Book Description
The major works of Emerson's most productive period in their entirety: "Nature: Addresses and Lectures," "Essays: First and Second Series," "Representative Men," "English Traits," and "The Conduct of Life."
Customer Reviews:
The philosopher of America.......2006-12-06
It is wonderful to have all of Emerson's essays in one volume. Like his great pupil and friend Thoreau , Emerson is a poetic thinker of the highest order. His essays are filled with aphoristic gems . They contain not simply thoughts on different subjects but an organic and coherent way of seeing and understanding the world. They are the work of a genuine American philosophical voice.
There is so much to read here that it is difficult to know where to begin, though I have an especial feeling for 'Representative Men' with its exaltation of great individual human beings .Because he is so poetic and because his writing is so dense with meaning it does not always make for easy reading. But it is firm in principle and great in suggestiveness.
The way to understand where Whitman and in a sense even William James are coming from is to read this work.
Powerful and stirring prose that still ring in the American spirit.......2006-10-26
I cannot think of another writer whose prose reads with as much poetic power as Emerson. The poetic aspect comes from the richness of meaning that continue to manifest as one lingers and thinks about the words Emerson writes rather than anything contrived or artsy. He created many powerful sentences and phrases that still live in the American spirit, and yet, for all the ringing words we love and hold close there are many thoughts and arguments that many people, including myself, find difficult to accept on any level other than being by Emerson.
For all that we love in Self-Reliance and The American Scholar, we still have to deal with his mystic essay on the Over-soul. Many conservative Christians have problems with his Transcendentalist views of religion and Christ. Reading his thoughts on "The Lord's Supper" might be interesting simply because it is Emerson. However, most orthodox believers will not come close to being convinced and today's non-believers will find it difficult to work up the energy to try and figure out what the fuss is about.
His famous essays collected under the title of Nature are fascinating and poetic views of the natural world. At least they seem that way to our more technical age. We see his Enlightenment confidence in reason and man's ability to discover the mechanisms of the Universe. While our science is remains rational, it is not quite so confident that everything can be easily discovered. We have found that for every depth we sound we discover that the bottom is only apparent. Things are deeper and stranger than the thinkers of Emerson's time ever dreamed.
This volume collects his essays and lectures into more than 1,100 pages of fascinating and wonderful reading. His poems and translations are collected into a separate volume also offered through the wonderful Library of America (don't hesitate to support them). The volume opens with a collection called "Nature; Addresses, and Lectures" and contains the eight chapters of Nature plus the four addresses The American Scholar, An Address to the Senior Class of Divinity College from 1838, Literary Ethics, and The Method of Nature. It also has five lectures: Man the Reformer, Introductory Lecture on the Times, The Conservative, The Transcendentalist, and The Young American.
There are then two collections of essays that contain famous titles such as History, Self-Reliance, The Over-Soul, The Poet, Manners, and Nature [yeah, I know it can get confusing]. This is followed by a collection called Representative Men. The seven chapters here are wonderful, but I cannot imagine anything like them being written today. The first chapter is titled "Uses of Great Men". I think I can here the deconstructionists swallowing their tongues. Then follows a chapter each for Plato the Philosopher, Swedenborg the Mystic [millions ask, WHO?], Montaigne the Skeptic, Shakespeare the poet, Napoleon the Man of the World, and Goethe the Writer.
The last two collections contain a number of short papers on English Traits and The Conduct of life. All interesting and full of Emersonian insight and beauty of language. The volume concludes with a Chronology of Emerson's life, notes on the texts, other notes, and an alphabetical index of titles (which is particularly useful given the re-use and similarity of some of these titles).
A Life Companion.......2006-09-01
I think it is probably safe to assert that to read Emerson is to be forever indebted to him. His wording, his clearness of thought, his determination, his warmth... He has all the qualities one could ask for in a writer, and all one could ask for in a mentor. Nietzsche held Emerson's books the closest, and said they were above his praise; Borges added: "Whitman and Poe have overshadowed Emerson's glory, as inventors, as founders of cults; line by line, they are inferior to him." James, the very Whitman, Proust, Frost, have all also praised him sincerely. Judging from other reviews, the love for Emerson hasn't diminished, more than a century after his passing.
For those who are not familiar with his works, it should be noted that Emerson is, without a doubt, a very unique writer. I was surprised when I realized that there is more poetry in his philosophy than in most verse books, yet he is always lucid; and that his poems, although hued by an impressive depth of thought, remain always passionate. He was renown as a brilliant lecturer, and his essays have all the force and immediacy of the oral form. Few people are so rich in memorable aphorisms - one finds a treasure of a quote in every sentence: "A drop is a small ocean"; "We are not built like a ship to be tossed, but like a house to stand"; "Whoso be a man, must be a non conformist"; "Punishment is a fruit that unsuspected ripens within the pleasure which concealed it"...
