By Richard Smith, who came to Concord in 1998 because of his love for the Concord Authors and Concord history. He can usually be seen around Concord doing Living History as Henry Thoreau, especially at Walden Pond.
 This year marks the 150th Anniversary of the publication of Walden. While the book sold only modestly in 1854, today it is widely regarded as Henry Thoreau's masterpiece, as well as one of the nineteenth century's most important books. And because of Thoreau and his book, Walden Pond itself has become a literary shrine known all around the world.
Just in time for Walden's anniversary is a new book by W. Barksdale Maynard. Entitled Walden Pond: A History, the book is the first-ever history of the Pond itself and the first in-depth look at Walden since Thoreau himself wrote about it in 1854.
 While Thoreauvians particularly will enjoy this book, Maynard gives a complete history of Walden Pond before, during and after Thoreau's two-year sojourn there. In addition to Thoreau, over the years Walden has had a connection for many people, some famous and others not so famous. All manner of people who have been associated with Walden are in Maynard's book; philosophers, politicians, cranks, nature-lovers, conservationists, rock-stars, scholars, radicals and literary pilgrims (especially that special breed of pilgrim, the Thoreauvian). Many people over the years have seen the Pond as a spiritual place, a spot for cleansing the soul as well as the body, and today, for thousands, it remains a sacred place.
Of course, Walden Pond owes its fame to Henry Thoreau, and Maynard does well in chronicling Thoreau's connection to the Pond throughout his life. In particular, Thoreau's two-year experiment at Walden is given an in-depth treatment, and this is probably the best look at Henry's life at the Pond since he wrote about it himself.
 The late nineteenth and early twentieth Centuries were years of change at Walden, and modern life began to encroach on the serenity of the place. Population growth, expansion of Boston's suburbs, tourism and commercial development had much -- mostly negative -- effect on the Pond. Maynard's book describes these turbulent years and the struggles between those who saw Walden's commercial possibilities and others who wanted the Pond to remain a quiet, dignified place of contemplation and spirituality.
If people who visit the place now are disgusted with commercialism, crowds and parking fees, they should read this book and be glad that they weren't visiting in previous years, before the State took over and turned it into a "reservation". In 1952 the weekend crowds averaged 35,000 people! Nowadays a good weekend at Walden in the summer will see only 5-6,000 people and the hot dog stands and parking problems have all been eliminated.
 Also, as Maynard points out, the Pond today is much prettier than it was in Thoreau's day. Constant logging in the nineteenth century, as well as numerous forest fires, left Walden fairly devoid of trees well into the 20th Century. Conservation attempts have made Walden a more serene, bucolic place, more so than it ever was in Thoreau's day.
Maynard's history brings Walden right up to 2003. He tells of the politics involved in saving the Pond from developers, as well as the in-fighting and squabbles between groups and individuals who wanted to save Walden and keep it a special place. The road to Walden's preservation has been a bumpy one and Maynard reports the ups and downs objectively, without taking sides. Still, several heroes emerge from the book, in particular, Don Henley, Tom Blanding and Ed Schofield who come to the fore as just three of the many people who worked tirelessly to save Walden from being destroyed.
Walden Pond: A History is a fine book. Whether you are a historian, a conservationist, a Thoreauvian or just an observer of human nature, Maynard's book will delight you and -- more importantly -- make you think. In this book Walden Pond's past is well-documented and entertainingly told.
 
 
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