MARCH 2020 - AudioFile
Norwegian explorer, lawyer, art collector, publisher, and author Erling Kagge's meditation on walking is complemented by Icelandic-Norwegian narrator Atli Gunnarsson’s authentic accent. At an unhurried pace mirroring Kagge's overarching message to slow down, Gunnarsson deliberately and self-assuredly makes the journey through the text. Kagge begins with a rumination on walking at different stages of life and at different points in history, and includes a discussion of the first people's long migrations on foot to new territories. He emphasizes that, in this day and age, taking time to experience the world around us through slowing down and walking is a radical act. S.E.G. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
Simple, profound . . . compelling . . . it packs a surprisingly motivational punch . . . Kagge’s insights are sharp enough to slowly chip away at your skepticism, like a pickaxe working a block of ice.”—GQ
“Beautiful, flowing prose, as wise and soothing as the voice it suggests . . . part rumination, part walking coach and companion . . .”—New York Journal of Books
“If ever there were an expert on the topic, behold, here he is . . . Kagge’s wisdom offers salve and salvation”—Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Ambitious . . . Mr. Kagge’s lean, likeable style holds [Walking] together and makes for an enjoyable whirl of a read.”—The Wall Street Journal
“Invigorating . . .”—The Scotsman
“[Kagge] challenges readers to take steps toward a better understanding of one’s self and finding a peaceful place in the scheme of life. Recommended for all libraries, especially collections on the environment. The poetic and inspirational words will remind readers of Henry David Thoreau’s work by the same name.”—Library Journal [starred]
“Candid . . . lyrical and sometimes philosophical . . . His awe and wonder are contagious . . . a perfect companion for those who seek mindfulness and meditation in their everyday lives.”—Booklist
“An homage to walking . . . Throughout this brief but eloquent meditation, the author makes a convincing case for the importance of walking. For him, walking is not simply taking a series of steps; it is something thrilling and amazing . . . A thoughtful book-length essay on a taken-for-granted human activity . . . Fascinating.”—Kirkus Reviews
“It is much more subtle than a typical self-help tome . . . he uses his acquaintance with extreme environments to reflect on the mental and physical benefits of walking.”—The Economist
MARCH 2020 - AudioFile
Norwegian explorer, lawyer, art collector, publisher, and author Erling Kagge's meditation on walking is complemented by Icelandic-Norwegian narrator Atli Gunnarsson’s authentic accent. At an unhurried pace mirroring Kagge's overarching message to slow down, Gunnarsson deliberately and self-assuredly makes the journey through the text. Kagge begins with a rumination on walking at different stages of life and at different points in history, and includes a discussion of the first people's long migrations on foot to new territories. He emphasizes that, in this day and age, taking time to experience the world around us through slowing down and walking is a radical act. S.E.G. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2019-02-13
An homage to walking by a man who believes it to be more beneficial to human health than any medicine or drug.
Norwegian explorer and publisher Kagge (Silence: In the Age of Noise, 2017, etc.) knows his subject matter intimately: He has walked to the North and South Poles and to the top of Mount Everest (he was the first person to complete the "Three Poles Challenge"), through the tunnels under New York City ("the architecture wilderness of subterranean tunnels is a living organism…the underground train is constantly in flux"), and along the sidewalks of Los Angeles, and he has traced the footsteps of characters in James Joyce's Ulysses (Dublin) and Knut Hamsun's Hunger (Oslo). Besides his own walking experiences, Kagge draws on thinkers and writers from ancient times to the present—Herodotus, Montaigne, Thoreau, Kierkegaard, Steve Jobs—and on scientists currently studying walking in cockroaches and penguins. Throughout this brief but eloquent meditation, the author makes a convincing case for the importance of walking. For him, walking is not simply taking a series of steps; it is something thrilling and amazing, "a combination of movement, humility, balance, curiosity, smell, sound, light and—if you walk long enough—longing….It can be the thought of something joyful that disturbs you, or something disturbing that brings you plenitude." In addition to expressing his love for walking, he clearly conveys his sorrow about its disappearance in the modern world. Bipedalism, he writes, enabled Homo sapiens to become who we are; now that we sit more often, including driving, what will be the effect on our evolution as a species? Possibly, he speculates, as we nonpedestrians give up experiencing the tangible world around us, we will become more open to intangibles, such as emotion and spirituality. Kagge also offers a too-short but fascinating section on Nan Madol, "a forgotten city in the Western Pacific Ocean that is reminiscent of Venice."
A thoughtful book-length essay on a taken-for-granted human activity.
