"A passionate affirmation of the simple life, and joy in simple things. And it's beautifully written: clear, simple, precise." -- Observer "Poignant life-stories . are interspersed with the author's own meditations on walking . In the way a landscape is gradually absorbed by the long-distance rambler they steadily build into an insistent exhortation: get up, get out and walk!" -- Independent "Life-affirming stuff." -- National Geographic Traveler "Impressive." -- Daily Telegraph "Philosopher Gros ponders walking, that most mundane mode of transportation or exercise, elevating it to its rightful place in inspiring creativity, evoking freedom, and quieting a troubled soul." -- Booklist "This elegant book inspires consideration of an oft-overlooked subject.

" - Publisher's Weekly "Frédéric Gros asks why so many of our most productive writers and philosophers - Rousseau, Kant, Rimbaud, Robert Louis Stevenson, Nietzsche, Jack Kerouac - have also been indefatigable walkers . there are certain magical things that happen on the trail, and Gros is familiar with them. He thinks like a hiker."-- Financial Times "An admirable little book which will delight even the most sedentary."-- Le Monde "An unclassifiable book in which ideas are illuminated by the bright light of the morning."-- L'Express.