I liked the Thoreau documentary ok but it seemed like they left a big part out. They didn’t talk much about the writing of Walden, its publication or its reception in his time. They didn’t even touch on what it meant to him or what he meant to communicate with it.

This was especially noticeable because they did discuss most of those things in relation to his previous book, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, a lesser work. Their choices were difficult to understand.

Many of their other decisions were wonderful and this might be the only show ever in which when they mentioned a bird they played the correct bird song on the soundtrack. Groundbreaking.

Was I happy with the way Jeff Goldblum read Thoreau’s words? No, but I’ve heard HDT’s voice in my head for nearly 50 years so probably no one would sound like him to me.