Originally published anonymously, Nature was the first modern essay to recommend the appreciation of the outdoors as an all-encompassing positive force.
 
Emerson's writings were recognized as uniquely American in style and content, and launched the idea of going for a walk as a new way of looking at the world.
 
Throughout history, some books have changed the world.

They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution.
 
They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted.

They have enriched lives - and destroyed them.
 
Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.