Selections from Henry David Thoreau's Walden and Civil Disobedience and Ralph Waldo Emerson's Introduction to Thoreau, Self-Reliance, Nature, The American Scholar, Education, and Politics. Thoreau dedicated his life to preserving his freedom as a man and an artist. Walden is a record of his experiment in simple living, describing his basic existence, rich in contemplation of the wonders of nature and the ways of man. Civil Disobedience is a work of protest against government's interference with individual liberty. Emerson offers insight into Thoreau and the forces that shapes his life in his Introduction. The other essays in this collection represent Emerson's most influential writings, capturing the essence of American Transcendentalism.