Wanderlust: A History of Walking

A reissue of the profound and meandering modern classic about the historical, political and philosophical paths traced by walkers.

What does it mean to be out walking in the world? From pilgrimages to protest marches, mountaineering to meandering, this modern classic weaves together numerous histories to trace a range of possibilities for this most basic act. Touching on the philosophers of Ancient Greece, the Romantic poets, Jane Austen's Elizabeth Bennett, Andre Breton's Nadja, and more, Rebecca Solnit considers what forms of pleasure and freedom walkers have sought at different times. Profound and provocative, Wanderlust invites us to look afresh at the rich, varied, often radical interplay of the body, the imagination, and the world when walking.

"Radical, humane, witty, sometimes wonderfully dandyish, at other times, impassioned and serious" - Alain de Botton