First published 1969
Ralph Waldo Emerson emerges in this biography as a thinker whose ideas evolved through distinct phases. Author Ralph Rusk, who compiled Emerson's six-volume correspondence, follows the intellectual development that shaped American philosophy. The study begins with Emerson's early career as a Unitarian minister, then tracks his transformation under the influence of English Romantic writers. Rusk shows how these influences led Emerson to develop his own distinctive approach to Transcendentalism. The biography reveals how personal experience and literary exposure combined to create one of America's most influential philosophical voices. Readers gain insight into the making of a uniquely American thinker.
Genres: biography, literary-criticism, philosophy, 20th-century, american, 19th-century, academic, american-history
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: intellectual-development
Period: 19th-Century, 20th-Century
592 pages · Hardcover · University Presses of California, Columbia and Princeton