Well-researched and related in a lively, engaging style, this volume offers a definitive look at the life and times of "the sage of Concord." Emerson possessed a creative and rebellious intellect that led him on a lifelong quest to place universal truths within a framework of social reality. This work traces the development of his often-controversial ideas and their expression, with criticisms of Emerson's early transcendentalist works, poetry, and later writings, as well as a survey of his influence on other authors.