To Emerson and other New England transcendentalists who knew him best, Thoreau often seemed prickly and antisocial. But in his writings he was (and is) a man anyone would treasure as a friend, sounding board, and spiritual advisor -- a man who trafficked in that rarest of commodities, the truth. Even now, almost 140 years after his death, his voice remains clear and compelling, and his truths are as relevant and meaningful as they were in his lifetime.
In...