He is today seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society.

Collected here in one convenient volume is Ralph Waldo Emerson's First Series and Second Series of essays.

The collection includes both Self-Reliance and Nature.

Essays - First Series

1. History
2. Self-Reliance
3. Compensation
4. Spiritual Laws
5. Love
6. Friendship
7. Prudence
8. Heroism
9. The Over-Soul
10. Circles
11. Intellect
12. Art

Essays - Second Series

1. The Poet
2. Experience
3. Character
4. Manners
5. Gifts
6. Nature
7. Politics
8. Nominalist and Realist
9. New England Reformers