The book, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, is a philosophical work by Henry David Thoreau, published in 1854. In it, the author describes his two-year experience living in a simple cabin near Walden Pond, not far from Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau uses this experience as a foundation for reflections on simple living, self-reliance, spiritual searching, and harmony with nature. The book is one of the key works of American Transcendentalism and significantly influenced the development of environmental thought and ideas of nonconformism.