highstein
- Length: 1 hr
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One winter evening a shoemaker finds a mysterious stranger naked and freezing by a shrine in his small village. The shoemaker rescues the man, and takes him home. Though the stranger won’t say where he came from, Simon invites him to work beside him, and stay with his family. As the story unfolds, the stranger transforms, and ultimately reveals an astonishing and deeply moving secret. Late in Tolstoy’s life, after he had written his great masterpieces War and Peace, and Anna Karenina, he underwent a spiritual transformation.
-
-
Short but powerful story from Leo Tolstoy
- By Anonymous User on 09-19-21
By: Leo Tolstoy
-
A Hunter's Fireside Book
- Tales of Dogs, Ducks, Birds, & Guns
- By: Gene Hill
- Narrated by: Ray Childs
- Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The legendary American outdoor writer’s finest collection. For decades, Gene Hill’s articles and books have captured the spirit of the outdoors in a way that inspires and entertains millions of readers. A Hunter’s Fireside Book captures the essence of the life of a sportsman and explores the full spectrum of the hunter’s experience: sunrises in the duck blind, an unforgettable hunter’s moon, the camaraderie of men who know the pleasures of being wet and cold and a little bit lost.
-
-
Beyond acquiring meat, this is why we go afield
- By Ray C on 02-28-20
By: Gene Hill
What listeners say about Walden
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Justin Scarelli
- 04-10-23
Brings Thoreau to life
Good abridged version and narrator! I enjoyed the read and recommend this version to others.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- Helen Olmsted
- 08-30-05
A little dry
I'm on a classics kick so I picked this one too. I have to give this one a big YAWN. But the book does have redeeming qualities from philosophical standpoint. The author's desire to "live life on purpose" and to question the precepts of modern society is relevant 160 years later.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Merry
- 09-17-12
Love the book Hated the perfomance
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Book yes. This reading no.
It sounded as though it was being read by Archie Bunker. I wish I could have a refund.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Walden?
Walden is a wonderful visual piece.
How could the performance have been better?
Having it narrated by Rupert Degas!
Was Walden worth the listening time?
Not this version narrated by Mr Hope!
Any additional comments?
There should be a means to obtain a refund or a credit when something is this awful!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- MTN MAN
- 04-15-24
Abridged version of Walden, excellent narration
I originally read portions of "Walden" for a humanities class in college. This abridged audiobook seems to capture the feeling of the full book. Excellent narration that really seems to match the tone and voice that Thoreau is projecting in his writing. The text is very insightful and the major themes seem more relevant now than ever. Thoreau's snarkiness about society is amusing but does get a little tiresome at points.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!