Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was an American author, naturalist, transcendentalist, tax resister, development critic, and philosopher. He is best known for his book Walden (1854), a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay, Civil Disobedience (1849), an argument for individual resistance to civil government in moral opposition to an unjust state. Thoreau s books, articles, essays, journals, and poetry total over 20 volumes.