The Maine Woods

by Henry David Thoreau

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
789	6	30,198	(3.89)	30
Henry D. Thoreau traveled to the backwoods of Maine in 1846, 1853, and 1857. Originally published in 1864, and published now with a new introduction by Paul Theroux, this volume is a powerful telling of those journeys through a rugged and largely unspoiled land. It presents Thoreau's fullest account of the wilderness. The Maine Woods is classic Thoreau: a personal story of exterior and interior discoveries in a natural setting--all conveyed in taut, masterly prose. Thoreau's evocative renderings of the life of the primitive forest--its mountains, waterways, fauna, flora, and inhabitants--are timeless and valuable on their own. But his impassioned protest against the despoilment of nature in the name of commerce and sport, which even by the 1850's threatened to deprive Americans of the "tonic of wildness," makes The Maine Woods an especially vital book for our own time.… (more)

all members

▾Members

Recently added by	Victoria_Arledge, sarahmohd, Heather39, KimLawton, MiSunG, Suzanness, MadaDursma, cdevine2, windhorsearts, Didici
Legacy Libraries	Edna St. Vincent Millay, John Muir

▾Tags

▾LibraryThing Recommendations

▾Lists

Must-Read Maine (34)

Trees (5)

Geography and Travel from The Book-Lover (7)

▾Will you like it?

▾Conversations (About links)

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 30 mentions

▾Member reviews

date ▼ | votes

Showing 5 of 5

Thoreau’s by far best known for Walden, but this is a contender for his best. He learned from the weaknesses in his earlier writings – no long digressions here, no frequent intrusions of bad poetry, the book’s conceived and structured well. And besides avoiding his earlier mistakes it’s a great story told well. Almost all of it is description of his Maine travels, but where he does wax philosophical it’s welcome, with his characteristically acute observations and a perspective that’s the opposite of provincial, whether in time, place, nation, culture, etc. (

)

garbagedump | Dec 9, 2022 |

A man with a deep love of nature records his various trips into the woods of upstate Maine. Traveling by river with the help of Native American guides, he makes many remarks about the trees, plants, wildlife, and his experiences. Thoreau was in many ways ahead of his time and able to see to the day when all the wilderness would be gone. He predicts the disappearance of the bears, the moose, the Indians who had all been a part of the wild since time immemorial. He bemoans his culture's elevation of agriculture above preservation of the natural world.

But truly, the sermons are few and far between. He mostly simply enjoys nature for itself. He believes deeply that to be in the midst of nature is to better oneself and he takes his own beliefs to heart. It's a pleasant and peaceful book to meditate upon. Preferably outside. (

)

Juva | Sep 20, 2017 |

The Maine Woods by Henry David Thoreau
1961 Book is broken up into different parts of Maine and then by category of trees, flowers and Indian words, etc.
I was fortunate to visit his cabin at Walden Pond in Concord, MA where you can walk and see how he lived there and survived on the land.
Loved the tips the Indian gave him on direction and how to use nature to tell you where you are and how to figure out where you needed to go to.
Really enjoyed the adventures and the things they saw together and at the very end is the index of trees and whether they are common or not and
other little tips during the trips stating what kind of tree to use for the fire to cook certain animals they had killed and why that particular tree.
So much to learn!
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device). (

)

jbarr5 | Jul 23, 2013 |

Not as philosophical as Walden, but great to read in the morning sitting on the deck drinking coffee. Thoreau seemed to be mellowing when he wrote this: it's less of an indictment of the modern world of his time. He does lament the loss of so many trees in the eponymous woods, but he really seems to be enjoying everything he encounters, from the pork fat for breakfast to the drying of his soggy clothes by the fire to the overwhelming bulk of the moose his guides shoot. The most memorable character here is Joe Polis, his American Indian guide on the second excursion, who is a natural man, a business man, and a philosopher. (

)

scootm | Jun 9, 2010 |

It's a magnificent journey into the Maine woods. His descriptions of the areas he traveled, the economies & lifestyle were very interesting. The only thing that detracted from this is my dislike of him. He continually borrows what he can't afford with little thought - seems like he feels it is his due. He judges others with an arrogance that is appalling & so offhand. He lacks any empathy towards others. He is fairly intelligent & knowledgeable, but his manner just puts me off. (

)

jimmaclachlan | Sep 25, 2009 |

date ▼ | votes

Showing 5 of 5

▾Published reviews

no reviews | add a review

▾Other authors

» Add other authors (14 possible)

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Publisher Series

Kodansha Academic Library (1133)

Penguin Nature Classics

Is contained in

A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers / Walden / The Maine Woods / Cape Cod by Henry David Thoreau

Walden / The Maine Woods / A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers / Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau

Walden and Other Writings by Henry David Thoreau

A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers / Cape Cod / the Maine Woods by Henry David Thoreau

The Maine Woods / A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers / Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Contains

Canoeing in the Wilderness by Henry David Thoreau

▾Awards and Honors

view history

▾Common Knowledge

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.

For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

USA

Maine, USA

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

First words

Quotations

Last words

Disambiguation notice

The German title "Wildnis von Maine" should not be combined with "The Maine Woods", as it contains only one section of this volume (corresponding with the English title "Canoeing in the Wilderness").

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (3)

Bellefield Boiler Plant

Old John Neptune

Sporting camp

▾Book descriptions

Henry D. Thoreau traveled to the backwoods of Maine in 1846, 1853, and 1857. Originally published in 1864, and published now with a new introduction by Paul Theroux, this volume is a powerful telling of those journeys through a rugged and largely unspoiled land. It presents Thoreau's fullest account of the wilderness. The Maine Woods is classic Thoreau: a personal story of exterior and interior discoveries in a natural setting--all conveyed in taut, masterly prose. Thoreau's evocative renderings of the life of the primitive forest--its mountains, waterways, fauna, flora, and inhabitants--are timeless and valuable on their own. But his impassioned protest against the despoilment of nature in the name of commerce and sport, which even by the 1850's threatened to deprive Americans of the "tonic of wildness," makes The Maine Woods an especially vital book for our own time.

▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Haiku summary