Emerson's "Self-Reliance" in his Essays (1841) is considered one of the most important works to come out of the transcendentalist movement. In this essay, Emerson extols the virtues of solitude and independent thinking.

Richard Geldard's God in Concord: Ralph Waldo Emerson's Awakening to the Infinite (1998) presents Emerson's spiritual journals to demonstrate how his understanding of God and spirituality changed as he matured. Geldard sets out to show how Emerson came to be regarded as a spiritual leader.

Edited by Joel Myerson, Transcendentalism: A Reader (2000), is an anthology of key transcendentalist writings reflecting the ideology of the movement and its presence in New England society. Readers will find essays, poems, correspondence, and book excerpts by well-known and lesser-known writers.

Henry David Thoreau's Walden (1854) is a classic transcendentalist work. This book records the author's time at Walden Pond, where he went to be...