My opinion of Thoreau (or at least Walden) is very similar to yours but narrower. I think Thoreau, via Walden, is _intentionally_ nutty. Walden is a sort of swe

My opinion of Thoreau (or at least Walden) is very similar to yours but narrower. I think Thoreau, via Walden, is _intentionally_ nutty. Walden is a sort of sweeping commentary written with a bit of whimsy and a bit of melodrama because the message is more of a feeling or stance or point-of-view than it is a specific, well-structured, logical argument.