Drawing together many histories-of anatomical evolution and city design, of treadmills and labyrinths, of walking clubs and sexual mores-Rebecca So...
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Apr 05, 2008
April
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It is difficult to write a history book that is not specific to a place, time, event, or person. While Wanderlust strives to a be historical examination of walking, it seems to me more an extended essay (in the French meaning of the term 'to try' as an English professor once explained). However, such an essay generally leaves the conclusions to the reader—having examined the topic thoroughly from many angles. While neither impartial history nor essay, this book includes much examination of walki
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Jan 03, 2008
Venessa
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Affirmation of Pedestrianism
For those of you who don't know me as well as you think you do, I'll start by saying that I have never owned a car, and have not been behind the wheel of one in over 12 years; I bicycle in nice weather but my preferred mode of transportation is walking.
So, I just finished the book Wanderlust: A History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit and think it is one of the greatest books ever written. I was partial to two of the last chapters, one about women and More...
For those of you who don't know me as well as you think you do, I'll start by saying that I have never owned a car, and have not been behind the wheel of one in over 12 years; I bicycle in nice weather but my preferred mode of transportation is walking.
So, I just finished the book Wanderlust: A History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit and think it is one of the greatest books ever written. I was partial to two of the last chapters, one about women and More...
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Feb 01, 2011
Philippe
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Solnit's "history of walking" is a surprising excursion in a vast and unsystematised subject area. Indeed, like eating and playing, walking is one of these emblematic human activities that are invested with wildly different cultural meanings. I picked up the book because I am an avid walker and mountaineer and, as I learned, an adherent to the British walking tour ethos. For me there is something fundamentally cleansing, wholesome and right about spending time in the great outdoors. Ho
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Oct 15, 2009
Eleanor
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By nature of being a New Yorker I am a devoted walker and while I love thinking and walking and walking to explore neighborhoods, I hadn't thought much about the cultural history of walking. Unfortunately, it took me forever to read this book because for some reason the Brooklyn Public Library only has one copy and it's non circulating, which seems strange for an award winning book that is widely available in paperback.
I ended up picking this up in a gross chain bookstore in Seattle and re More...
I ended up picking this up in a gross chain bookstore in Seattle and re More...
May 05, 2009
Prior to going to graduate school, I rarely acquired books, preferring to get them from the library instead. But for the last decade or more I've done more book collecting than reading. When I needed a study break while a student at UCLA, I'd slip over to one of the wonderful thrift shops in Los Angeles and browse through their bookshelves, acquiring the titles that piqued my interest. That permitted me to enjoy thinking about books even when I didn't have time to read books unrelated to my s
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Sep 03, 2009
Jeff
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The best part of this book is the early section, which covers the topic of walking in philosophy and literature. Things degrade and wander a bit as things go on, and Solnit's politics start to become obtrusive - she got into thinking about walking as a part of "nuclear freeze" activities, and late in the book is an entire section of abuse directed at suburbs; besides the fact that yes, suburbs are more difficult to walk, it's not really fully at place in this book.
