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Worldwalk
Tells of the author's four-year trek around the world on foot, and of the ordinary but kind people he met along the way
527 pages, Hardcover
First published December 13, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
March 25, 2022
The author walked, from April 1983 to April 1987, across many countries – starting from Ohio in the United States, Ireland, U.K. (Northern Ireland, Scotland, England), France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Italy, Yugoslavia (the walk took place in the 1980s), Greece, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Thailand, Malaysia, and finally Australia.
I gave the book three stars because of the guts and bravery to undergo such a vast project.
However, among a host of issues:
I found the book poorly written with a “gosh, gee” and rather mushy kind of enthusiasm that grated on me.
The author is jingoistic over his country (United States) – raving over and over of his being proudly American.
The narrative is much more about himself and his trek than of the lands and people encountered. Upon return to the United States, he meets a school teacher who used his newspaper postings of his world journey to instruct her students in her geography class. He provides us with no knowledge of the teacher and her motivations on doing this, or how her students reacted.
He describes a few near-death encounters which were poorly described. In Thailand, for example, he jumped right into the driving area of a vehicle to escape marauding bandits – and basically terrified the family on board who saved his life. He doesn’t even tell us if he thanked them or got to know them – in essence what was the aftermath of all this?
He spent three months in Italy, but only has twelve pages on it. There are 120 pages on his United States trip.
This is not what I want in a travelogue. The author had little knowledge of the countries he was traversing. There is simply not enough on the people he met and the wonderful places he walked by.
I gave the book three stars because of the guts and bravery to undergo such a vast project.
However, among a host of issues:
I found the book poorly written with a “gosh, gee” and rather mushy kind of enthusiasm that grated on me.
The author is jingoistic over his country (United States) – raving over and over of his being proudly American.
The narrative is much more about himself and his trek than of the lands and people encountered. Upon return to the United States, he meets a school teacher who used his newspaper postings of his world journey to instruct her students in her geography class. He provides us with no knowledge of the teacher and her motivations on doing this, or how her students reacted.
He describes a few near-death encounters which were poorly described. In Thailand, for example, he jumped right into the driving area of a vehicle to escape marauding bandits – and basically terrified the family on board who saved his life. He doesn’t even tell us if he thanked them or got to know them – in essence what was the aftermath of all this?
He spent three months in Italy, but only has twelve pages on it. There are 120 pages on his United States trip.
This is not what I want in a travelogue. The author had little knowledge of the countries he was traversing. There is simply not enough on the people he met and the wonderful places he walked by.
January 27, 2009
I met the author at a book signing in Ohio about 4 days after returning from my 3 year Peace Corps stint in S. America. It was the kind of event that has stuck with me all these years. I even remember choked up and teary eyed during his lecture about his world travels. On the day of the lecture, I was suffering from severe culture shock. After the lecture ended Steven and I struck up a conversation where he learned of my very recent return to the US. I think he was the only person in the room who could understand my unhappiness at being home. Steven's lecture helped me feel less odd as I had experienced many similar events as he had described in this book. At the end of our conversation, this wonderful man gave me a copy of his book. I felt a huge connection to Steven Newman at that moment in time. I took his book home and I read it from cover to cover in about 2 days. His book spoke to my heart and I will never forget meeting him and his impact on me at a very difficult transition in my life.
June 16, 2013
I don't want to summarize the book, suffice it to say that it is something of a narrative about his four years walking across countries and continents. The idea sounds exciting and somewhat insane and it appears to have been both. The author was almost killed on several occasions. The book reads like a series of anecdotes and personal observations. Though his writing style was not the best, it was interesting reading and provides some interesting insights into different geographic areas, individuals, peoples, societies and countries.
What I liked most about the book were his contacts with the general population wherever he roamed. For the most part they seemed more kind and giving of themselves than I would have expected. Yet even where that was the case on an individual level, some governments and their officials were brutish and cruel, which says something about the kind of people who manage to install themselves in power.
The weakest part of the book is the lack of depth. The author spent four years walking the highways and byways and living with the common folk and doesn't really explore the minds and motivations of individuals or societies.
