Woodsburner

In 1844, Henry David Thoreau accidentally set the woods surrounding Concord, Massachusetts on fire, burning over 300 acres of forest and several farms. Luckily, the fire was contained before it could reach nearby Walden Pond, where Thoreau would eventually live as a recluse and write his famous transcendentalist reflection,[bc:Walden 16902 Walden Henry David Thoreau http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348462004s/16902.jpg 2361393][b:Walden 16902 Walden Henry David Thoreau http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348462004s/16902.jpg 2361393], the following year.This book takes the Concord Woods fire of 1844 and uses it to frame an exploration into the minds and personalities of not only Thoreau, but also several other people whose lives were affected by the fire. A variety of narrators tell how and why they are in the Concord area on the day of the fire, and we come to know a range of different backgrounds and philosophies that might have been found in the New England area during the early 19th century.I enjoyed the deep, introspective writing style and intense description of events, but I felt mixed about the obvious environmentalist message being shoved into the reading. “Man's inability to conceive of the world's limits does not render the world limitless. And there is no longer a new world for the empty-handed to flee to from here.” I found those kind of pronouncements off-putting rather than inspiring. The author did such a good job of writing about the place and describing the fire, that he shouldn't need to explain and insert himself so much into the story. I'd suggest this book to anyone who has, or wants to enjoy the writings of Thoreau or any of the transcendentalist writers of the 19th century. The book is also a good example of writing with a sense of place, so if you enjoy natural history, especially in the early New England area, you would also find the book quite readable.