Life, Death, Doubleness and Friendship at Walden

Dr. William Rossi (professor of English at the University of Oregon) discusses little-known aspects of the life and work of Henry David Thoreau. Perhaps no other American writer comes as pre-packaged with a cultural mythology and a set of opinions about him as Thoreau. His retreat to Walden Pond, the resulting book, and his supposedly aloof attitude toward American society continue to be studied and debated today. Based on little-known documents and manuscripts that throw light on his life and writings in the Walden period, Rossi introduces and explores a different Thoreau than the one most modern readers have encountered.