Walking

by Kagge Erling

'Everything moves more slowly when I walk, the world seems softer . . .'

From the bestselling author of Silence comes an illuminating exploration of the joy of walking. From those perilous first steps to great expeditions, from walking to work to walking to the North Pole, Erling Kagge explains that he who walks lives longer, and better.

'After having put my shoes on and let my thoughts wander, I am sure of one thing - to put one foot in front of the other is one of the most important things we do.'

'Erling Kagge is a philosophical adventurer - or perhaps an adventurous philosopher' - New York Times

'Drawing on the experiences of Kagge's extraordinary life in wild places, this is a book of great concentration' - Robert Macfarlane, on Silence

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Walking, Travel, Nature, Audiobook, Memoir

177 pages, Hardcover

First published April 23, 2019

Reviews

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Such a simple thing, walking, simple for some, but not all. One never knows when one picks up a book, what they will find. I certainly never expected to find so much meaning in a small book on walking. Not knowing that I was opening a book that I would come to cherish, one that held so much meaning. An author who has on foot the three poles, the North Pole, the South Pole and the summit of Mt. Everest, definitely has to know the benefits of walking. Of course my goals are so far from his it is almost laughable. I simply want to feel better. Baby steps, and this book has many such steps. The many benefits of walking, short walks, slow walks, letting everything else drain away, healing in nature, mindless thoughts.

I bought this book, found myself marking so many quotes it would be silly not to. I'll share just a few.

"All my walks have been different, but looking back I see one common denominator: inner silence. Walking and silence belong together. Silence is as abstract as walking is concrete."

"And this is precisely the secret held by all those who go by foot; life is prolonged when you walk. Walking expands time rather than collapses it."

"There is a thrill to not knowing what you may encounter as you walk. Your thoughts become more restricted. No one who wants to get hold of you knows where to find you. You are not vicariously living through other people. For one fleeting moment you can forget the rest of the world. Past and future have no role as you walk.

[Anne Bogel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this little book on my stack for well over a year, and am so glad I picked it up as one of my final 2020 reads! I loved it so much. This book in translation (from the original Norwegian) is a little bit personal story, a little bit philosophical meditation on just that—how walking is grounding and expansive. I took a ridiculous number of notes in my book journal (which I shared with the Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club in our Best Book of the Year event, along with all the quotes I had to read out loud to my family).

[Indra Nooyi]

In his beautifully written book, Walking, Erling Kagge resurrects what so many throughout history have told us before: that walking is the best medicine. Kagge’s work, though short, is deeply profound and draws our attention back to the restorative power of movement and the outdoors. So, go out and take a walk, perhaps taking a break to read a chapter from Kagge, or with his audiobook as your companion.

[Eliza · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about walking? I don't think there is anything more perfect.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading and walking -- for me the two most pleasurable things in life. I really loved Kagge's approach. A small book for a quiet afternoon - maybe after an extensive walk in the morning. What do you want more in life?
PS: The audio version is great as well.

[Mairita (Marii grāmatplaukts) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man patīk staigāt un es jūtu labumu no staigāšanas, tāpēc šī plānā eseju grāmata mani iepriecināja. Atzīmēju daudzas citējamas vietas, lai varētu vēlāk pārlapot un pārlasīt. Vietām varbūt teksts drusku saraustīts, ne viss filozofiskais uzrunāja, bet kopumā labi. Balstoties savā pieredzē, senākos un jaunākos tekstos un pētījumos, autors labi argumentē, kāpēc ir tik būtiski staigāt. "Pastaiga ir cilvēka labākās zāles."

[Mikko Saari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Olin napannut tämän varaukseen kustantajan katalogista, koska käveleminenhän on mitä parhainta. Käyn itsekin päivittäin kävelemässä ja olen vakaasti sitä mieltä, että käveleminen on parasta liikuntaa ja monin tavoin hyödyllistä. Miksipä en siis lukisi kirjaa kävelemisestä?

Siinä vaiheessa kun luen kirjan kansista, että kirjoittaja "Erling Kagge on norjalainen kirjailija, kustantaja, seikkailija, taiteen keräilijä ja juristi, joka on kävellyt etelänavalle, pohjoisnavalle ja Mount Everestille", herää toki kysymys mitä annettavaa tällä kirjalla on tällaiselle tavalliselle ihmiselle, joka pääasiassa kävelee vaihtelevia kävelyreittejä tamperelaisessa lähiössä.

