Reviews for The American Transcendentalists: Essential Writings

The average rating for The American Transcendentalists: Essential Writings based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-09-29 00:00:00 Maryann F. Dumond If you are interested in a comprehensive but detailed overview of American Transcendentalism, then this is your book. Each section looks at Transcendentalism from a different genre: religion, art, literature, nature, and education. Buell provides compelling and interesting introductions to each primary source, and you get exposure to all the thinkers who were associated with this American movement of the mid- nineteenth century. Plus Buell includes writers who originally were with the movement but left. A tremendous resource to experience American Transcendental thought from a wide variety of people who were involved. A++

Review # 2 was written on 2011-09-24 00:00:00 Carpentiere Luigi This is a very interesting collection of important works from the main Transcendentalist thinkers of 1830-1850. The Transcendentalists were the first intellectual group to be truly American. While some of their ideas were influenced by the German Philosophers, these Americans adapted and expanded them to be their own. As a movement it did not survive the mid-nineteenth century, but even today its lofty ideas are in the American psyche. Walden pond was one of the first pieces of land to be conserved. The championing of nature led to the development of national parks and influenced people like John Muir. The Transcendalists cared about a variety of issues, they were abolitionists, cared about education reform and the need for women to be educated, religious reform, centered mostly on the idea of the individual as divine. This collection does a wonderful job on showing the many different views and subjects within the movement and the surprising collection of women writers and thinkers. Bronson Alcott tried to found a commune that was only semi-successful, but this idea trickled down to the Hippies of the 1960s and 70s. The compilation focuses a lot on Emerson since he played such a pivotle role in the movement. But it also gives us writings by him as an older man who rejected his previous beliefs, it helps put into context the movement as a whole. The book also contains responses to the movement by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James and Charles Dickens, all who were critical but impressed by the movenment. This is a great collection for those who have an interest in the movement and can help direct someone to do a deeper study of the subject. What I found lacking in the book was the absence of footnotes. The mini essays at the beginning of each section were interesting, but there could have been a stronger editor presence.