| Thoreau''s Reading: A Study in Intellectual History with Bibliographical Catalogue Subjects: Thoreau Henry David 1817–1862 -- Books and reading; Thoreau Henry David 1817–1862 -- Knowledge and learning; Thoreau Henry David 1817–1862 -- Library -- Catalogs; Thoreau's Reading charts Henry Thoreau's intellectual growth and its relation to his literary career from 1833, when he entered Harvard College, to his death in 1862. It also furnishes a catalogue of nearly fifteen hundred entries of his reading, compiled from references and allusions in his published writings, journal, correspondence, library charging records, the catalogue of his personal library, and his many unpublished notebooks and commonplace books. This record suggests his literary and intellectual development as a youth primarily interested in classical and early English literature, who matured as a writer investigating contemporary and classical natural science, the history of the European discovery and exploration of North America, and the history of native Americans. |