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Wild Apples
Wild Apples
Wild Apples
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Wild Apples

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"Wild Apples" is a fascinating and wonderfully-written essay concerning the history and variations of wild apple species by American naturalist Henry David Thoreau. One of Thoreau's major essays, "Wild Apples" perfectly conveys his profound love and appreciation of nature and it's many wonders. Highly recommended for lovers of nature writing and fans of Thoreau's seminal work. Contents include: "The History Of The Apple-tree", "The Wild Apple", "The Crab", "How The Wild Apple Grows", "The Fruit, And Its Flavor", "Their Beauty", "The Naming Of Them", "The Last Gleaning", and The 'Frozen-thawed' Apple". Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862) was an American poet, philosopher, essayist, abolitionist, naturalist, development critic, and historian. He was also a leading figure in Transcendentalism, and is best known for his book "Walden", a treatise on simple living in a natural environment. Other notable works by this author include: "The Landlord" (1843), "Reform and the Reformers" (1846-48), and "Slavery in Massachusetts" (1854). Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateDec 5, 2016
ISBN9781473346567
Author

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) was an American author and naturalist. A leading figure of Transcendentalism, he is best remembered for Walden, an account of the two years he spent living in a cabin on the north shore of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, and for Civil Disobedience, an essay that greatly influenced the abolitionist movement and the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This very short work by Thoreau is sheer poetry to read. He explores the role of wild apples within history and culture, often citing the classics. It's highly readable--more so than many 19th century works--and a pure sensory delight. Honestly, it made me hungry for apples."The out-door air and exercise which the walker gets give a different tone to his palate, and he craves a fruit which the sedentary would call harsh and crabbed. They must be eaten in the fields, when your system is all aglow with exercise, when the frosty weather nips your fingers, the wind rattles the bare boughs...""Almost all wild apples are handsome. They cannot be too gnarly and crabbed and rusty to look at. The gnarliest will have some redeeming traits even to the eye."This book is available for free, legal download online.

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Wild Apples - Henry David Thoreau

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WILD APPLES

BY

HENRY DAVID THOREAU

Copyright © 2016 Read Books Ltd.

This book is copyright and may not be

reproduced or copied in any way without

the express permission of the publisher in writing

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from

the British Library

Contents

Henry David Thoreau

THE HISTORY OF THE APPLE-TREE.

THE WILD APPLE.

THE CRAB.

HOW THE WILD APPLE GROWS.

THE FRUIT, AND ITS FLAVOR.

THEIR BEAUTY.

THE NAMING OF THEM.

THE LAST GLEANING.

THE FROZEN-THAWED APPLE.

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau was born David Henry Thoreau on 12 July 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts. He became ‘Henry David’ after college, but never petitioned to make the name change legal. He studied at Harvard College between 1833 and 1837 and took classes in rhetoric, classics, philosophy, maths and science. After Thoreau graduated in 1837, he joined the faculty of the Concord public school, but quickly resigned as he disagreed with corporeal punishment. In 1838 he and his brother, John, opened Concord Academy, a grammar school which introduced several progressive concepts such as nature walks and visits to local businesses. The school closed after John died in Thoreau’s arms after becoming fatally ill with tetanus due to a shaving wound.

Thoreau was an intelligent man and a keen philosopher of nature and its relation to the human condition. In his early years he was particularly keen on Transcendentalism. His friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), encouraged him to contribute essays and poems to a quarterly periodical, The Dial, which published Thoreau’s first essay, Aulus Persius Flaccus (1840).

In 1841, Thoreau moved into the Emerson house and worked as the children’s tutor, editorial assistant, and repair man until 1844. Soon after, he began work in his father’s pencil factory which he continued to do for most of his life. In 1845, Thoreau found himself struggling to concentrate on his writing so embarked on a two year experiment in simple living. He moved into a small, self-built house on land owned by Emerson around the shores of Walden Pond. Soon after, in 1846, Thoreau was asked to pay six years of late poll taxes. Thoreau refused due to his opposition to the Mexican-American war and slavery. He spent the night in jail as a result, but was released the next day when someone paid on his behalf. The experience had a strong impact on Thoreau and in 1848 he delivered lectures on ‘The Rights and Duties of the Individual in relation to Government’. He later revised the lecture into an essay entitled Resistance to Civil Government (1849).

Whilst living at Walden Pond, Thoreau wrote A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849), an elegy to his brother, John. He could not find a

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