Ja siinäpä se – aika höttöiseksi tämä lukukokemus jäi. Erling Kagge puhuu aika paljon omista kokemuksistaan ja no, minun kokemuksiini ei kuulu kävelemistä pohjoisnavalla, etelänavalla, Mount Everestillä, Los Angelesissa, Robinson Crusoen saarella, Geneve-järvellä, New Yorkissa ja niin edelleen. Itse asiassa minun arvomaailmassani tällainen maailmanmatkailu on vastuutonta, kohtuutonta ja suoranaista ilkivaltaa planeettaamme kohtaan. Jos ilmeisesti äärimmäisen menestyneen norjalaismiehen on paettava ongelmiaan ryömimällä New Yorkin viemäreissä, niin ei kai se minulta pois ole, mutta kovin vaikea on suurempaa sympatiaakaan tuntea.

Yleisemmällä tasolla puhuessaan Kagge puhuu ihan viisaita ja kävelemistä kelpaa kyllä kehua. Muutenkin Kaggen egonostatus oli sitä paitsi enemmän huvittavaa kuin ärsyttävää. Kirja on myös armollisen lyhyt, sen lukee läpi hetkessä, joten kovin pitkää siivua se ei elämästä vie – kirjan luettuaan voi sitten mennä vaikka kävelylle.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mostly liked this book despite being angered that all the men being quoted seemed to have hours to devote to their daily walks. I get frustrated with the freedom that is so brazenly shown in this book. This author has claimed to be a father and yet he goes off on two month adventures. I guess it just made me wish that I was comfortable with shirking responsibilities. Unfortunately, if I go walking for a few hours afterwork, I do not have someone who will take care of dinner or the chores for me while I am gone.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since the beginning of the pandemic, I began to take daily walks. My good friends suggested this book to me and so I ordered it from my local library. I believe a lot of other people were also interested as it took about three months for the book to come in. That day I walked over to the library taking about 45 minutes round trip.

Published in 2018, translated into English in 2019, Norwegian explorer and well known walker, wrote a short book reflecting on the simple task of walking.

A lot of people through history have commented on walking. Some samples:

“Walking is the best medicine.”
Hippocrates

“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk; every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness.”
Soren Kierkegaard

“As you walk, your way closes,
And when you look back
You see the path which your feet
Will never more tread.”
Antonio Machado

If you are interested in walking, this is a good book to inspire you. Yes, he conquered the three poles, North, South and Everest, and being Norwegian, walking was part of his youth.

Walking is good for your body and mind. He warns about societies that have become more slothful and inactive in the last decade, citing from the latest statistics pointing out how so few children do physical activities anymore.

We live in fast society. So why not slow it down. Go outside and take a walk. As Milan Kundera suggests in his book, Slowness, “There is a secret bond between slowness and memory, between speed and forgetting.” Walking is good for clearing the mind.

Of course, in many self help books, he suggest that one can go further, succeed and conquer what you want in life. This might be best to describe the author, Erling Kagge.

Or you can just simply walk for the goodness of it. I like that. And in the spirit of the book, I did walk back to the library to drop it off.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walking is travel at a speed that humans are comfortable with, you can take everything in as you pass by. The act of us walking on two feet, upright and able to observe what is around us is a movement that is millennia old. We as a species though are not walking as much as we used to, the modern transport options are so easy and we lose that sense of time.

The ability to walk, to put one foot in front of the other, invented us.

Erling Kagge has loved walking for as long as he can remember, when he was growing up in Norway his parents did not own a car so he had to walk. He walked to the North Pole in his mid-twenties and then walked to the South Pole, solo. Now in charge of a publishing house, he still walks when he can and wherever he happens to be. For him it is the best way to discover a place, find what makes it tick and to feel the pulse of it.

I learned that the spiritual was the opposite of the material, but in the woods these two are not opposites – they are equals. To walk reflects this.

Walking not only helps our physical health, but can benefit our mind too. Research has shown that time spent away from a screen, regardless if it is a walk along city streets or heading up over a moor works wonders for your mind too. This is a good companion volume to his other book on silence. Both are small acts of defiance against the fast-paced, relentless and loud world. I really enjoyed this too. I really like his sparse writing style and philosophical outlook on life. Stunning cover too. Well worth reading.

