梭羅最犀利、幽默的演講！ 本書收錄梭羅最具影響力的兩篇演講〈公民不服從〉與〈沒有原則的生活〉，句句箴言，閃耀真誠的光芒。 有一天，梭羅去跟鞋匠拿修好的鞋子，路上警察以他拒繳人頭稅為罪名，將他逮捕入獄。但有人代繳了稅金（據說是他的姑媽），所以他很快獲釋。1849年他發表著名的演說〈公民不服從〉，告訴鄉親，其實不應該傻傻地效忠政府，因為公民有不服從惡法或暴政的義務。 梭羅的影響無遠弗屆，公民不服從的精神讓同一個時代的托爾斯泰深深感動。往後更是啟發了甘地、馬丁路德．金恩，發起非暴力、不合作運動；更別忘了，21世紀還有茉莉花革命與佔領華爾街運動。 梭羅的影響還有另一個重要的面向：他認為把工作、賺錢當成第一要務，這樣的生活很可惜。他反問，我們人活著是為什麼？難道只是汲汲營營，最後才發現自己根本沒真正活過？ 梭羅的經典語錄 若只想到自身的利益，就很容易被政府掌控，甚至自願上當。 政府可能處境艱難，狗急跳牆，只是我也愛莫能助。政府必須跟我一樣，自己想辦法，哭哭啼啼解決不了問題。 應該先學會做人的道理，再來才是當個好國民。 我們習慣把事情進展不順利，歸咎於大眾還沒準備好要改變；但是實際改革的速度如此緩慢，是因為少數人也沒聰明到哪裡去。 雖然多數人沒有像你那麼善良，但這不是你要關心的重點，因為只要良善沒有雜質，就會在社會中漸漸發酵。 講道義的人還好擺平，半路殺出來的衛道人士反而難搞定。 聰明人不會把成敗交給機緣，也不會妄想靠多數人的力量來成事。 最顯而易見的錯誤，只有在最冷漠的人群中才能看到。 我們人的一生應該成為反摩擦力，抵抗不義的事情，讓政府這部機器停擺。 我覺得上帝站在正義的這一方，不用再等其他人了。如果你更堅守正義，就是比別人提早加入多數人的陣營。 金錢是人在追求目標的過程中隨之而來的；死要錢絕對不是美德。 如果人變有錢之後，會去實現窮苦時想要做的事，就是對文化最大的貢獻。 關於生活，梭羅在〈沒有原則的生活〉中建議： 做自己熱愛的事，不要騙自己為薪水工作。 不要僱用只為錢工作的人。 商業活動發達不等於文明進步，人性的價值才是真正的寶藏。 不要浪費時間在膚淺的新聞和八卦上。 作者簡介 亨利．梭羅 (Henry David Thoreau)，生於十九世紀的美國文人。寫就《湖濱散記》，喜歡旅行。家裡開鉛筆工廠，當過土地調查員，念過哈佛，老師是愛默生。坐過一夜牢，因而寫下〈公民不服從〉，認為不論是當官的還是普通人，做人處事要憑良心。 譯者簡介 劉粹倫，在臺大念歷史，荷蘭藝術學院念創作。斷斷續續住過歐洲，喜歡散步、看舞劇。目前住臺北，成立紅桌文化，夏天出書，冬天讀書。合譯的作品有《風格就是你》、《有毒污泥愛你好》。

Straight from the front line of urban America, the inspiring story of one fiercely determined teacher and her remarkable students.
As an idealistic twenty-three-year-old English teacher at Wilson High School in Long beach, California, Erin Gruwell confronted a room of “unteachable, at-risk” students. One day she intercepted a note with an ugly racial caricature, and angrily declared that this was precisely the sort of thing that led to the Holocaust—only to be met by uncomprehending looks. So she and her students, using the treasured books Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl and Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo as their guides, undertook a life-changing, eye-opening, spirit-raising odyssey against intolerance and misunderstanding. They learned to see the parallels in these books to their own lives, recording their thoughts and feelings in diaries and dubbing themselves the “Freedom Writers” in homage to the civil rights activists “The Freedom Riders.”
With funds raised by a “Read-a-thon for Tolerance,” they arranged for Miep Gies, the courageous Dutch woman who sheltered the Frank family, to visit them in California, where she declared that Erin Gruwell’s students were “the real heroes.” Their efforts have paid off spectacularly, both in terms of recognition—appearances on “Prime Time Live” and “All Things Considered,” coverage in People magazine, a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley—and educationally. All 150 Freedom Writers have graduated from high school and are now attending college.
With powerful entries from the students’ own diaries and a narrative text by Erin Gruwell, The Freedom Writers Diary is an uplifting, unforgettable example of how hard work, courage, and the spirit of determination changed the lives of a teacher and her students.
The authors’ proceeds from this book will be donated to The Tolerance Education Foundation, an organization set up to pay for the Freedom Writers’ college tuition. Erin Gruwell is now a visiting professor at California State University, Long Beach, where some of her students are Freedom Writers.</p>

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