The selections from the polemical writings of Thoreau that make up
Reform Papers
represent every stage in his twenty-two years of active writing. Consequently, they are a microcosm of his literary career, allowing the reader to achieve a full sense of Thoreau's evolution as a writer and thinker. The volume opens with "The Service," one of the best examples of Thoreau's early style and interests, and contains ten other essays as well.
Reform Papers:
The Service
Paradise (To Be) Regained
Herald of Freedom
Wendell Phillips Before Concord Lyceum
Resistance to Civil Government
Slavery in Massachusetts
A Plea for Captain John Brown
Martyrdom of John Brown
The Last Days of John Brown
Life without Principle
Reform and the Reformers