The Lost Art of Walking: The History, Science, and Literature of Pedestrianism Paperback – November 3, 2009

I had been training for the Vierdaagse in Netherlands. I'm older, so my walk length was about 80 miles in 4 days. Needless to say, I put in some training hours. This book just gave me some laughs and induced some pondering in my off hours soaking my feet.

I really enjoyed this look at everything relating to walking, subtitled "the history, science, and literature of pedestrianism." Besides talking about his own walks, and how he broke his arm while walking near his L.A. home, the author looks at walking in fiction, walking in the movies, walking in music. You get the picture.Walking in L.A., walking in New York City, and walking in London are also covered. Beyond that, almost any walking topic you can imagine, such as walking on the moon or labyrinth walking, are also touched on.This may all sound rather dull but it isn't. Nicholson has a lively writing style, though he does get bogged down in a few places. This book is quite fun.

Better than expected. Haha it was interesting and funny.

I ordered this book sight unseen after reading a favorable review in one of my favorite magazines The Economist. I have always been a huge fan of walking - seeing the world from 5+ feet, moving on at a pace that allows one to engage and disengage at will.What I ordered this book I hoped to see something on physiology, psychology or philosophy of walking. Instead, this book treats one to a high-speed flow of consciousness - any which thought that flits into the author's mind as he walks goes straight onto the page. The man has an active mind, and the book runs at a pace of a noisy blender.Now that I had the book in hand, I looked at the dust cover blurbs:"...demented charm" - Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times"...not for the faint of heart" - Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.Wow! When a major reviewer calls a writer demented and the publisher puts that on the back of the book, that is bizzarre, to say the least.I am sure the author has his audience, and there will be people who'll love this book. Like chewing gum or watching game shows, it will take you away from your life and into another reality. My copy, however, is going right back to amazon.

Love it.

As a walker, Geoff Nicholson has been privileged to have meandered all over the globe, while in this book he meanders primarily in London, Los Angeles, and Manhattan. As a writer, he meanders all over the page.Throughout this book written in a stream-of-consciousness style, the patient reader will find many insightful and eloquent passages, but they are interspersed with useless fluff. Unfortunately, that’s how we all think. On rare occasions, we conjure up profound insights. All the other times in between, our minds are cluttered with ennui.The author verges on the edge of soon becoming a great writer. Meanwhile he remains a good writer woefully in need of a good editor. As a prolific writer of some 23 books, he writes too darn much.Had he or a skilled editor reduced this 275-page book down to 200 pages by deleting the 75 pages of needless digressions and tedious personal anecdotes, this would have been a great book.Look, for example, at the 15-page bibliography. This is not an academic book in need of any bibliography, yet he pads it with irrelevant citations, for instance books of criticism about the films of Buster Keaton and about the detective novels of Raymond Chandler, as well as listing five novels by Chandler. The latter appears because in his Los Angeles chapter Nicholson serves up five pages about Raymond Chandler as he walks around the Hollywood neighborhoods where the novelist lived. The book about Buster Keaton is listed because Nicholson devotes two pages to comments about the actor’s gait, this after the two pages about Charlie Chaplin’s gait. The two comedy film directors happen to interest me, Raymond Chandler not.Throughout the book, to spare myself the useless ennui, I was compelled to skim passages and to skip entire pages. Yes, buy this book. It provides much food for thought and is much fun to read. Just don't read the whole dang thing. Be prepared to skip many pages at a time and you will find this book well worth your time.

Walk around LA, and with a damaged leg? Going against the grain is a speciality of writer Geoff Nicholson and he doesn't disappoint in The Lost Art of Walking. He falls down. Gets up and keeps on truckin. Well, not truckin, that's the point. Snappy prose and wry wit demonstrate why most of us are lucky enough to have two feet.

Geoff Nicholson's exceptionally well-written book is a fascinating compilation of every aspect of walking. He enthralled me with tales of literary, eccentric, competitive, political, moon, inventor, artistic and recreational walkers...detailing many of their remarkable feats. His walking experiences and unusual people/things he's seen were delightfully described. I was intrigued by interesting walking tours, expeditions, journeys, songs with "walk" and walking scenes in movies. Mr. Nicholson astounded and entertained me with his impressive knowledge of walking! Amusing stories and trivia provided many laugh-out-loud moments. I really, truly loved this book because it greatly enhanced my cognizance of walking. Many of Mr. Nicholson's insightful comments gave me alot to think about. My favorite is...simply going for a walk is an invitation to a surprize! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS READ!!