'A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.' Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882) was an American essayistand poet. One of the young nation's first recognised public intellectuals, hechampioned the writing of Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman and opined oneverything from the evils of slavery to the glories of solitude. His essayssuch as Self-Reliance argued for a distinctly American style of philosophicalindividualism, untethered to hidebound traditions and prejudices.  Edited by professor David Mikics (The Annotated Emerson) and enhanced with gorgeous woodcuts byCharles W. Smith, this collection of Emerson's essays and poetry is a beautifulintroduction to one of America's greatest writers and thinkers.