A writer and teacher after completing college, Henry David Thoreau became a close friend of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Living in Concord, MA, Thoreau taught and tutored the children of Emerson's brother. He also published essays, poems, and reviews in various magazines. Thoreau built a small cabin, in 1845, on Emerson's land near Walden Pond and lived there for two years. His purpose was to simplify his life, reduce his expenses, and devote his time to writing and observing nature. Out of the experiment came two books: A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers and Walden. The former was a failure and the latter established Thoreau's reputation.