Walking Distance

At the heart of Walking Distance: Extraordinary Hikes for Ordinary People are firsthand descriptions of thirty of the world's best long-distance hikes on six continents—including personal anecdotes, historical backgrounds, and useful tips—accompanied by stunning full-color photographs and maps.

Merging the personal and the political, observation and contemplation, the author examines what her life is and wonders what it should be; what is expected of a thirty year old woman by society, by family and friends and by herself. She walks the streets of her London, creating it and herself -- gaining agency by being in control of her own direction, speed and momentum. Walking is both an internal and external experience. It's a time for self-reflection, for observing others and for imagining how we appear to them. What is expected of a person of our age, sex, and race, and how should that influence what we do and how we feel about ourselves? A poignant and contemporary meditation on gender politics, social commentary, and eighties movies, all interlaced with shards of autobiography and illustrated with a beautiful series of sequential and non-sequential watercolour images.

In this entertaining and informative book, Victor L. Cahn revisits memorable episodes from eleven classic television shows, including The Twilight Zone, Maverick, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Fugitive, The Avengers, and All in the Family. He provides background for each program, details about the creative individuals involved, close readings of the scripts, and reflections on why these series were influential when originally broadcast and why they continue to be enjoyed decades later by "baby boomers," their children, and their grandchildren. With a scholar's insight and a fan's enthusiasm, he offers a unique perspective on an integral part of mid-twentieth-century American culture.

Friday Night Lights meets Jarhead in this extraordinary journey! Walking Distance: Fields of Battle is an admirable and inspirational account of a young man chasing after his dreams while finding answers to his existence through the realities of life. The book travels from the border city of Laredo, Texas to the deserts in the Middle East in a rollercoaster ride of excitement and danger. It explores the war on the gridiron and the war in Iraq as he encounters many battles, both physically and mentally, as he continues to fight for what he wants and where he envisions himself to be. Its a humbling story of the Marines, family, faith, football, and an extraordinary walk through life with the simple pursuit of happiness in an unforeseen future.

In Within Walking Distance, journalist and urban critic Philip Langdon looks at why and how Americans are shifting toward a more human-scale way of building and living. He shows how people are creating, improving, and caring for walkable communities. To draw the most important lessons, Langdon spent time in six communities that differ in size, history, wealth, diversity, and education, yet share crucial traits: compactness, a mix of uses and activities, and human scale. To improve conditions and opportunities for everyone, Langdon argues that places where the best of life is within walking distance ought to be at the core of our thinking. This book is for anyone who wants to understand what can be done to build, rebuild, or improve a community while retaining the things that make it distinctive.

In the summer of 2000, David Hlavsa and his wife Lisa Holtby embarked on a pilgrimage. After trying for three years to conceive a child and suffering through the monthly cycle of hope and disappointment, they decided to walk the Camino de Santiago, a joint enterprise—and an act of faith—they hoped would strengthen their marriage and prepare them for parenthood. Though walking more than 400 miles across the north of Spain turned out to be more difficult than they had anticipated, after a series of misadventures, including a brief stay in a Spanish hospital, they arrived in Santiago. Shortly after their return to Seattle, Lisa became pregnant, and the hardships of the Camino were no comparison to what followed: the stillbirth of their first son and Lisa’s harrowing second pregnancy. Walking Distance is a moving and disarmingly funny book, a good story with a happy ending—the safe arrival of David and Lisa’s second son, Benjamin. David and Lisa get more than they bargained for, but they also get exactly what they wanted: a child, a solid marriage, and a richer life.

The South West Coast Path National Trail (SWCP) measures a staggering 630 miles (1015km) from Minehead on the Somerset coast right round Devon and Cornwall to Poole in Dorset. The guidebook divides the route into 45 stages of between 12.5 to 37.5km, beginning and ending where amenities are available. Written by prolific outdoor writer Paddy Dillon, this guidebook is packed with lots of information for planning your walk, including clear step-by-step route descriptions and OS map extracts, public transport links, accommodation and facilities along the way. Also described is the 17-mile South Dorset Ridgeway, from West Bexington to Osmington Mills, which can be used as a scenic way to shave 42 miles off the total distance. This epic route takes in Exmoor National Park, five AONBs and the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, besides various nature reserves and SSSIs. No other stretch of coastline compares for scenic splendour, historical sites and availability of refreshments, accommodation and public transport, making it easy to split the South West Coast Path into week or weekend-long sections.