“A few weeks before my journey to Concord, I stumbled upon a New Yorker article about Thoreau. It was called "Pond Scum" and, as you can imagine, did little to rehabilitate the Hermit of Concord in my mind. The story's author, Kathryn Schulz, opens the piece by painting a picture of the coldhearted, misanthropic crank. Then she takes the gloves off. But as the commuter train pulls into Concord Station, just as it did during Thoreau's day, I resolve to maintain an open mind.”...