Tablets

Amos Bronson AlcottProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 220K words
Chapters: 23

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Tablets by Amos Bronson AlcottAuthor: Alcott, Amos Bronson, 1799-1888,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jul 23, 2011

Editor's review

Tablets is a collection of essays by the American thinker Amos Bronson Alcott, unfolding in short chapters, notes, and aphoristic fragments on education, self-cultivation, reading, nature, and the spiritual life. It is less a systematic treatise than an elder's observations and meditations jotted down at his desk, gentle in tone and mildly didactic. Alcott valued inner personal growth and stressed shaping character through reading, reflection, and daily practice—ideas that still have something to offer today. The pieces vary in length, making the book suitable for dipping into or as material for casual reflection. Note that its writing carries the flavor of the nineteenth-century American Transcendentalist circle, and some passages are preachy or abstract; readers expecting sustained argument or concrete methods may find it loose. Approached as a collection of notes to be savored slowly, it is easier to enter.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in nineteenth-century American thought and Transcendentalism
Those who enjoy aphorisms and short note-like chapters and are willing to read slowly
Teachers or self-learners seeking reading material on education and self-cultivation

Not a good fit for

Practical readers looking for systematic theory or step-by-step instructions
General literary readers who prefer strong narrative and continuous plot

Reading tips

No need to read straight through; choose two or three short pieces at a time and spend a few minutes afterward writing your response
When you meet abstract discussion, read it in the context of Alcott's era rather than rushing to judge
Mark passages on reading and education separately so you can later compare them with your own habits

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a treatise?

Strictly speaking, neither. It is closer to a collection of essays and notes, made up of short chapters, aphorisms, and fragmentary reflections on education, cultivation, reading, and the spiritual life. Readers should not expect a complete plot or a tightly argued system.

How is the author related to the author of Little Women?

Amos Bronson Alcott was the father of Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women. He was himself a nineteenth-century American educational reformer and thinker associated with the Transcendentalist circle. Knowing this helps explain the warmth toward education and small communities that recurs in the book.

How difficult is the English, and is it suitable for non-native readers?

The vocabulary is generally not obscure, but the sentences are formal, and some passages carry the abstract expression of nineteenth-century didactic writing. Readers with a basic grounding in English can try it; with long sentences, grasp the main clause first rather than parsing word by word. If it feels heavy, start with the short aphoristic passages.

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About the author

Amos Bronson Alcott Author · American · 1799–1888

Amos Bronson Alcott (1799–1888) was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and transcendentalist reformer. In Boston he founded the Temple School, where he promoted conversational teaching, and he advocated abolition, women's rights, and vegetarianism; he also founded the utopian community Fruitlands, which lasted only seven months. He was the father of Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women. His works include Tablets, Concord Days, and Sonnets and Canzonets, which largely concern educational ideas, philosophical reflection, and observations of life, and show a transcendentalist tone. This collection holds three of his works; common classification information is currently unavailable, and public sources are limited.