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May 29, 2011
Jennifer
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Oh man, the reason it took me so long to finish this book was because I ａｂｓｏｌｕｔｅｌｙ savored every page of it. I was introduced to Wanderlust by a book about readerly disobedience ｏn Sebaldian literature by Deane Blackler (which I ｄｏｎ＇ｔ ｒｅａｌｌｙ ｒｅｃｏｍｍｅｎｄ， ｈｅｒ ａｒｇｕｍｅｎｔｓ ａｒｅ ｐｒｅｔｔｙ ｓｉｍｐｌｉｓｔｉｃ）， ａｎｄ ｗｏｗ ａｍ Ｉ ｇｌａｄ Ｉ ｐｉｃｋｅｄ ｉｔ ｕｐ． Ｉ ｌｏｖｅ ｔｈｅ ｗａｙ ｔｈｅ ｂｏｏｋ ｉｓ ｓｅｔ ｕｐ， ｏｎｅ ｅｓｓａｙ ａｂｏｕｔ ｏｎｅ ｆａｃｅｔ ｏｆ ｗａｌｋｉｎｇ ｐｅｒ ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ： ｍｏｕｎｔａｉｎ ｃｌｉｍｂｉｎｇ， ｗａｌｋｉｎｇ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ ｃｉｔｙ， ｉｎ ｔｈｅ ｓｕｂｕｒｂ， ｒｅｖｏｌｕｔｉｏｎｓ， Ｗｈｉｔｍａｎ＇ｓ ｔｒａｖａｉｌｓ． Ｉｔ
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May 09, 2010
A wide ranging study of bipedal motion. An early chapter engages several anthropologists on what is the latest on the earliest form of walking by humans. Solnit identifies eighteenth century England as the site of the beginning of pleasure walking. It was first practiced by the rich in their gardens and soon spread to the wider outside world as a kind of reaction against the industrial revolution. There is an excellent chapter on how provocative and dangerous it has been for women to walk alone
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Jul 07, 2010
Courtney
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Excellent book, but tough to read. I have been reading it for about 3 months now - picking it up here and there with some fun reading in between. Wanderlust gives background on the history and meaning behind walking. This book is thoughtful and offers insight on the cultural, spiritual, and revolutionary aspects of walking. One of my favorite parts of the book is the following quote by Soren Kierkegaard..."In order to bear mental tension such as mine, I need diversion, the diversion of chan
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Jan 08, 2009
Anthony
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Really Pretty Marvelous. Solnit's book is about walking, so right there it has, for me, a leg up (no pun intendedd). But what Solnit manages to do is craft a really thought-provoking, moving study of all the ways walking matters as a cultural enterprise, oftentimes putting into words sensibilities larger than the Self, but which heretofore have lacked the right expression.
It gets a little preachy at times, though. Solnit, obviously, is a passionate protester, and while I don't have More...
It gets a little preachy at times, though. Solnit, obviously, is a passionate protester, and while I don't have More...
Jan 07, 2009
Mary
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The subtitle calls it a history, but it is also the psychology of walking, the aesthetics of..., the politics of...,
the physics and physiology of... It's not academic, but is substantial and well-researched by an author full of curiosity about a subject central to her own life. The quotations and anecdotes, by and about real and fictional people, are not decorations or filler. They light up the varieties of human walking experience--working, playing, cruising, protesting, meditating, c More...
the physics and physiology of... It's not academic, but is substantial and well-researched by an author full of curiosity about a subject central to her own life. The quotations and anecdotes, by and about real and fictional people, are not decorations or filler. They light up the varieties of human walking experience--working, playing, cruising, protesting, meditating, c More...
Feb 14, 2009
Marjorie
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I'm interested that other people have commented that they've read this book more than once, as I plan to as well, for two reasons. First, it is so dense with so much good writing and so many interesting thoughts that I feel I could read it again and get more out of it the second time. Second, there are so many references that I would like to follow up with my laptop at hand. I really appreciate books like this, that expand my horizons significantly. Also, the book makes you want to go out an
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Jan 29, 2012
_topo_
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E' un'opera ricchissima di spunti, che tratta del camminare in molti suoi aspetti, dal punto di vista scientifico, storico, artistico, psicologico, sociologico, politico, letterario, filosofico, urbanistico, linguistico, eccetera.
Il camminare che ha dato origine alla postura eretta, quello dei filosofi peripatetici, dei pellegrinaggi, delle manifestazioni, il camminare urbano, quello nei centri commerciali, nei labirinti, il camminare negato delle donne e quello delle prostitute, il camminare More...
Il camminare che ha dato origine alla postura eretta, quello dei filosofi peripatetici, dei pellegrinaggi, delle manifestazioni, il camminare urbano, quello nei centri commerciali, nei labirinti, il camminare negato delle donne e quello delle prostitute, il camminare More...
