Thoreau is sometimes referred to as an anarchist. Thoreau's philosophy of civil disobedience later influenced the political thoughts and actions of such notable figures as Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. Thoreau was a lifelong abolitionist, delivering lectures that attacked the fugitive slave law while praising the writings of Wendell Phillips and defending the abolitionist John Brown. He was also deeply interested in the idea of survival in the face of hostile elements, historical change, and natural decay at the same time he advocated abandoning waste and illusion in order to discover life's true essential needs. His literary style interweaves close observation of nature, personal experience, pointed rhetoric, symbolic meanings, and historical lore, while displaying a poetic sensibility, philosophical austerity, and attention to practical detail. Among his lasting contributions are his writings on natural history and philosophy, in which he anticipated the methods and findings of ecology and environmental history, two sources of modern-day environmentalism. Thoreau's books, articles, essays, journals, and poetry amount to more than 20 volumes. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay ' Civil Disobedience' (originally published as 'Resistance to Civil Government'), an argument for disobedience to an unjust state. Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher.

Walden by Henry David Thoreau