This was one of the first books the Library of America ever published, and with good reason: Emerson's writings are a Library of America on their own. This volume contains most of his major works, with the usual LOA excellency: beautiful green-cloth binding, a silk-ribbon marker, clear, acid-free, bible-thin paper, a short chronology, and a few useful notes. (No introduction of any kind, also as usual.) In short: a must buy, whether you are new to Emerson or not. My only complain is that this represents only about a half of his actual output, leaving out such important pieces as "The Lord's Supper", "The Fugitive Slave Law", the books Society and Solitude and Letters and Social Aims, his writings on Thoreau, Carlyle, Lincoln, and John Brown, and many other pieces just as revealing as the ones included here - not even counting the 15 volumes worth of journals he wrote throughout his life.
The fact that it's been more than a decade since the publication of the slight Complete Poems and Translations makes me fear LOA has neglected one of America's most beloved authors by giving priority to comparatively minor releases -like those on journalism and film criticism. Why can't Emerson get the same deserved treatment as Henry James, who by the way has now over 12 well-earned LOA volumes published? Just one more book would make this the definite edition of RWE's works; as it is, the huge and expensive Centenary Edition remains untouched as the most comprehensive one available. Furthermore, the "Uncollected Prose" section is no longer included; I can only hope it means they are saving it for a future volume. (It's been 15 years since they took it out, so I'm not holding my breath.)
Those looking for a cheaper introduction should probably check out the excellent Modern Library's The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, which besides a very generous collection of essays has a nice introduction, a selection of poems, and a few important pieces not included here.
To put it simply, if you have any interest in philosophy, literature, poetry, religion, or life, read Emerson. You may not be convinced by his arguments, but there's no point in nodding your way through a book. What remains after you finish reading it is what counts, and few writers can be found whose works are as pervasive and fondly remembered as Emerson's are.
Brilliant.......2006-02-26
Ralph Waldo Emerson was and is by far one of the most brilliant writers of American Literature. His writings are his collection of thoughts...both wise, and complicated. As if he is writing his deep most private thoughts into a diary meant to be read. You read his essays and lectures, and just feel as if you have just been exposed to something different in your life.
However, don't just take my word for it. After all, I am only sixteen years old. But this book is brilliant.
A genius who also had a conscience!.......2006-01-23
Ralph Waldo Emerson is considered by many to be one of America's greatest essayists. He also wrote poetry and the words in these essays read like poetry. It is hard to believe that that these essays were compiled and written down in the mid 1840's. The message that each one delivers is as fresh and real today as it was when Emerson said the words initially. We must remember that Emerson was very much a man of his time. His America was ready for an emphasis on individualism, and that is what he promotes in this essays. That may be why these messages have endured for so long. I found some very profound thoughts written in these essays, and the one that I think that I identified with the most were his essays on Art and on Character. I found myself nodding my head numerous times as I read these beautiful words. I certainly recommend that thee essays be read; if for no other reason than for the very beautiful usage of words.
Book Description
A new, wide-ranging selection of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s most influential writings, this edition captures the essence of American Transcendentalism and illustrates the breadth of one of America’s greatest philosophers and poets.
The writings featured here show Emerson as a protester against social conformity, a lover of nature, an activist for the rights of women and slaves, and a poet of great sensitivity. As explored in this volume, Emersonian thought is a unique blend of belief in individual freedom and in humility before the power of nature. “I become a transparent eyeball,” Emerson wrote in Nature, “I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God.” Written over a century ago, this passage is a striking example of the passion and originality of Emerson’s ideas, which continue to serve as a spiritual center and an ideological base for modern thought.
Customer Reviews:
At long last: someone worth reading...........2006-03-13
I discovered Emerson at age 34, and it was like coming home. I have always been, I guess, a natural "transcendentalist". In other words, I instinctively and intuitively fell into a transcendentalist mindset and way of thinking without ever having read any. So I've read Thoreau and Annie Dillard and frankly can't stand either of them. I find them a little strained. Emerson, to me at least, is a different story. He writes like a god. He writes with authority, poetry and insight. He, to me, is worlds apart from someone like Dillard...hard to say exactly how. I just know that his writing is brilliant, brilliant...free, courageous, honest. A big part of it for me is his passionate and deep understanding of God coupled with his rejection of "corpse-cold" religion. If you are a seeker, if you have an open mind, you will find few better than this.
