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A Timeless Place; 150 Years After Henry David Thoreau Introduced 'Walden,' Readers Still Follow Him Into the Woods

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From: The Washington Post
Date: 20040801
Author:Steve Grant

It took five years to sell out the first printing of 2,000 copies. For students told to read it, "it can be a tough sell," one scholar says. And any number of readers, angry with the author's perceived preachiness, toss the book away half-read.

And yet "Walden," by Henry David Thoreau, is a universally acknowledged classic of American literature with yearly sales that most American authors today would bleed for.

"Walden," celebrating its sesquicentennial this month, is doing just fine. Indeed, it is a far bigger bookstore blockbuster today than when it was first published Aug. 9, 1854.

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