Henry David Thoreau is considered one of the leading figures in early American literature, and Walden is without doubt his most influential book. It recounts the author`s experiences living in a small house in the woods around Walden Pond near Concord in Massachusetts. Thoreau constructed the house himself, with the help of a few friends, to see if he could live `deliberately` - independently and apart from society. The result is an intriguing work which blends natural history with philosophical insights, and includes many illuminating quotations from other authors. Thoreau`s wooden shack has won a place for itself in the collective American psyche, a remarkable achievement for a book with such modest and rustic beginnings. Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector`s Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector`s Library are books to love and treasure.