"As readers have discovered in the classic book, The Spiritual Teachings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Richard Geldard is unmatched as a companion and guide to the works of America’s Founding Thinker. And now, as he plumbs and comments on Emerson’s far-ranging wisdom once again, he broadens his field of interpretation to make Emerson as contemporary as a health care debate. This book demonstrates convincingly that the poet/philosopher was as prescient as he was relevant in his own times, and that, as the "keeper of America’s best thoughts," we can gain from Emerson (with Geldard’s insight) a new perspective on our current struggles and profound guidance through our difficult future."

                                                       – Richard Grossman, author of A Year With Emerson and The Tao of Emerson

"Spend an hour with Richard Geldard and he will lead you to the inner sanctum and hand you over to the Master. Emersonianism is the American religion. It is not a church or a cult; it is a spiritual discipline, a Way. It teaches the infinitude of the private person, of each private person, of you yourself with your laptop and cellphone. Emerson was a great teacher in his day, but Richard Geldard can get him to you now. "

                                                                                            – Robert Richardson, author of Emerson: The Mind on Fire

Publisher’s Comments

This timely work associates Barack Obama's election with a reemergence of Emerson's great Dream of this new yet unapproachable America. It's the first book to connect Emerson's rousing teachings for individuals with ideas behind America's founding and our promise as a nation. Geldard shows how -- in contrast to the American Dream -- Emerson's Dream of America evokes something deeper, more fundamental, and infinitely more adequate to our immediate challenges as a nation.