Jan 03, 2010
Cheryl
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I really wanted to love this book, and it is a wonderful history of walking, but the title was misleading to me. Wanderlust is a spiritual word, I think, no one talks about someone walking the dog at 5 am as fulfillment of wanderlust, although it could be for some. So there was a chapter missing fron the book, about the bliss and zen-like meditation and peace from walking. I love walking, on a hiking trail, in the desert, in the forest, on the beach, in a city, around my lake, holding hands,
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Dec 03, 2010
El
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I don't believe much in New Years' Resolutions as I prefer to do my self-improvement periodically throughout the year and not limit myself to a specific time in which to accomplish a goal. However, we are about 25 days away from moving into a new neighborhood, a safer neighborhood, and I am looking forward to being more active again - my boyfriend bought me a bike for Christmas 2007 and I have yet to be able to take it out, we'll be a few blocks away from a dog park, we can walk to the tennis c
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Jul 22, 2010
Heather
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This book is really smart and satisfying; it's an excellent blend of the personal and the historical and the philosophical. I kept writing down really pleasing sentences while reading, like: "Walking the street is what links up reading the map with living one's life, the personal microcosm with the public macrocosm; it makes sense of the maze all around" (171).
Or: "To me, the magic of the street is the mingling of the errand and the epiphany" (178).
O More...
Or: "To me, the magic of the street is the mingling of the errand and the epiphany" (178).
O More...
Feb 05, 2009
Adam
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Beautiful and infinitely relevant, I'm humble before the power of writing this good. I read this in many small doses over a long period. Once or twice a week, square in the middle of winter, I would brave a bike ride through 3 neighborhoods to my favorite coffeehouse and spend a few hours reading. Like Solnit describes walking and thinking, my mind would race as my wheels would race. My thoughts were filled with ideas form the book as I rode to and from the coffeehouse. So often the joy of
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Mar 07, 2010
Sarah
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In Wanderlust: A History of Walking Rebecca Solnit weaves together investigations of walks and the practice of walking. She notes, "Perhaps walking is best imagined as an 'indicator species' to use an ecologist's term…Walking is an indicator species for various kinds of freedom and pleasures: free time, free and alluring space, and unhindered bodies" (250). Solnit's qualitative investigation of the effects of urban design on walkability is poetic and profound. Solnit is deeply critical
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Nov 17, 2007
Marjorie
rated it:
There were moments in this book when the author touched on something I'd been hoping someone would say:
"The body presented to us in these hundreds of volumes and essays [of postmodern theory], this passive body for which sexuality and biological function are the only signs of life, is in fact not the universal human body but the white-collar urban body, or rather a theoretical body that can't even be theirs, since even minor physical exertions never appear: this body described i More...
"The body presented to us in these hundreds of volumes and essays [of postmodern theory], this passive body for which sexuality and biological function are the only signs of life, is in fact not the universal human body but the white-collar urban body, or rather a theoretical body that can't even be theirs, since even minor physical exertions never appear: this body described i More...
Mar 04, 2008
Quote From Book:
I kept coming back to this route for respite from my work and for my work too, because thinking is generally thought of as doing nothing in a production-oriented culture, and doing nothing is hard to do. It's best done by disguising it as doing something, and the something closet to doing nothing is walking. Walking itself is the intentional act closet to the unwilled rhythms of the body, to breathing and the beating of the heart. It strikes a delicate balance betw More...
I kept coming back to this route for respite from my work and for my work too, because thinking is generally thought of as doing nothing in a production-oriented culture, and doing nothing is hard to do. It's best done by disguising it as doing something, and the something closet to doing nothing is walking. Walking itself is the intentional act closet to the unwilled rhythms of the body, to breathing and the beating of the heart. It strikes a delicate balance betw More...
