Walden, by Henry David Thoreau

Walden is one of the key works of the Transcendentalist movement of the American 1800's, but it probably never hit its peak popularity until the 1960's, roughly a century later. During his short life, Thoreau was known mostly for his radical opposition to slavery and to the American invasion of Mexico. He wrote in favor of John Brown, who was hung for killing slaveholders. And he wrote "On Resistance to Civil Government," the essay often known as "Civil Disobedience," while in jail for refusing to fund the invasion of Mexico by paying a tax.

In Walden, Thoreau describes a year of his life in a homemade cabin at Walden Pond, just outside of Concord, Massachussetts. A lot of MtSAC students are putting together households, or will. What's the difference? What principles still apply?