Welcome to the myWalden student portal. Access your classroom, register for class, manage your finances, and find other university resources and services to support your success during your journey at Walden. Walden (/ ˈwɔːldən /; first published as Walden; or, Life in the Woods) is an 1854 book by American transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau.

Understanding the Context

The text is a reflection upon the author's simple living in natural surroundings. The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and—to some degree—a manual for self-reliance ... When considering online education, learn more about Walden University, an accredited online university with students from over 145 countries. Walden offers online degrees at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels.

Key Insights

Walden by Henry D. Thoreau Walden; or, Life in the Woods Economy When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. Economy When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. I lived there two years and two months. At present I am a sojourner in civilized life again.

Final Thoughts

I should not obtrude my affairs ... Walden, series of 18 essays by Henry David Thoreau, published in 1854 and considered his masterwork. An important contribution to New England Transcendentalism, the book was a record of Thoreau’s experiment in simple living on Walden Pond in Massachusetts (1845–47). It focuses on self-reliance and individualism.