The Thoreau You Don't Know: What the Prophet of Environmentalism Really Meant
Sullivan (Rats) weaves biography and American history in this playful attempt to recast Thoreau as more a complex (and convivial) creature than a dour and ascetic environmentalist and anarchical loner. The book may stir controversy among those who have appropriated Thoreau for a particular cause&mdash;a welcome prospect for the author, who writes, I suppose I have an ax to grind. The Thoreau you know bothers me too, in light of the one I think I've seen. According to Sullivan, the man has been lost to the myth, and the myth has removed him from the context of 19th-century Concord, Mass. Was he an eccentric genius? Probably. Was he an isolationist hermit with a lazy streak? No. In fact, Walden was just a stroll from town, and Thoreau thrived on visits from friends. Sullivan gleefully complicates our understanding of Thoreau and the values he championed&mdash;civil disobedience and environmentalism. Although the book may not be as revolutionary a study as Sullivan claims, he proves a fine companion on yet another pilgrimage to Walden.(Apr.)Copyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.