There have been many books written about walking – the techniques of walking, the destinations, the journey, the effort, the spirituality, and so on, and there will likely be many more to come. This is a by no means exhaustive list of those books in English which I have read and which have inspired me. I’ll update this list from time to time as I come across new ones. Let me know which books about walking have inspired you.
Author/Title | Description |
Author: Bill Bryson Title: A Walk in the Woods ISBN: 0385-408161 | Comic, instructive, insightful, and far better than the film made of the book. Read it and draw inspiration from a middle aged guy who found the determination to walk the entire Appalachian Trail. |
Author: Nick Hunt Title: Walking the Woods and the Water ISBN: 978-1-85788-643-6 | The subtitle is “In Patrick Leigh Fermor’s footsteps from the Hook of Holland to the Golden Horn”. Wonderfully well-written, charming, inspirational |
Author: Nick Hunt Title: Where the Wild Winds Are ISBN:978-1-85788-656-6 | A follow-up to his previous book, walking in the footsteps of Patrick Leigh Fermor. In this new book, he walks about Europe tracing the paths of famous winds – the Foehn, the Mistral, and more. |
Authors: Lonely Planet Title: Epic Hikes of the World ISBN: 978-1-78701-417-6 | A candy store of a book, with more than a hundred walks worthy of your bucket list. Dip into it on a rainy winter’s evening and make your plans. |
Author: Barry Stone Title: The 50 Greatest Walks of the World ISBN: 978-178578-063-9 | A subjective listing, of course, and somewhat overly interested in walks in Europe, but nevertheless it covers not just the biggies – the Camino de Santiago, the Appalachian Trail, etc. – but also many lesser known, shorter walks that are bucket listable and achievable by the average walker. |
Author: Levison Wood Title: Walking the Nile ISBN: 978-0-8021-2633-7 | An account of a walk the length of the Nile river. The journey is fascinating, the people he meets are more so, and the landscape is bucket-list stuff. |