Wanderlust

A History of Walking

By: Rebecca Solnit

Narrated by: Liisa Ivary

Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Drawing together many histories - of anatomical evolution and city design, of treadmills and labyrinths, of walking clubs and sexual mores - Rebecca Solnit creates a fascinating portrait of the range of possibilities presented by walking. Arguing that the history of walking includes walking for pleasure as well as for political, aesthetic, and social meaning, Solnit focuses on the walkers whose everyday and extreme acts have shaped our culture, from philosophers to poets to mountaineers. She profiles some of the most significant walkers in history and fiction - from Wordsworth to Gary Snyder, from Jane Austen's Elizabeth Bennet to Andre Breton's Nadja - finding a profound relationship between walking and thinking and walking and culture. Solnit argues for the necessity of preserving the time and space in which to walk in our ever more car-dependent and accelerated world.

©2000 Rebecca Solnit (P)2014 Audible Inc.

A great work

This is an historical odyssey of walking. Incredible research and storytelling. I learned a lot and really enjoyed listening to it.

“FEET: We All Have Them” would be a better title

Wanderlust is a misleading title. Although there is some fascinating historical context in this book, the essays are only loosely connected. It is a better read than a listen.

Thoroughly engaging

Walking through the world has power. What we see while walking helps is crow as people. Those we walk with and March beside will have long-lasting impacts if we meet one another where we are.
A worthy listen.

a walk through many pieces of history

This book is packed with historical facts. I happened to listen to it while taking my morning walks and I feel that greatly impacted the way I received the information. I recommend this book to anyone especially those looking for a listen while they walk, especially if you enjoy walking outdoors.

Exhaustive and Exhausting

Wanderlust is in-depth, to the point that it meanders a bit too much. I loved learning about the cultural ideas behind walking and how the idea of walking has changed throughout history. Wanderlust was a fun listen; a solid 3.5.

Wonderful

This book is so full of wandering through so many walking adjacent topics while staying true to the point of the history of bipedalism. This provides for such a rich and brilliant read and education. The breadth and depth of this oft overlooked but absolutely daily and essential human endeavor is only just shy of a must read.

beautiful thought provoking meander

i cant write much cause the listening gas my feet itching to go outside and walk before it is too late. simultanepusly hillarious and depressing ans certainly interesting, a recommended read for anyone who cares they have two feet to get them anywhere and a mind to follow

Walking and It’s Story

A treatise on walking, it’s origins and purpose, it’s expansion into a form of political, social, cultural, and personal statement throughout history. Walking as a statement of status. Walking and it’s place within literature. Walking and it’s decline and (maybe) demise in America.
Like all of Solnit’s books, I find it to meander a bit, but always in a good way, and always making me stop to pull up Wikipedia and search out historical or literary figures from 100, 500, or 5000 years ago (Egeria, who knew?).
Liisa Ivary does a great job with Solnit’s text, which itself is great as usual.
Recommend to Solnit or de Botton readers, anyone interested in walking as a movement or anyone who enjoys a colorful trek through an encyclopedic mind.

Exhaustive treatment of walking with an agenda

I walk. So this tome really does explore walking in almost too precise detail. Way too much detail. But if you are walking and listening it is almost symbiotic. Now the endless literal references are interesting but a bit too much. The treatment of walking or rather protest walking as a vehicle for the hidden agenda of the book which is to detail walking as a form of protest. It left me a bit off... I read the entire book. It was not that bad. But I waste time as a profession. "Retired"

Not bad at all

I typically would avoid a book by someone such as Solnit, who comes across as one of those “always ready to be triggered” types but, this was a good rundown of walking with a bit of entertainment thrown in for good measure.