SOURCE: "The Web," in The Magic Circle of Walden, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1968, pp. 13-92.

This excerpt deals with Walden's style and structure, which Anderson claims is both circular and web-like.

Walden is a unique book. There is nothing quite like it in literature. Though it made its way slowly at first, after publication in 1854, by the turn of our century it had found a small but ardent audience. This has been steadily increasing and will probably continue to do so in the future because, once "discovered," it has proved to be a book with unusual drawing power. It may never be widely popular, but it attracts devotees of many kinds in addition to those with a zeal for literature. Reading it is always an unforgettable experience, and what is chiefly remembered is its uniqueness.

Readers of the general sort, as well as more specialized students and...