[iva° · Rating 5 out of 5]

slično koncipirana kao i njegova "tišina u doba buke" u kojoj se bavi pitanjem (ljepotom i važnošću) pronalaska tišine, i ova je minijaturistična, naoko jednostavna i podrazumijevajuća, ali ovaj put koncentrirana na hodanje, na stavljanje noge ispred noge, na taj čin kojeg radimo svakodnevno, bez razmišljanja. od uspravljanja četveronožaca, preko odlazaka na posao, u šumu ili na planinu pa do koračanja po mjesecu, kagge svojim nenametljivim pristupom reflektira važnost hodanja, ne samo kao izvora fizičkog, nego i mentalnoga i emocionalnog zdravlja.

ima nešto u njegovim tekstovima koji djeluju tako smirujuće, kao da ti se obraća čovjek koji sa samrtne postelje dijeli životnu mudrost s tobom, kao čovjek koji je razlučio bitno od nebitnoga, kao čovjek koji je pomiren sa sobom i sa svijetom. ništa ne nameće i ništa ne zahtjeva... čak ništa ni ne predlaže; tek ti priča kako možeš, na najjednostavniji i svakome dostupan način, urediti svoj život. kao da te lagano dohvati za rub rukava i prišapne: "hej, gle..." i opet, nema tu nekih neonskih objava niti otkriva nove svjetove... otkriva svjetove koji su oko nas i u nama, ali ih, u žurbi, trci i buci, stavljamo u zapećak.

[Chadi Raheb · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Walking made it possible for us to become who we are, so if we hardly ever walk, we may become something else...”

[Pawarut Jongsirirag · Rating 4 out of 5]

เป็นบันทึกกึ่งความเรียง ที่เรียบง่ายเเต่เรียบหรูมากๆ มันไม่ได้พูดถึงข้อดีของการเดินเเบบฟุ้งๆลอยๆ เเบบไลฟ์โค้ช Kagge เล่ามันเหมือนเขาพาเรา "ค่อยๆเดินชม" เรื่องเล่าของเขา กา���ออกเดินท่องเที่ยวไปในที่ต่างๆ สิ่งที่เขาค้นพบ สิ่งที่คนอื่นค้นพบ พวกเขาเห็นอะไรบ้างจากการย่างเท้าออกเดินไปยังที่ต่างๆ ไปยังป่าเขา ขั้วโลกเหนือ ขั้วโลกใต้ รวมไปถึงเอเวอร์เรสกันเลย !!

เเต่ Kagge ไม่ได้พาเราชมเพียงเรื่องเล่าของเขาเท่านั้น ยังพาออกไปชมปรัชญา วิทยาศาสตร์ เเละประวัติศาสตร์ของการเดิน
ให้เป็นอรรถรสที่ช่วยเสริมให้เรื่องเล่าของเขายิ่งน่าสนใจ

หนังสือเล่มเล็กๆสำหรับนักเดินทางผู้ย่างก้าวออกเดินจริงๆครับ

[Gretchen Rubin]

A thoughtful, quiet, meditative book about the power of walking.

[Out of the Bex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay but not great.

A book like this one is very hard to pull off. There is no narrative structure. Walking is a collection of thoughts and ideas from the author himself on the practice of Walking. In books like this one the writing must be unforgivably perfect from start to finish in order to draw the reader in.

Segments of this book were just that, perfect. They were thoughtful, full of meaning, and immersive.

However, other segments were not so perfect. At times it felt the book was dragging on for little to no purpose. I was only waiting to get to the next beautiful segment amidst a sea of mediocre ones.

I'm glad I read it as the sections I did enjoy were memorable and worthwhile. However, I will not recommend this to friends for purchase. So...

