Walden is the account of Thoreau's two-year experiment in simple living on Walden Pond. One could do no better in describing its intent than he: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when it came time to die, discover that I had not lived.”
The work that resulted from his experience has become a timeless classic, shinning light on the benefits and freedoms of a simple life. Today, as in Thoreau's time, when it comes to economics everyone seems only concerned with how to make more money. He advocates instead for us to need less money, requiring less work to stay afloat, resulting in more time to do the things you actually want to do.
At times, I found the book slow, languishing in description of the sights and smells and sounds of the turning seasons at Walden Pond. Other times, I marveled at passages overwhelmingly saturated with philosophy and wisdom that penned over 160 years ago and still essential today. For those best parts, Walden is an essential read.