nprfreshair:

On the fence about Thoreau? Maureen Corrigan&nbsp;found a book that might surprise you, because it surprised her. She&nbsp;reviews The Adventures of Henry Thoreau: A Yong Man&rsquo;s Unlikely Path to Walden Pond by Michael Sims:

Sims&rsquo; Thoreau still comes off as a monologue-spouting eccentric who has trouble connecting, especially with women. But, Sims is more persuasive when it comes to his second aim: Emphasizing Thoreau&rsquo;s crucial shift from a Romantic to a scientific view of nature. Rather than simply waxing poetic about the beauties of Walden Pond when he moved out there in 1845, Thoreau measured it &mdash; literally &mdash; by walking out on the winter ice and plumbing its depths hundreds of times with a line and sinker. He also recorded the pond&rsquo;s temperatures and the bloom times of surrounding flowers and plants.
Sims&rsquo; Thoreau is most appealing in these s