VERDICT: Borrow It

[Book Princess (Anastasia) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Дуже цікава книжка, в якій автор тематизує важливість ходьби, що для нього вона означає, як людина осмислювала себе через ходьбу - від давніх часів до наших днів. Про ходьбу в літературі (від класики до сучасності), в давньогрецькій філософії, а також про небезпеку сидячого способу життя. Думка, яка сподобалася: сидячих людей легше контролювати, а всі революції відбувалися у ходьбі. Сам автор - ще той мисливець за пригодами, побував на Південному та Північному полюсах, здолав Еверест, а якось навіть вирішив пішки пройти весь Нью-Йорк. Ага, рано дивуватися: він вирішив іти КАНАЛІЗАЦІЄЮ! Одним словом, неймовірно цікавий чоловік. Норвежець. Мабуть, саме тому так любить ходити пішки, а не їздити машиною.

[Brendan Monroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Activities promoting a return to nature seem particularly in vogue lately, and this is just another in the long line of books about walking that I see appearing in bookshops with ever increasing frequency.

Or is it?

Granted, I haven't read those "other" books about walking, but is there a better person to pen a book on the subject than the first fellow to have walked to the North Pole, the South Pole, AND the summit of Everest? I mean, Jesus Christ. It's a good thing I just read Matt Haig's Reasons to Stay Alive because after reading Erling Kagge's biography I feel like I haven't done much with my life.

I first heard about this book back in April. I was stuck in traffic on the way to my favorite used bookstore (because where else would I be headed?) in Orlando, Florida. The radio was tuned to the local NPR (National Public Radio) station and Erling Kagge's accented-English suddenly crackled on the car's speakers.

Some of Kagge's answers that day struck me as a bit too "zen". In response to the interviewer's question of how he prepared for his hike to the South Pole, Kagge answered that it was simply a matter of putting "one foot in front of the other". The interviewer scoffed at this, as did I when listening, but I think I get Kagge's point now. "One foot in front of the other" isn't necessarily to be taken literally, but has more to do with the mental state one has to have to set out on such a hike in the first place.

Or perhaps I'm just fooling myself.

I fully understand the health benefits that come with routinely walking, but I wasn't as clear on the mental and emotional benefits. I'm not sure how I could have missed this, as just about every famous person throughout history is referenced in "Walking" as being a devotee.

There's Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard who, in a letter to his sister-in-law, writes, "Above all, do not lose your desire to walk; every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness."

Then there's American poet and essayist Henry David Thoreau, who writes, "I think I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least — and it is commonly more than that — sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements."

Of people who don't walk regularly, Thoreau writes that they "deserve some credit for not having all committed suicide long ago."

Greek physician Hippocrates notes that "if you are in a bad mood, go for a walk" and, if you are still in a bad mood, "go for another walk". Fellow-Greek philosopher Diogenes says, in reply to the idea that movement does not exist, "solvitor ambulando" (it is solved by walking).

Others — Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs — were avid walkers who reportedly got some of their best ideas when strolling outdoors.

Kagge notes that walking is connected to our bodies and emotions even in our language.

Motion, emotion. Move, moved.

Kagge also emphasizes that the way we walk often says a lot about us. Do we take timid steps, or do we stride confidently? Do we rush forward hunched or do we stand straight as we saunter?

In his extraordinary novel Austerlitz, W.G. Sebald writes that, following the German-invasion, the residents of Prague "walked more slowly, like sonambulists, as if they no longer knew where they were going."

At this point I recalled something a friend of mine told me a few years ago. Her brother, she said, had been mugged three times in the past few months simply walking back to their London home. My friend's family lived in a relatively safe area of London, but having never lived in London myself, I enquired as to whether such muggings were "normal".

"Not at all," she told me. "It's the way he walks. He's hunched and constantly looking over his shoulder. It's obvious to anyone who sees him that he's terrified."

Before reading this I had never seriously thought about walking before or, rather, I had never thought of walking as a serious endeavor. It's so easy to take the ability to walk for granted, to not consider the fact that millions of individuals lack this seemingly basic ability. And yet the majority of us don't make the most of this ability.

We desire to sit day in, day out, and our kids are increasingly preferring to spend their free time inside rather than out. Walking, it seems, is something we practice in our daily lives less and less. Nevermind hiking to the South Pole, what about going around the block?

Some places are worse than others. Most of us in America have been conditioned to view walking as a last resort, as something you have to do rather than something you want to do. After all, why walk when you can drive?

Even leaving aside the obvious environmental and health benefits, walking has so much to offer.

