Amazon.com description: Product Description: In 1985, David Shi's The Simple Life received much critical acclaim and generated widespread popular interest. "The first history of the idea of the simple life in American," said Walter Harding in The thoreau Society Bulletin, "and an excellent one it is." This book further illuminates the rich heritage of simple living in the American experience. This richly illustrated anthology presents original writings by many of the proponents and practitioners of the simple life -- America's classic alternative lifestyle---from the Puritans and Quakers to Thoreau to contemporary advocats of communal living.