Apr 22, 2011
Chris
rated it:
This book reads like a good, long walk. There were 5-star parts that I read with relish and enthusiasm, and a few 2-star parts that I just had to slog through. Overall, I enjoyed the book, with a couple chapters toward the end -- particularly history of walking for women -- being the best in the book. I wouldn't recommend this one to the casual reader, but for someone who likes their thoughts provoked a little, likes to get out and saunter, and is a fan of Solnit's work, this one is well worth t
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Feb 26, 2011
Laurie
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I really loved this book -- except for the part that reads like an excerpt from someone's English master's thesis (i.e., the literary explication of literary figures who go for walks). I felt the same way about Solnit's "getting lost" book -- adored it, except for the part that sounded like an excerpt from an English 201 paper (i.e., the cultural discovery of an exotic form of communication known as "Country and Western" music). Of course, this is probably the (former) Englis
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Jul 25, 2011
Malcolm
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Good cultural history is a real challenge – it is about getting to the events and to their meanings. Solnit has finished up being reflective and meditative than perhaps she needs to be, but for something as banal as walking, something that is almost inexplicable, she has given us a good sense of the meaning it has, the ways we use and abuse it, and of walking as liberatory. It is a demanding read, but much of it worthwhile.
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Aug 10, 2011
Cara
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I found this book to be interesting overall, but tough to read at times. Concepts were interesting, she drew connections to things I have never thought of before. Definitely NOT a leisurely read - more scholarly. I would recommend this book to anyone studying/practicing urban planning, architecture, environmental design, and social environments. And ANYONE who loves to walk/has a wanderlust.
Nov 27, 2009
Bonnie
rated it:
I admit it took me over a year of reading this book in bits and pieces, but that doesn't mean I didn't love it. Solnit is wicked smart and quite funny and the book is very well written, well-researched, and most importantly very, very interesting. Wonderful, readable sections on many topics including the history of English gardens, history of the nature conservation/hiking movement, walking protests, walking as art, and the importance of preserving our public spaces.
I especially li More...
I especially li More...
Dec 07, 2008
Tom
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I labored through it. I am a walking addict, and expected a more personal connection with the author. While Ms. Solnit did include numerous examples of personal walks, I was not able to hang with her and see the countryside, inner or outer. This is more a book about philosophers and famous literary and artistic personalities that just happened to be walkers.
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Sep 30, 2008
Stephanie
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This was the second time I've read this book. It is a history of walking, mostly limited to a European and American context, which essentially begins around the time that walking became less of a necessity and more of a recreational pursuit. The style of the book is somewhat itinerant, which is reinforced by the quotes that are strung along the bottom of the page, much like the thought processes one has when out walking. Solnit weaves in class, gender, and some race commentary (to the best of
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Apr 20, 2011
Katherine
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Lovely exploration of walking, though this "history" begins in the 18th century (if I remember correctly) and is very European-focused. It really looks at how walking came to be seem as a leisure activity. Still, I think there are few things lovelier than walking, so I enjoyed this exploration of the ways it has shown up in some arts, literature, and cultures.
Jan 24, 2011
Amanda
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I found this book slow going in places, despite how interested I am in the topic; my favorite part was the section that deals with Romanticism, walking clubs, and the development of mountaineering as a pastime (especially the Wordsworth chapter; I could read about walking in the Lake District forever). The chapters on pilgrimages and protest marches and even Parisian flaneurs weren't quite as compelling, for me, though I think that has as much to do with my own interests as it does with Solnit's
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Feb 16, 2010
Bobby
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This book was similar to The Lost Art of Walking. I enjoyed Solnit's discussion about Peace Pilgrim, walking as political protest and solidarity, her personal walk through the New Mexico desert to Chimayo, and the chapter on "the shape of a walk" - walking as an art form. The chapter on art making inspired me in many ways, personally and for projects that I might generate in the class I will teach next semester. I also found compelling "Walking After Midnight", the chapter th
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