As Kagge writes, because so much in our lives is fast paced and walking is such a slow undertaking, "it is among the most radical things you can do." Furthermore, "walking expands time rather than collapses it."

I'm about to head out on something of a walk myself, along the 382-mile Oregon Coast Trail. I'm sure I can't even comprehend at this point the challenges I'm likely to come across in doing so. But I fully intend to "put one foot in front of the other" until I've reached the end of the trail.

It's not the South Pole, it's just a walk, still a radical act in today's world. Because maybe it's not taking the road less traveled that matters as much as the way you're taking that road.

Maybe the thing that most drives me to walk is that I could drive.

[S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It kā ļoti vienkārša un pašsaprotama tēma - iešana, bet aprakstīta tik interesanti un baudāmi, ka pāršķirot lapu galvā ir tikai viena doma - kā gribas iziet ārā un pastaigāt, kaut kur pabradāt, paklejot, aizvazāties.

Aizraujoši un koncentrēti, bet pietiekami jēgpilni, lai īsajā grāmatas lasīšanas laikā sev vēlreiz un vēlreiz apliecinātu, cik iešana un došanās ceļā ir svarīga gan fiziskās, gan mentālās veselības uzturēšanā.

Pēc šīs grāmatas izlasīšanas mazliet vairāk saprotu arī tos, kuri ar prieku savus brīvos brīžus, dienas, atvaļinājumus izvēlas pavadīt vienatnē, aukstumā, neērtībās un pusbadā klejojot nekurienē vienlaikus no tā ķerot milzu prieku.

"Došanās ceļā, neziņa par to, kas tevi sagaida, rāda nedrošību. Es domāju, kā tas ir veselīgi. Domu loks sašaurinās, neviens, kas vēlas tevi sasniegt, neziņa, kur tu esi. Tu nedzīvo citu cilvēku dzīvi. Īsu brīdi tu aizmirsti par pārējo pasauli. Pagātnei un nākotnei nav nozīmes, kamēr vien tu ejot liec vienu kāju priekšā otrai."

Es vienmēr esmu fanojusi par kājāmiešanu, bet pēc šīs grāmatas es par to fanoju vēl vairāk. Lasiet, iedvesmojoties, staigājiet!

[Agris Fakingsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

..kaut latviešu versijas vāks nav īpaši pievilcīgs, tēma un saturs mani atkal pacēla augstāk virs zemes. viena sasodīti laba grāmata. un ne tikai tiem, kas staigā. diez, kura no šogad izlasītajām grāmatām spēs šo te nogāzt no pjedestāla 1. vietas!?!

[Odette Brethouwer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ik probeer iedere dag een wandelingetje te maken, het liefste 's ochtends voor het werk én 's avonds na het eten. Het lukt me niet iedere dag, maar als ik dit boekje lees dan weet ik waarom ik het zo fijn vindt.

Even wandelen brengt rust in je hoofd. Gedachten komen en gaan, soms bedenk je ergens een oplossing voor, soms is het lekker om er even uit te zijn en te genieten van je omgeving. Ik ben erg blij dat we in zo'n groene buurt wonen en dat ik parkjes op wandelafstand heb.

Wat ik leuk vind in dit boekje is dat Erling het ook heeft over naar je werk wandelen in plaats van met de auto gaan. Nou hebben wij Nederlanders daar ook de tussenoplossing fiets voor, wat wel snel is maar ook de frisse lucht en fysieke beweging van wandelen heeft. Ideaal, als je er zo over nadenkt :)

Dit eerste deel van het boekje laat heel goed zien dat je niet een natuurgebied in hoeft om alle voordelen en fijne kanten van het wandelen te ervaren, en dat vind ik een prettige en goede om op papier te zien staan.

Tot op dit punt in het boek zou ik het 4* geven. Maar ik gaf het 2. Waarom?

Het is logisch dat Erling doorgaat naar langere wandeltochten, als in meerdere dagen en overnachten in de natuur enzo. Logisch, mooi, inspirerend.

Maar ik vind het jammer dat hij voor het afsluiten van het boek niet teruggaat naar kleine dagelijkse wandelingen. Ik blijf daardoor achter met het gevoel dat ik pas écht wandelen kan ervaren als ik de ruige natuur opzoek.

