North's biography of Henry David Thoreau concentrates on the theme of human interaction with nature and, as a corollary, on individualism. The book recounts Thoreau's quiet, pensive nature and his appreciation of the outdoors. Although he is a good student, Thoreau receives his real education from nature, which the transcendentalists called "the Academy of the Universe." North shows how Thoreau's individualism puts him closer to the natural world more than it pulls him away from society.

Ralph Waldo Emerson exerts a profound influence on Thoreau and his philosophy. Emerson, Concord's most prominent citizen, does more than just allow Thoreau to live on his land and become involved in the Concord Lyceum; he encourages and inspires young Thoreau to live a life of thrift and utility. North credits Thoreau's fascination with Emerson's Nature (1836) as the motivation behind the 1837 Harvard commencement address in which Thoreau proclaims that people...