The Lost Art of Walking: The History, Science, Philosophy, and Literature of Pedestrianism

by Geoff Nicholson

Book Overview

How we walk, where we walk, why we walk tells the world who and what we are. Whether it's once a day to the car, or for long weekend hikes, or as competition, or as art, walking is a profoundly... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 159448998X
• ISBN13: 9781594489983
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: Riverhead Books
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

MUST READ THIS FASCINATING, AMUSING BOOK!!

Geoff Nicholson's exceptionally well-written book is a fascinating compilation of every aspect of walking. He enthralled me with tales of literary, eccentric, competitive, political, moon, inventor, artistic and recreational walkers...detailing many of their remarkable feats. His walking experiences and unusual people/things he's seen were delightfully described. I was intrigued by interesting walking tours, expeditions, journeys, songs with "walk" and walking scenes in movies. Mr. Nicholson astounded and entertained me with his impressive knowledge of walking! Amusing stories and trivia provided many laugh-out-loud moments. I really, truly loved this book because it greatly enhanced my cognizance of walking. Many of Mr. Nicholson's insightful comments gave me alot to think about. My favorite is...simply going for a walk is an invitation to a surprize! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS READ!!

While Not A Walk On the Wild Side, A HighlyEnjoyable Stroll

Walking, perhaps one of the most recognizably human activities when performed on two limbs, often reaches no further in our brain than an afterthought. It is one of the things that we do that we don't even realize that we do, much like breathing or keeping our heart beating. Nicholson takes a much-more-than-an-afterthought look into action, proving that perhaps the most interesting things in life are the ones that are right there in front of you, but that you never notice until someone else points out. From the science, both psychological and physical, of walking all the way to the art it has inspired, /The Lost Art of Walking/ documents every aspect of this seemingly sublime exercise. You might not, at first, guess that something so commonplace as walking could make for such an enigmatic read, and you would most surely be wrong in that guess. Nicholson pushes the subject into your face as if he's bragging after beating you at a game of one-on-one, it's impossible to not be interested in what he has to say. A solidly enjoyable read, /The Lost Art of Walking/ does not disappoint. Reviewed by Jordan Dacayanan

Take an entertaining and insightful walk with Nicholson

With a keen and wizened eye for dissecting the world around us, Nicholson draws us into a kaleidoscopic world built on something natural yet ephemeral to all of us. Walking, to Nicholson, is both the puzzle and the answer. He's our guide in an Alice-In-Wonderland-type stroll through human nature, history, cultures and personal lives that leaves us breathlessly climbing the last steep hill with his Mother on her own last journey. Granted, the title of the book, "The Lost Art of Walking: The History, Science, Philosophy, and Literature of Pedestrianism" leaves the author little choice but to fall short in writing an encyclopedia of facts, legends, and suppositions that tie into the simple act of self-propelled forward motion. However, he succeeds at drawing out the curiosity and want of self-knowledge in all of us. More to the point, walking is a wonder in and of itself and something worth pondering. Nicholson writes in a very easy-to-read conversational style that makes you feel you are walking along with him as your mind overflows with ideas and trivia. Much of this is brain-candy such as picturing eccentric characters like Mudman, an artist that performs "art walks" covered in mud and attending Conflux "psychogeographic" events that are all about walking the terrain in New York City. But there are many "Wow!" moments that make up for the excess drift. For example, did you know that filmmaker Werner Herzog, when he heard German star Lotte Eisner was gravely ill and likely to die, walked from Munich to Paris as an act that he believed would somehow will her to live? She lived another 9 years! And, its hard to beat the sardonic wit of Captain Oates of the famous Scott South Pole expedition, when he realized that he had become a frostbitten burden on the crew, and politely took his last walk into an Antarctic blizzard saying, "I am just going outside and may be some time." I wished this book contained more on the science of walking - from the physiology to the psychology of walking. For better or worse, sports (even walking or hiking) have become a science to study. We certainly know more today about what makes up a quality running performance, for example. Why not walking? There must be far more individuals walking for exercise than running. I think the book's audience would have appreciated more useful information and less trivia. Although, to be fair, I don't believe this is the author's intent. He only briefly approaches walking as a sport or discusses its specific benefits as an exercise. Unlike 100 years ago, when "pedestrianism" was an actual sport, it rarely, if ever, gets attention of any kind today. Nicholson is at his best when he makes his subject personal. He draws an interesting parallel between walking and writing. Words are like steps. A daunting walk can be compared to writing a daunting manuscript. A walk often takes you to unexpected places and observations. Writing often has its own obstacles, detours and unexpected ideas

A delightful ramble through the pedestrian landscape

Don't look for some great hidden message in Geoff Nicholson's lively and all-encompassing survey of the ways we undertake one of the most fundamental human actions: walking. There isn't one. Instead, this gifted writer, who admits that he goes for walks wherever he finds himself -- Los Angeles, the southwestern desert, London -- to both ward off depression and help him to write, takes his readers on a compelling journey through the world of walkers. Starting with the nature of the word "walk" itself, and ending with significant journeys of all kinds (from epic walks across Africa and walking on the moon to how Albert Speer kept himself sane during his years in prison by pacing off the distance between Berlin and Heidleberg), Nicholson's book is a joy to read. It is crammed full of the kind of anecdotes and tales that make your eyes open wider (did you know that an avid walker discovered the idea behind Velcro because of his walks?) and sometimes cause you to laugh out loud. He points to his favorite "walking songs" (and notes that Aerosmith's 'Walk This Way' is really about sex, not walking), and his favorite walks in movies (Fred Astaire strolling through Paris in Funny Face makes the grade, for instance.) Street photography and psychogeography come in for their share of attention, too. His knowledge feels encylopaediac, but he never sounds pompous. Rather, the reader ends up feeling Nicholson's urge is to share these tidbits to spread the enjoyment around rather than to show off. Particularly intriguing is the lost art of competitive pedestrianism, a phenomeonon of the 18th and 19th centuries during which its practitioners undertook such feats as walking one mile an hour (and only one mile each hour) for a thousand straight hours. Nicholson explores these characters and then tries his own 15-hour challenge in the English countryside, despite fearing that his neighbors may summon the police or conclude he is insane. Ultimately, Nicholson does draw some kind of lesson out of his ruminations on walking; that it is a kind of metaphor for life itself. "There'll be missteps and stumbles, journeys into dead ends; the reluctant retracing of your steps. And you have to tell yourself that's just fine, that it's a necessary and not wholly unenjoyable, part of the process. It's an exploration." But as with any good walk, this unsurprising revelation isn't the point -- it's all about the journey. And Nicholson has taken us on a delightful one. Overall, one of the best in what I think of as the "Who Knew?" genre, books devoted to quirky subjects that people didn't even know they were interested in until they read them.