Selected Essays, Lectures and Poems by Emerson.......2005-08-15
Emerson affirms the individual and self-reliant aspects of life.
Early in life, Emerson lost his father and 3 year old sister Mary Caroline. The author demonstrated the power of expression in translating truth to both verse and music. Some famous quotes from the book are as follows:
- The perfect friendship requires a rare nature..
- The fountains of my hidden life are through thy friendship fair.
- Man (person ) is all symmetry.
- Great geniuses have the shortest biographies.
i.e. Plato had no biography per se.
A strength of this work is that the author presents classic
sayings/quotations of Emerson in the original literary mode.
It will be appreciated by literature enthusiasts everywhere.
A wonderful selection of essays!.......2002-10-05
I've had to read parts of this book for various classes, and read the rest on my own. Whether he's talking about his day, or the future, Emerson is right on the mark for many things, from the need to be self-reliant to society's views on religion. Of course, there are some things I don't agree with, as you'll also find...but there are just so many quotable lines here, which are incredibly thought-provoking and inspirational. If you haven't read this, please do!
excellent retrospective of ages.......1998-11-11
histories, biographies, criticism, singular people like woodmen are the heroes through the ages; a booh making us stronger.
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Nature, Addresses, and Lectures, Volume I (Belknap Press)
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Manufacturer: Belknap Press
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ASIN: 0674604768 |
Book Description
1849. Emerson was truly the center of the Transcendental movement and the founder of a distinctly American philosophy emphasizing optimism, individuality, and mysticism. He was one of the most influential literary figures of the nineteenth century. In Nature, he laid out most of his ideas and values, which reflected at least ten years of intense study in philosophy, religion, and literature. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.
Customer Reviews:
Pre-Inflation.......2004-07-27
These days, celebrity authors earn thousands of dollars for a speech, but back in the 1880s, Ralph Waldo Emerson, the first American author known to receive payment for delivering a talk, was paid $5 and oats for his horse.
Book Description
In these three lectures, Cavell situates Emerson at an intersection of three crossroads: a place where both philosophy and literature pass; where the two traditions of English and German philosophy shun one another; where the cultures of America and Europe unsettle one another.
"Cavell's 'readings' of Wittgenstein and Heidegger and Emerson and other thinkers surely deepen our understanding of them, but they do much more: they offer a vision of what life can be and what culture can mean. . . . These profound lectures are a wonderful place to make [Cavell's] acquaintance."—Hilary Putnam
Customer Reviews:
Emerson, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, and Rawls.......2004-07-22
The title includes the prominent thinkers with which Cavell is engaged in this book, which is based on a series of lectures. It is worthwhile noting that the lectures and the resulting book are intended for professional philosophers or advanced students, and I don't recommend non-academic readers or beginning undergraduates to start reading Cavell here. For that purpose, "Must we mean what we say?" for example is much more accesible, in my opinion.
As for the contents of the book, it contains three lectures whose common theme is perfectionism and the American tradition in philosophy which Cavell wishes to re-establish, starting among others in Emerson's perfectionism. One of the primary interests of Cavell is to establish that Emerson's perfectionism, as well as that of Nietzsche which some say was influenced by Emerson, is not incongruent with democracy and does not necessarily entail exclusive elitism. To this purpose the first and third lectures focus on how to understand perfectionism and how this meshes with liberal theory, especially Rawls' seminal Theory of Justice.
To briefly summarize: The first lecture discusses Emerson, Heidegger and Wittgenstein on literature and philosophy. Its style is very "Heideggerian": that is, I wouldn't recommend it unless you feel comfortable with the style in which e.g. "Being and Time" or most of Derrida's work is written.
The second lecture is mostly devoted to a closer reading of Wittgenstein, and in it Cavell engages with Kripke's famous reading of Wittgenstein on rules and rule-following. While Kripke sought to establish a sceptical conclusion, Cavell wishes to show that this is not the only reading, and that another possible (and better) reading exists, which emphasizes rather the common human element of the shared form of life which generates the criteria behind our language games, in the lines of Wittgenstein's "On Certainty". For those interested in the philosophy of language, especially Wittgenstein, rule-following etc. - this lecture alone makes the book worthwhile.
To sum up, this is a very good philosophy book but certainly not for everyone.
Book Description
The two essays in this book, first published in 1989, were delivered as two of the 1987 Carpenter Lectures at the University of Chicago. Wittgenstein and Emerson are major influences on and subjects of Cavell's thought, and here he thinks and rethinks of these two intellectual forebears. As the title shows, he finds an important crux for contemplation in Emerson's idea of America.
