The oft-quoted transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau is best known for two works:WaldenandCivil Disobedience.First published in 1854,Waldendocuments the time Thoreau spent living with nature in a hand-built cabin in the woods near Walden Pond in Massachusetts. A minor work in its own time,Waldenburgeoned in popularity during the countercultural movement of the 1960s.Civil Disobedienceis thought to have originated after Thoreau spent a night in jail for refusing to pay taxes to a government with whose policies he did not agree. Assigning greater importance to the conscience of the individual than the governing law,Civil Disobedienceis an internationally admired work that is known to have influenced writer Leo Tolstoy and political activist Mahatma Gandhi, and many members of the American Civil Rights Movement. Now available together in one chic and affordable edition as part of theWord Cloud Classicsseries,Walden and Civil Disobediencemakes an attractive addition to any library.

Lexile score: 1340L