What I liked most about the book were his contacts with the general population wherever he roamed. For the most part they seemed more kind and giving of themselves than I would have expected. Yet even where that was the case on an individual level, some governments and their officials were brutish and cruel, which says something about the kind of people who manage to install themselves in power.
The weakest part of the book is the lack of depth. The author spent four years walking the highways and byways and living with the common folk and doesn't really explore the minds and motivations of individuals or societies.
April 29, 2024
Travel = Learning
Fear is the mind killer
Fear is the mind killer
July 11, 2025
It was a long book but good. I can’t help but wonder how such a trip would go today.
November 29, 2024
My initial entrance into the book brings me face-to-face w/the author, whom I immediately dislike based on some of his self-centered choices: for example voluntarily placing his trip ahead of significant personal relationships, by putting an end to his happy long-term romance & separating himself willingly from his almost certainly terminally-ill father. It's hard to get past that for starters. Despite looking forward to hearing about his hike around the world, I find it pretty offensive that he would put his dreams ahead of human connections, especially when one of the main goals of his trip is supposedly to demonstrate that humans truly care about each other & are much better than they're portrayed in the media. He had options & could've rescheduled the trip, without letting down the people he's close to. Immediately, I'm viewing the author as a narcissistic, self-indulgent a**hole! Next, after saying he's going to handle the entire undertaking on his own, this gigantic ManBaby has no qualms whatsoever about freeloading from lots of people, straightaway, from the day of departure onwards, despite having purportedly planned, prepared & budgeted for this trip, years in advance. He sets out on the 1st day (after a big, supportive send-off from his family, friends & neighbors), complaining instantly about the weight of his backpack (which he takes the reader thru pocket by pocket, listing every item in his inventory **snore**), complaining about how tired & sore he is, even while others are providing for his housing, his food & his money. Then, here comes his Mom, driving a car on the road where he's hiking, to supply him w/some things he "forgot" to bring!! Like she doesn't have more pressing matters at home w/his seriously ill father?? C'mon! - Oh, Mommy!! I forgot my socks!! Come help me!! Waaaahhhh. Is this a toddler? No, it's a 28-year-old "man" child (?!). Can't shake the feeling that he also sounds somewhat grandiose, like a self-appointed ambassador, or world diplomat. Here's one insignificant guy, going out into the world to investigate whether journalists are correct or not in their assessment of world conditions & human nature. - Really?!? He couldn't even successfully launch from his hometown without problems. *sigh* His persona is mildly naive, almost charmingly (but also irritatingly) simple-minded: maybe a little like Chauncey Gardner or Forrest Gump (but without the humility). Needless to say, my initial excitement about the book is almost immediately quelled into skepticism. His writing is hard to understand at times (ie; he writes about waking up from his sleep in a motel; but he's in a sleeping bag (?), but there's rain dripping on him thru a hole in the roof & a wild animal is in the room w/him?? - Apparently he's in an abandoned motel, but he doesn't make that clear. Also, he never actually locates the "animal" - which he thought was a pit-bull dog - but he suspects it was there & had come thru a hole in the bathroom wall? Very Weird. Hard to tell if he's dreaming it or not). He sleeps in various public places & on people's private property, sometimes without permission, in various stages of dishevelment, stench & half/nakedness. How does he not get arrested? Meanwhile he continues along w/his odd sense of privilege, actually lifting a US flag from a Memorial Day wreath on a veteran's grave in a cemetery where he slept, so he could put it on his backpack (which he's named "Clinger") ?! Who steals flags from people's graves?!?!? Let alone a veteran's?!?! Unbelievable! The more I read, the more this guy seems to have some sort of a thinking-disorder or possibly a mental-illness of some kind. Finally, he approaches Boston (the departure point for the international leg of his trip) & again needs to ask Mommy to send him some of his earlier cast-off supplies (like his sleeping-bag), & to send him $1K in money!! I thought this guy had worked on the oil-rigs to raise the money for the trip himself. Why's he bothering his parents again?! Also, how does he define the self-sufficiency parameters of his trip to exclude payments for lodging; yet he's fine w/accepting all kinds of charity (including food, money, supplies & yes, lodging, even extravagant lodging & limo from CBS News?). He also takes the 1st opportunity he encounters to share lodging costs w/a new