KEY SOURCES FOR FURTHER READING ON
VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY
Following is a list of the best books I have ever read on voluntary simplicity. All are serious works of
thoughtful scholarship. If you are interested in more popular treatments or personal stories of
journeys toward simplicity, inquire at your local bookstore.
Alexander, Samuel (2009) Voluntary Simplicity: The Poetic Alternative to Consumer Culture.
(e-book, .pdf 1 MB). An anthology of some of the best writing on voluntary simplicity over
the last two decades. Available from: http://simplicitycollective.com/
Burch, Mark A. (2000). Stepping Lightly:Simplicity for People and the Planet. Gabriola Island,
BC: New Society Publishers.ISBN 0-86571-423-1 Exploration of simple living discussing
personal identity, economics, social justice and environmental issues. Available from author:
[email protected]
Burch, Mark A. (1995). Simplicity: Notes Stories and Exercises for Developing Unimaginable
Wealth. Gabriola Island, B.C.: New Society Publishers. ISBN –0-86571-323-5 A short
essay on various meanings of simplicity and reasons people might wish to live more simply
plus exercises to help readers make the psychological and emotional transition from
consumptive to simpler lifestyles. Available from author: [email protected]
Elgin, Duane (1993). Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life That is Outwardly Simple,
Inwardly Rich. (revised edition) New York, N.Y.: William Morrow and Company, Inc. ISBN
0-688-12119-5 Duane Elgin’s was one of the first books to appear on voluntary simplicity at
least a decade before the most recent spate of popular interest in the subject.
Merkel, Jim (2003). Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth. Gabriola Island,
BC: New Society Publishers. ISBN 0-86571-473-8 For those interested in applying
voluntary simplicity to environmental stewardship, this is a well-researched although quite
demanding book that uses ecological footprinting as a way of measuring our individual
progress toward living more lightly on the earth. While a bit technical in places, it is also
witty and down-to-earth.
Segal, Jerome, (2000).Graceful Simplicity:Toward a Philosophy and Politics of Simple Living.
New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.ISBN 0-8050-5679-3. This is a good initial
exploration of a politics of simple living, i.e., how to create social and economic policies that
are “simplicity friendly.”
Shi, David E. (1996).The Simple Life: Plain Living and High Thinking in American Culture.
Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-504013-9 A scholarly but readable exploration of the
role played by simple living in American culture from colonial times to the 1960s. Extremely
valuable for historical background, though limited to the practice of simple living in an
American cultural context.
Thoreau, Henry David (1989). Walden and Other Writings. New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books. ISBN
0-553-21246-X This is a classic account of Thoreau’s two years living by the banks of
Walden Pond in 19th Century New England. It is loaded with insightful critique of the vain
strivings after peace through possessions and an unparalleled anthem to simple, self-reliant
living.
VandenBroeck, Goldian (1996). Less Is More: The Art of Voluntary Poverty. Rochester, VT: Inner
Traditions.ISBN 0-89281-554-X This anthology is a wonderful collection of quotations
spanning three millennia of mostly Western philosophy and spirituality addressing the
delights of simple living, as well as a spirited and often amusing critique of the “ways of the
world.”