Transcendentalism as defined by Emerson holds that certain ideas are not formed empirically but themselves shape the human experience. Here is the essence of Emerson's work, all in one volume -

- and Thoreau's four longer works, collected in this companion volume; first and foremost, of course, "Walden." "Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!"

"Men for the sake of getting a living forget to live:" One of America's earliest feminists was a close friend of Thoreau's and (in particular) Emerson's and coeditor of his journal "The Dial."

Influenced by Pestalozzi, the great transcendentalist educator banned corporal punishment in his school and added dialogue, art, music, nature study, field trips and physical ed to the curriculum.

After transcendentalism's mini-renaissance in the 1990s, even the most recent movie version of Louisa May Alcott's classic contains some express references to the philosophy espoused by her.

Fiercely eccentric and dubbed by Emerson a "brave saint," Very strove to rid himself of everything worldly to open himself up to the divine, until he indeed came to believe he was God's chosen vessel.

Channing's writings predate those of core transcendentalists but preempt many their central ideas, particularly those of Parker and Emerson, who therefore called Channing their "bishop."

Hawthorne didn't fully embrace transcendentalism, but lived in Concord and shared much of his neighbors' freethinking ideas. Their infamous Brook Farm experiment gave rise to his "Blithedale Romance."

A former slave who rose to high literary and philosophical ranks through self-education, Douglass epitomized the transcendentalist fight for abolition, equality and a moral society.

Although not a transcendentalist herself, Dickinson was friendly with Emerson and held him and Thoreau in high appreciation. Her fierce individuality is resonant of Emerson's "Self-Reliance."