The Other "Hermit" of Thoreau's Walden Pond
The Other

Author: Terry Barkley

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2019-06-28

Total Pages: 141

ISBN-13: 1940669952

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“Barkley’s biography brings Hotham back to life and paints a picture of a complex and fascinating man.” —Richard Smith, acclaimed Living History interpreter of Henry David Thoreau Nearly seven years after Henry Thoreau died in 1862 of tuberculosis in Concord, Massachusetts, a young theological student from New York City arrived in Concord in November 1868. Edmond Hotham had never been there, but he immediately began preparations to pursue the “wild life.” He met transcendentalist poet (William) Ellery Channing, a former close friend of Thoreau’s who had suggested to Thoreau that he build his cabin at Walden Pond. It was Channing who likely introduced Hotham to transcendentalist leader Ralph Waldo Emerson (the “Sage of Concord”), and Emerson who gave Hotham permission, like Thoreau before him, to build his “Earth-cabin” on the poet’s property at Walden Pond. Hotham built his shanty on the pond’s shore about 100 yards in front of Thoreau’s, where he attempted to out-economize and out-simplify Thoreau. Hotham’s sojourn as the second “hermit” at Walden Pond exemplified the growing adulation of Henry David Thoreau and his literary work. Author Terry Barkley has gleaned archival sources, vital records, period newspaper accounts, and census rolls for everything that is known about Edmond Hotham. The Other “Hermit” of Thoreau’s Walden Pond is the first book-length treatise on Hotham, half of which is wholly new material. It far supersedes the late Kenneth Walter Cameron’s 1962 article on Hotham, which until now was the most complete study of the man. Barkley’s groundbreaking study book is an important addition to the Concord-Walden Pond story and a fascinating read. To quote Thoreau, “What is once well done is done forever.”

The Old Hermit's Almanac
The Old Hermit's Almanac

Author: Edward Hays

Publisher: Forest of Peace Publishing

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 9780939516377

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Contains a reflection for each of the 365 days of the year (each entry approximately one page long), celebrating holy days and holidays, feast days and famous days of the past and glimpses into the future. It marks accomplishments of yesterday that call the reader to live well tomorrow and points out "pedestrian" prophecies of the past, off-target predictions that show the folly of forecasting, especially those predictions that limit our possibilities. This is not a one-year almanac but will take ten years to digest its wisdom and wit.While debunking prophets of gloom and doom, The Old Hermit's Almanac does challenge readers to change themselves, to examine themselves for any narrowness off heart and mind, any prejudices, injustice or lack of faith, for a leisureless lifestyle that squeezes out silence, a sense of meaning, Compassion and playfulness. It invites the reader to live with hope in the

The Stranger in the Woods
The Stranger in the Woods

Author: Michael Finkel

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2018-01-30

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1101911530

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The remarkable true story of a man who lived alone in the woods of Maine for 27 years, making this dream a reality—not out of anger at the world, but simply because he preferred to live on his own. “A meditation on solitude, wildness and survival.” —The Wall Street Journal In 1986, a shy and intelligent twenty-year-old named Christopher Knight left his home in Massachusetts, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the forest. He would not have a conversation with another human being until nearly three decades later, when he was arrested for stealing food. Living in a tent even through brutal winters, he had survived by his wits and courage, developing ingenious ways to store edibles and water, and to avoid freezing to death. He broke into nearby cottages for food, clothing, reading material, and other provisions, taking only what he needed but terrifying a community never able to solve the mysterious burglaries. Based on extensive interviews with Knight himself, this is a vividly detailed account of his secluded life—why did he leave? what did he learn?—as well as the challenges he has faced since returning to the world. It is a gripping story of survival that asks fundamental questions about solitude, community, and what makes a good life, and a deeply moving portrait of a man who was determined to live his own way, and succeeded.

Discover Your Inner Hermit Crab
Discover Your Inner Hermit Crab

Author: Jim Toomey

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing

Published: 2010-08-03

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 0740791109

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The comic strip Sherman’s Lagoon appears in more than 200 newspapers in 30 countries and in six languages. Toomey’s wonderful strip combines the upbeat tone of under-the-sea fun, with a real-life look that enlightens and entertains. Jim Toomey's environmentally aware comic strip, Sherman's Lagoon, appears in 150 newspapers in 30 countries and in 6 languages. Inside this latest cartoon collection, Discover Your Inner Hermit Crab, more than 42 weeks of Sherman's Lagoon stand ready to transport readers to an imaginary lagoon near the South Pacific island of Kapupu in the Palauan archipelago of Micronesia, where a cast of coral-reef critters battles the encroachment of the hairless beach apes with their so-called civilized human ways. Inhabitants of this nautical neighborhood include Sherman, an always-hungry-but-otherwise-typical great white shark; his witty, pearl-wearing wife, Megan; friendly Fillmore the turtle; geeky fish Ernest; macho hermit crab Hawthorne; and salty old Captain Quigley, who remains vengeful having lost his leg to Sherman. Lauded for promoting marine conservation, Toomey has been described as a "breath of fresh water" by the Washington Post and designated as an Environmental Hero by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in recognition of his efforts to protect and preserve the nation's environment.

Into the Wild
Into the Wild

Author: Jon Krakauer

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2009-09-22

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 0307476863

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. This is the unforgettable story of how Christopher Johnson McCandless came to die. "It may be nonfiction, but Into the Wild is a mystery of the highest order." —Entertainment Weekly McCandess had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Not long after, he was dead. Into the Wild is the mesmerizing, heartbreaking tale of an enigmatic young man who goes missing in the wild and whose story captured the world’s attention. Immediately after graduating from college in 1991, McCandless had roamed through the West and Southwest on a vision quest like those made by his heroes Jack London and John Muir. In the Mojave Desert he abandoned his car, stripped it of its license plates, and burned all of his cash. He would give himself a new name, Alexander Supertramp, and, unencumbered by money and belongings, he would be free to wallow in the raw, unfiltered experiences that nature presented. Craving a blank spot on the map, McCandless simply threw the maps away. Leaving behind his desperate parents and sister, he vanished into the wild. Jon Krakauer constructs a clarifying prism through which he reassembles the disquieting facts of McCandless's short life. Admitting an interest that borders on obsession, he searches for the clues to the drives and desires that propelled McCandless. When McCandless's innocent mistakes turn out to be irreversible and fatal, he becomes the stuff of tabloid headlines and is dismissed for his naiveté, pretensions, and hubris. He is said to have had a death wish but wanting to die is a very different thing from being compelled to look over the edge. Krakauer brings McCandless's uncompromising pilgrimage out of the shadows, and the peril, adversity, and renunciation sought by this enigmatic young man are illuminated with a rare understanding—and not an ounce of sentimentality. Into the Wild is a tour de force. The power and luminosity of Jon Krakauer's stoytelling blaze through every page.