Walden and Civil Disobedience (New Riverside Editions)

In addition to pairing Thoreau's two famous works, this volume contains a large section entitled "Contexts and Comments," which includes essays, letters, and excerpts contextualizing and further expanding on Thoreau's themes. Some of the world's most prominent humanitarians and authors have been influenced by and have responded to Thoreau's seminal works; this new edition features writings by Angelina Grimke, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mary Wilkins Freeman, Leo Tolstoy, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Paul Lauter is the Smith Professor of Literature at Trinity College. He has served as president of the American Studies Association and is a major figure in the revision of the American literary canon.