Met het uithebben van het boek mis ik de klik met de eerste helft en de motivatie om gewoon minstens 1x per dag een wandelingetje te maken - al is het maar een kwartiertje. Dat vind ik jammer, Erling zou meer met het boekje kunnen bereiken als hij aan het einde die dagelijkse terugkoppeling weer zou maken.

Dat vind ik zo een gemis en jammer aan het boek, dat 3* nog teveel voelt voor de kater die ik er aan over heb gehouden.

En ja ik wil later een hond, dan heb ik helemaal een reden om te blijven wandelen dagelijks. Lijkt me heel leuk en fijn, buiten de gezelligheid van een huisdier. En nee ik neem er nu nog geen want ik woon in een flat, niet op de begane grond en zonder lift. Dat is niet goed voor de rug van de hond, dus even geduld hebben totdat we een eigen huisje hebben :)

[Sato · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading Walking right after Silence. Erling Kage's writings are great to train a mentality of slowness, silence and presence. That's what I need a few times a while, when I lose pace in my life, I need something to slow me down. Waling is a valuable effort to show the joy inside the smallest possible steps in life and taking one step at a time.

[Inga Grencberga · Rating 4 out of 5]

[..]

Iedomāsimies, ka ūdens ir laiks, kas rit. Ka šeit, kur mēs stāvam, upe ir tagadne, tad kur pēc tavām domām ir atrodas nākotne?

- Nākotne atrodas lejup pa straumei no vietas, kur m\es stāvam. Laiks kas pienāk, seko līdzi ūdens straumei tālāk lejā.

-Nepareizi!

Ja vieta, kur tu stāvi ir tagadne, tad pagātne ir ūdens kas aizplūdis tev garām un ko tu vairs nekad neredzēsi. Nākotne ir ūdens, kas plūst no augšas, līdzi nesdams briesmas, priekus un un pārsteigumus.

- Lai kāds būtu liktenis - tas mīt kalnos, augstu virs mūsu galvām.

[..]

[Mo Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

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การพบเจอของหนังสือเล่มนี้ ไม่ได้มาจากการอ่านรีวิว แต่เป็นการสะดุดตา ที่ร้านหนังสือเดินทาง Passport bookshop ของพี่หนุ่มข้อความที่เขียนเรียงร้อยไม่กี่ประโยคที่พี่หนุ่มเขียนแนะนำหนังสือ ทำให้เราสะดุดใจ เรียกได้ว่า เป็นโชคชะตาละมั้ง

หนังสือเขียนโดย นักผจญภัยที่เดินไปทั้งขั้วโลกเหนือ ใต้ และพิชิตยอดเอเวอร์เรส เป็นก้าวเดินที่เขียนโดยนัก(ชอบ)เดิน อย่างแท้จริง
หนังสือพาเราไปสู่การบอกเล่าการเดินแบบต่างๆ การเดินในสถานที่ต่างๆ และยังตีความการเดินคือการใช้ชีวิตที่แฝงปรัชญาในหลายๆมุม รวมไปถึงการเดินหนีปัญหาอีกด้วย

พี่โจ้พี่เน็ตแห่ง Readery กล่าวไว้ว่า "เราอ่านหนังสือจากประสบการณ์ชีวิตเรา" ดังนั้น "ก้าวเดิน walking one step at a time" เป็นอีกเล่มที่เราอ่านแล้วทำงานกับเรามากในช่วงจังหวะนี้ของชีวิต ออกไปเดินเถอะ มิตรรักนักอ่าน

ปล. อ่านจบและเขียนรีวิวระหว่างนอนอ่านบนเตียงอย่างรื่นรมย์ สายวันอาทิตย์แหล่ะ😉

[Filipa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about walking. About how walking is essential for maintaining our mental health, for letting us slow down and see things from a different perspective. I found it really interesting how the author pointed out that we're gradually walking less and that's one of our main characteristics as human beings. Who are we going to become if we stop walking?
I really enjoyed all of Erling's reflections, they're always a mixture of personal feelings, reflections and experiences and that works really well.

[Isa (Pages Full of Stars) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I didn't like this book as much as Silence: in the Age of Noise. I love walking and it's a part of me ever since I remember, so I was really looking forward to reading this book. However, while Silence had a lot of general chapters, I felt like Walking: One Step at a Time focused more on the author's experiences and his memories from his travels. Obviously, it's okay, but I missed more general, thought provoking chapters about walking.

