# Walden by Henry David Thoreau 4 Hacker News commenters recommended Walden by Henry David Thoreau and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months. **Verdict:** Recommended for its lovely lines and its account of leaving society to live close to nature. One critic calls the hermit life it describes bogus. ## Why people recommend it - Leaves society to live near nature (1 comments): "You should read the book "Walden". The guy is also leaves society to live closer to nature for more or less similar reasons." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48325204)) - Full of lovely lines (1 comments): "Full of lovely lines such as" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49905541)) - Free to start and try (1 comments): "It's free to start, give it a try." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49965511)) ## What people warn about - Calls the hermit life bogus (1 comments): "Walden is a bogus hermit life." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49493915)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams](https://hackerapproved.com/p/careless-people.md): 106 recommend - [Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl](https://hackerapproved.com/p/man-s-search-for-meaning.md): 13 recommend - [Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard Feynman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/surely-you-re-joking-mr-feynman.md): 11 recommend - [Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell](https://hackerapproved.com/p/down-and-out-in-paris-and-london.md): 9 recommend - [Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kitchen-confidential.md): 9 recommend ## Where to get it - [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0517504022?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link) - [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780517504024) (affiliate link) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Walden by Henry David Thoreau", https://hackerapproved.com/p/walden/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).