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Average rating4
The humble act of putting one foot in front of the other transcends age, geography, culture, and class, and is one of the most economical and environmentally responsible modes of transit. Yet with our modern fixation on speed, this healthy pedestrian activity has been largely left behind. At a personal and professional crossroads, writer, editor and obsessive walker Dan Rubinstein travelled throughout the U.S., U.K., and Canada to walk with people who saw the act not only as a form of transportation and recreation, but also as a path to a better world. There are no magic-bullet solutions to modern epidemics like obesity, anxiety, alienation, and climate change. But what if there is a simple way to take a step in the right direction? Combining fascinating reportage, eye-opening research, and Rubinstein's own discoveries, Born to Walk explores how far this ancient habit can take us, how much repair is within range, and guarantees that you'll never again take walking for granted.
Reviews with the most likes.
I had a sort of a love-hate relationship with this book, and it all depends on the chapter. I found some of the chapters transformative, life-changing, and well written: full five stars! Other chapters were drawn out, loosely related and often felt like a highschool essay attempting to reach a word count: one star. However, there were far more of the really, really, good chapters then the bad ones so I'd wholeheartedly recommend this book.
The best of this book, in my opinion, is found in these chapters: Mind, Society, Politics, Spirit, and Family (that last one surprised me but it was actually quite interesting and relevant to walking).