[Vendedor de rápida · Rating 2 out of 5]

Este breve ensayo sobre el elogio del caminar tiene algunas referencias interesantes y algunas experiencias personales del autor (paseos por Los Ángeles, visita a la isla de Robinson Crusoe) podrían haberlo convertido en un libro grande. Pero la tendencia a convertirlo en un texto de autoayuda, con frases simples y obviedades, lo estropean en parte.

[Rob Twinem · Rating 5 out of 5]

If only, as inhabitants of the 21st century, we could just for a moment, step outside the structured manic lives we lead and simply make the time to "be", to observe, to glorify and appreciate this wondrous beauty all around us. We live in a technological age, a time where we are made to believe that anything is possible, a 24 hour harvesting machine that consumes us, surrounding us with unbelievable choice and wealth abound if only we buy into it.

How wrong we are, how blind we are; wealth creates wealth...creates wealth.....creates consumerism...creates a never ending want, an illusion that possessions are the key to happiness when in reality they are the answer to nothing and only create a society wallowing in depression and mental health creating a whirlpool which we (if we allow it) are sucked into.

Walking, one step at a time, by Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge is a celebration of the immense beauty of this wonderful universe that surrounds us and all we need to do to appreciate this wealth is to observe, to become immersed in nature, wildlife, changing seasons, to take time, to slow down, to touch, to feel and only by doing this is it possible to make some sense of a society gone mad. Kagge's writing is sublime taking the inquisitive reader into the heart of what is really important in our lives showing us a world in glorious colour when often we only view in black and white. To enter this garden of Eden all that is required is the ability to put one foot in front of the other...to walk one step at a time....."with the utmost love and attention the man who walks must study and observe every smallest living thing"....."just as the body requires sunlight, the skin loves to feel the wind, and the ears delight in the sound of birdsong"......"to take one step at a time- can be about loving the earth, seeing yourself and letting your body travel at the same speed as your soul"....



A short read, a great read and one that may change your life, Highly Recommended.

[Alpin · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Homo sapiens didn’t invent bipedalism. It was the other way around. The ability to walk, to put one foot in front of the other, invented us."

There is an innate connection between thinking beyond boundaries and walking. Walking uncollapses time and sets your mind "absolutely free from all worldly engagements" to wander. In his book, Walking: One Step at a Time, Erling Kagge captures how this timeless activity merges the external and internal worlds and reflects who exploring bipeds truly are.

[Ron Christiansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine book. Many various, and sometimes surprising, connections between Kagge's observations, quotes from philosophers and fellow walkers, and his own walking adventures. Does leave one wanting at times as he is referencing his solo trip to the south pole in one paragraph and then onto a philosopher in the next, never returning to his solo trip. But it seems that's the idea. Myriad connections without heft and depth which become overbearing.

As a fellow walker and hiker and biker, sometimes of the long-distance variety, several ideas resonated:

"I wear myself out because I want to, not because I have to...When my strength is reduced, I no longer have the resources to think about much, and that's when the smells, the sounds and the ground seem to draw much closer to my experience" (136).

Similarly: "The longer I walk, the less I differentiate between my body, my mind, and my surroundings. The external and the eternal worlds overlap. I am no longer an observer looking at nature, but the entirety of my body is involved" (137).

And finally more broadly speaking, more philosophical, Kagge sites Merleau-Ponty, a French philosopher: "There is no inner [person], man is in the world, and only in the world does he know himself."

I am never more out of my head and knitted to the world and universe and nature than when I am walking or riding long miles.

[Scot · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful little book, told in a series of short observations centered around the theme of walking. The author is a Norseman who has walked to the North and South Pole and climbed Everest. He is not egotistical or brash, he is quite observant and subdued. It is the type of book that you could pick up and read a short section and have something to ponder for the day or for weeks or in some cases even for a lifetime.

As a deep lover of walking, that is what drew me to this book, and with the Kagge's power of observation, his wide and profound view of life, and his deep knowing that it is all just about putting one foot in front of the other and the next step, there is a lot to take in from this very easy and enjoyable read.

Highly recommended for philosophy fans, walkers, and armchair gurus.