friend, on the international leg of his tour, at a budget hostel, without blinking an eye or explaining how this fits into his plan. I just don't get the rules, or how they jive w/his mission statement. Are we sure this guy's name isn't Alfred E. Neumann?!? His writing-style is interesting, even whimsical & charming at times, but somewhat amateurish & I've no idea why he focuses on certain things & leaves other things out, completely omitted (ie; when reshuffling his whole itinerary in order to be given an extremely high-profile interview on TV, by CBS News, he writes about the sumptuousness of his surroundings w/luxury hotel & chauffer; but he says nothing about the interview?!). I will admit, I found myself looking forward to reading more of the book, because it was filled w/interesting anecdotal accounts of his little adventures around the world, so at least the author manages to keep his reading audience attentive w/all his antics. At times when crossing hazardous borders (in North Africa for example, between Algeria & Tunisia), he comically evades threatening inquisitions by giving authorities hilarious verbal run-arounds. It's a good thing he has some random skills that come in handy at times, because he seems to get himself in lots of trouble, usually thru his own carelessness. There are times when I'm stunned by this guy's hazardous lack of preparation (ie; while crossing from southern France into Spain, over the Pyrenees Mountains, he's got NO COAT?!?! & only reluctantly accepts a sweatshirt given him by someone, ending up w/severe symptoms of hypothermia for days, like teeth chattering & violent trembling/chills throughout his body)!?! Yet he continues to refuse hitchhiking rides, & to camp outside in the snow, on 45-degree angle pitched slopes, so as not to "cheat" on the "rules" he established for himself for this trip?! These are earned fouls, dude!! Why would someone unnecessarily risk their life thru carelessness & lack of forethought or planning?! SMH. (He relates that prior to the trip, he previously did a "practice" run over mountains in Wyoming w/his dog, resulting in the poor dog suffering injuries to its foot pads & needing to be carried, after it became too difficult for the dog to walk on its pads anymore!? OMG. Why is this guy not arrested for animal abuse?!) Threateningly foolhardy behavior. While camping, he seems ignorant of even the most basic things (Ie; leaves wrappers from food like greasy sausage outside of his tent & then is surprised when wild animals show up, ravenously scrounging around in the scraps?!? - C'mon buddy!! - Geez, he was lucky it wasn't a bear!!). He also readily follows strangers anywhere, even when he can't understand their language & has no idea where they're taking him?!? (maybe it's a guy thing? Women I know certainly wouldn't do this. He's fortunate it worked out alright for him). Author seems to lack basic common-sense & sound judgment in trivial matters, too: for example, he decides to shave his face using dirty water from an outdoor puddle (undoubtedly introducing random bacteria into his skin, as he's cutting himself in the process of shaving). This happens even tho he's just recently been in a bar & could've simply used the men's restroom!! Hellooo?!? Good thing he's an entertaining narrator, cos otherwise I would've thrown this book aside in disgust long ago! I'm glad that he discovers a few good people & experiences in the world. There are some eye-opening cultural moments: like when he shares w/the reader his impressions of the widespread venomous international reactions towards America, by people in other countries. Really nudges you to start looking at things from different perspectives. I realize that although I don't like the author, I like hearing his adventures & laughing at the occasional humor of his experiences & there's enough of that to keep me reading. He serves up a good conclusion too, w/a message balancing the cruelty of the world w/its kindnesses. Overall, overlooking some obvious flaws in the writer's planning & strategies, it still manages somehow to be worthwhile reading.
October 28, 2020
Mixed bag for me.
I love travel and hiking books and for the most part I enjoyed this one; traveling across the world with the author and reading about his encounters and adventures.
However, I put the book down at the end not knowing whether or not I really liked him. His attitude at times seemed contradictory and judgmental. In particular, the fact he was relying on the charity of others, but turned his nose down at panhandlers and people begging for food. The encounter in Ireland (if I recall correctly) where he became angry at a woman asking for food, and while complaining about it to a shop-owner, accepted free food from him. IDK, a little bit too much "wide-eyed Ohio white kid" attitude for me.
The way it was written also was a bit frustrating. Every chapter seemed like it's own article, and perhaps that was how it was written. However, the author starts EVERY chapter days or weeks from the end of the previous one, leaving me feeling lost and disoriented until he backtracks and brings the reader up to speed.
