Thoreau's wildflowers

Thoreau's wildflowers

Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862

Book - 2016

Some of Henry David Thoreau's most beautiful nature writing was inspired by the flowering trees and plants of Concord. A tireless year-round rambler and journal keeper, he faithfully recorded, dated, and described his sightings of the floating water lily, the elusive wild azalea, and the late autumn foliage of the scarlet oak. This inviting selection of Thoreau's best flower writings is arranged by day of the year and accompanied by Thoreau's philosophical speculations and his observations of the weather and of other plants and animals. They illuminate the author's spirituality, his belief in nature's correspondence with the human soul, and his sense that anticipation - of spring, of flowers yet to bloom - renews ou...r connection with the earth and with immortality. Thoreau's Wildflowers features more than 200 of the black-and-white drawings originally created by Barry Moser for his first illustrated book, Flowering Plants of Massachusetts. This volume also presents "Thoreau as Botanist," an essay by Ray Angelo, the leading authority on the flowering plants of Concord. --

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Subjects
Thoreau, Henry David, > 1817-1862 > Knowledge and learning.
Botany.
Wild flowers > Massachusetts > Concord.
Wild flowers > Massachusetts > Concord > Pictorial works.
Natural history > Massachusetts > Concord.
Published
New Haven : Yale University Press [2016]
Language
English
Main Author
Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862 (author)
Other Authors
Barry Moser (illustrator), Ray Angelo, 1948- (-)
Item Description
"This inviting selection of Thoreau's best flower writings is arranged by day of the year and accompanied by Thoreau's philosophical speculations and his observations of the weather and of other plants and animals."--Jacket.
Includes essay "Thoreau as botanist" by Ray Angelo.
Drawings originally created for Flowering plants of Massachusetts / by Vernon Ahmadjian ; drawings by Barry Moser. Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press, 1979. (Dust jacket).
Physical Description
xliii, 300 pages : illustrations, map ; 25 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-272) and index.
ISBN
9780300214772
  • Preface
  • Introduction
  • A Note on the Text
  • "Thoreau as Botanist"
  • Thoreau's wildflowers
  • Notes
  • Botanical Terms
  • Map of Concord and Key to Place-Names
  • Bibliography
  • Index
Review by Choice Review

Wisner has selected snippets of Henry David Thoreau's observations, written during the 1850s, on the wild plants of Concord, Massachusetts, and arranged the writings chronologically beginning in March and ending in February. For each day there may be one quote from Thoreau's journals or multiple entries for that day from different years. Some entries are brief--for example, "Buttercups thickly spot the churchyard" (May 30)--while others can run as long as two pages. The botanical diary is richly illustrated with Barry Moser's beautiful, very accurate black-and-white drawings, first done for Vernon Ahmadjian's Flowering Plants of Massachusetts (1979). Supplemental information includes a map of Concord with a key to place-names and an informative essay by botanist Ray Angelo ("Thoreau as Botanist"), who puts Thoreau's floristic contributions in perspective. Although not for the research shelf, this book will appeal to nature enthusiasts, fans of Thoreau, and those interested in botanical illustration. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers. --Glenn D. Dreyer, Connecticut College

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.

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