Robert M. Thorson

Walden’s Shore: Henry David Thoreau and Nineteenth-Century Science Robert M. Thorson

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Review Quotes: "Walden's Shore" has no predecessor in the field of Thoreau studies. It is a welcome addition and a needed reassessment of an iconic figure.--Jeffrey S. Cramer, editor of "The Portable Thoreau"Review Quotes: The work of an extraordinary mind. Thorson seeks to ground what is arguably the greatest piece of non-fiction produced in America, and one of the world's classics, not in the field of language where it has long been situated but rather in the material universe with which Thoreau extensively interacted and on which he long meditated. He stunningly succeeds in this effort.--Wayne Franklin, University of ConnecticutReview Quotes: Walden s Shore" is a serious, substantial, and impressively erudite entry into the field--a model for how interdisciplinary approaches can bring original and revelatory perspectives to bear on even the most well-worn texts Thorson s careful reconstruction of Thoreau s likely knowledge of landscape formation and glacial theory is especially impressive, and constitutes a comprehensive account of Thoreau s relation to what was apparently a major scientific controversy of the mid-19th century.--James Williams"PopMatters" (04/22/2014)"Review Quotes: Thorson says that literary types haven t had the scientific chops to recognize, among other things, Thoreau s genius for river channel hydraulics and how close he came to discovering glacial theory (then unformed, now proved) to explain his terrain of erratic boulders and kettle ponds. Thorson says that Thoreau changed from science light to science heavy around 1851, and his writing shed much of the ecstatic divine metaphors for a style closer to field notes.--Katherine Whittemore"Boston Globe" (05/25/2014)"Review Quotes: Most people know Thoreau as an environmental essayist, a 19th-century naturalist, and a commentator and an essayist on social and political matters. Through a detailed reading of Thoreau s Journal" and Walden," Thorson shows that Thoreau was a competent scientist with expertise in limnology, geology, hydrology, and ecology. He also had a fundamental understanding of the effects of glaciers on landscapes.--L. T. Spencer"Choice" (07/01/2014)"Table of Contents: Preface -- Introduction -- I. The Place of the Book -- 1. Rock Reality -- 2. Landscape of Loss -- 3. Thoreau's Arctic Vision -- 4. After the Deluge -- 5. Meltdown to Beauty -- Interlude -- 6. The Walden System -- II. The Book of the Place -- 7. Sensing Walden -- 8. Writing Walden -- 9. Interpreting Walden -- 10. Mythology -- 11. Simplicity -- Conclusion -- Abbreviations -- References -- Notes -- Glossary -- Index. Publisher Marketing:"Let us settle ourselves, and work and wedge our feet downward," Thoreau invites his readers in "Walden," "till we come to a hard bottom and rocks in place, which we can call "reality."" "Walden's Shore" explores Thoreau's understanding of that hard reality, not as metaphor but as physical science. Robert M. Thorson is interested in Thoreau the rock and mineral collector, interpreter of landscapes, and field scientist whose compass and measuring stick were as important to him as his plant press. At "Walden"'s climax, Thoreau asks us to imagine a "living earth" upon which all animal and plant life is parasitic. This book examines Thoreau's understanding of the geodynamics of that living earth, and how his understanding informed the writing of "Walden." The story unfolds against the ferment of natural science in the nineteenth century, as Natural Theology gave way to modern secular science. That era saw one of the great blunders in the history of American science--the rejection of glacial theory. Thorson demonstrates just how close Thoreau came to discovering a "theory of everything" that could have explained most of the landscape he saw from the doorway of his cabin at Walden. At pivotal moments in his career, Thoreau encountered the work of the geologist Charles Lyell and that of his protege Charles Darwin. Thorson concludes that the inevitable path of Thoreau's thought was descendental, not transcendental, as he worked his way downward through the complexity of life to its inorganic origin, the living rock." Review Citations:

Kirkus Reviews 10/15/2013 (EAN 9780674724785, Hardcover)

Choice 07/01/2014 (EAN 9780674724785, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Thorson, Robert M Robert M. Thorson is Professor of Geology at the University of Connecticut.