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- Emerson's 'great man'
- ripoff
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Representative Men: Seven Lectures (Modern Library Classics)
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Manufacturer: Modern Library
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ASIN: 0812970055
Release Date: 2004-06-08 |
Book Description
Introduction by Brenda Wineapple
In 1845 Ralph Waldo Emerson began a series of lectures and writings in which he limned six figures who embodied the principles and aspirations of a still-young American republic. Emerson offers timeless meditations on the value of individual greatness, reconnecting readers with the everyday virtues of his “Representative Men”: Plato, in whose writings are contained “the culture of nations”; Emanuel Swedenborg, a “rich discoverer” who strove to unite the scientific and spiritual planes; Michel de Montaigne, “the frankest and honestest of all writers”; William Shakespeare, who “wrote the text of modern life”; Napoleon Bonaparte, who had the “virtues and vices” of common men writ large; and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who “in conversation, in calamity…finds new materials.”
This Modern Library Paperback Classic reflects the author’s corrections for an 1876 reprinting.
Customer Reviews:
Emerson's 'great man'.......2006-02-20
Great men are those who inspire new great men into being. So Emerson understood in his seven portraits of human greatness. The poet Shakespeare and the philosopher Plato, the skeptic Montaigne and the mystic Swedenborg,the man of the world Napoleon and the writer Goethe.
Of great men he said,"Nature seems to exist for the excellent. The world is upheld by the veracity of good men: they make the earth wholesome. They who lived with them found life glad and nutritious..... We call our children and our lands by their names. Their names are wrought into the verbs of language, their works and effigies are in our houses, and every circumstance of the day recalls an anecdote of them."
It is interesting that of Emerson's great men two would certainly be in question today. Swedenborg does not have the followers in our day that he had in Emerson's. Napoleon today can be considered in these terms only if we are also willing to discuss the horrible aspect of conqueror- great- men and the millions of dead that come with the conquests.
Emerson a sublime argument for his conception of ' the great man', of the unique character who makes a gift to Mankind no one else has or can .
ripoff.......2002-08-21
this is one of my favorite Emerson works. It opens itself up to so much, talking about his theories of influence, precursing everything from queer theory and gender transitivity to Harold Bloom, and it is a poem, too. It's beautiful. It offers his thoughts on the most diverse materials, gets into the most detail on his Hindu readings, gets very brave in "Swedenborg." But ... for a 165-page book? Delbanco's intro is boring and useless. Don't even READ it before you read the book. It'll be like watching an educational video on yeast infections before watching a porno. The index is a kind of neat feature; it's cool to see how many men are mentioned how many times. For example, the most obvious 'omission' in the book, JESUS, is mentioned only 5 times in the book, but he lurks throughout in so many ways. I love the book, but think the edition is a huge ripoff. However, it is difficult to find all these essays in one volume without buying a "complete works" or something, and they are ALL good and work together as a complete 'book,' one essay building off the prior in subject and time, going from B.C. to the nineteenth century, from Plato to Napoleon and Goethe.
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The Early Lectures of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Volume III, 1838-1842 (Early Lectures of Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Manufacturer: Belknap Press
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The American Newness: Culture and Politics in the Age of Emerson (The William E. Massey Sr. Lectures in the History of American Civilization)
Irving Howe
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Apostle of Culture: Emerson As Preacher and Lecturer
David Robinson
Manufacturer: University of Pennsylvania Press
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Customer Reviews:
Regarding the 1928 Wise and Co. Publication.......2005-10-28
I was skeptical prior to purchasing this book. I was weary that the print might be too tiny to read or that the material would be condensed, but I was very impressed when I purchased the book. It was a wonderful and complete copy. I wouldn't spend the kind of money purchasing each individual works by Emerson nor would I spend the extra effort purchasing sets of his work. This is a complete and readable copy.
A wonderful introduction to Emerson.......2003-05-26
This is a popular edition of Emerson, published, I think, at the tail end of the era when Emerson was a household name. The look of the book suggests that it was published for the convenience of those then-millions of people who might not've read much Emerson but who believed they ought to. On about a third of the pages there is a box in the middle of the page, around which the text flows, in which an arresting excerpt from the text is printed in large italics.
I'd love to think that something like this book, skilfully marketed, would help put Emerson back on lots of bookshelves. It probably wouldn't, I know. Anyway, it's a reminder of a time when Wm. H. Wise, at least, still believed it was possible.
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