A Philosophy of Walking

Resolving to take more walks in the new year might sound like promising to take more naps–choosing idleness over work. But a lot of clever people don’t see it that way […] 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. – Christopher Caldwell * Financial Times *
A passionate affirmation of the simple life, and joy in simple things. And it’s beautifully written: clear, simple, precise. – Carole Cadwalladr * 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 *
Impressive. * Telegraph *
“Life-affirming stuff.” * National Geographic Traveller *
“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 *
This short, simple and profound book… will be read and re-read. * Times Higher Education *
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 *
Unpretentious and refreshing. – Jonathon Sturgeon * Flavorwire *
A long walk, Gros suggests, allows us to commune with the sublime. * New York Times *
Celebrates the liberation of the mind that comes with walking, especially in natural areas: I hike, therefore, I am. – Matt Jaffe

Frederic Gros is a professor of philosophy at the University of Paris XII and the Institute of Political Studies, Paris. He was the editor of the last lectures of Michel Foucault at the College de France. He has written books on psychiatry, law and war. He lives in Paris.

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