We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Robert D. Richardson Jr. at age 86. Obituaries and announcements have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Boston Globe.
UC Press is honored to have published his highly acclaimed and widely cited biographies, Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind and Emerson: The Mind on Fire.
Henry Thoreau
A Life of the Mind
by Robert D. Richardson Jr.
“A splendidly written book. . . . Richardson’s critical discussions of the journals, Walden, Cape Cod, and the other works are invariably illuminating and cast a new light on Thoreau’s sometimes cross-grained but fascinating personality. . . . The arc of Thoreau’s progress is more absorbing than any thriller . . . . This is a splendidly written book, handsomely designed and illustrated by Barry Moser and worthy of a place on the bookshelf near Walden.”—Boston Globe
Emerson
The Mind on Fire
by Robert D. Richardson Jr.
“Emerson: The Mind on Fire is an unusually intelligent and involving book. Richardson himself writes with grace, vigor, acuity, and imagination. No other recent critic of Emerson . . . has written so well. This book is equal to the best American literary biographies we have and is arguably the best single book on Emerson ever written.”—Journal of American History