Worth a read, but it was a bit frustrating for me overall.
I love travel and hiking books and for the most part I enjoyed this one; traveling across the world with the author and reading about his encounters and adventures.
However, I put the book down at the end not knowing whether or not I really liked him. His attitude at times seemed contradictory and judgmental. In particular, the fact he was relying on the charity of others, but turned his nose down at panhandlers and people begging for food. The encounter in Ireland (if I recall correctly) where he became angry at a woman asking for food, and while complaining about it to a shop-owner, accepted free food from him. IDK, a little bit too much "wide-eyed Ohio white kid" attitude for me.
The way it was written also was a bit frustrating. Every chapter seemed like it's own article, and perhaps that was how it was written. However, the author starts EVERY chapter days or weeks from the end of the previous one, leaving me feeling lost and disoriented until he backtracks and brings the reader up to speed.
Worth a read, but it was a bit frustrating for me overall.
October 5, 2007
Steven Neumann fulfilled a childhood dream of walking around the world, a feat that took him four years and landed him in the Guinness Book of World Records. His odyssey describes his encounters with the people in the places he visits, and is complete with arrests and almost-getting-killed experiences. Some might criticize his book for not giving much insight into the places he travelled, but his message was that people are people whereever you go, a good lesson for xenophobes everywhere.
June 2, 2008
Every once in a while you read a book because the description sounds mildly interesting. Then you find yourself genuinely carried away on an adventure, as if you were right there with the author. This is one such book.
The author quite literally walked around the world during the course of four years. Reading this book you come to see that people are people around the world over. If you can find a copy of this book I highly recommend reading it.
The author quite literally walked around the world during the course of four years. Reading this book you come to see that people are people around the world over. If you can find a copy of this book I highly recommend reading it.
June 5, 2008
My all time favorite book,I have read it over and over!! It's a story of a young man's experiences in the world as he walked around the world depending on strangers for shelter and food to test the world if it is still a place where love and passion prevail,to find out peoples hopes and dreams. He did it without sponsors so he could be independent. He had never been outside of the US. It was written in the late 70's -early 80's but is still so relevant.
February 18, 2024
Worldwalk is a story about human kindness - that for all the negativity in the world, there is so much more positivity, joy, and love from people that goes unnoticed. It is interesting to follow Steven Newman's walk around the world to see how perceptions differ from reailities, the diverse natural world, food and cultures, and especially the variety of people he meets along the way to help him out.
June 8, 2015
One of the best books I've ever read!
October 29, 2020
I enjoyed this travel book very much.
I had read it back in 2013, but reading it again in 2020 I enjoyed it even more.
I had read it back in 2013, but reading it again in 2020 I enjoyed it even more.
April 13, 2021
Paperback edition
Wholesome, entertaining, and inspiring. A tale of adventure and universal friendship that makes you realize the world is a big place, we're not all so different, and there's plenty of good in humanity.
Parts of his journey that stuck out to me:
- WW2 Graveyard in France
- Morocco and its insanity
- Him getting arrested in Yugoslavia
- Turkey, specifically Istanbul and a praying in a medieval Mosque.
- India, its people, and its spiritual atmosphere.
- Chillin with Buddhist monks in Thailand
- Australia trying to kill him
Wholesome, entertaining, and inspiring. A tale of adventure and universal friendship that makes you realize the world is a big place, we're not all so different, and there's plenty of good in humanity.
Parts of his journey that stuck out to me:
- WW2 Graveyard in France
- Morocco and its insanity
- Him getting arrested in Yugoslavia
- Turkey, specifically Istanbul and a praying in a medieval Mosque.
- India, its people, and its spiritual atmosphere.
- Chillin with Buddhist monks in Thailand
- Australia trying to kill him
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2024
This book deserved to be twice as long. The second half feels rushed and I would have loved more details and stories. Despite the exceptional journey and the inspiration I felt, I would have liked to know more about his mind in the 4 years he was walking.
April 12, 2018
This is my new favorite book! Loved every minute of it! My heart is happy!
June 8, 2018
This book should be required reading for all the sheltered Americans that have never left the country.
January 3, 2020
The writing was not the strongest (the reason for 4 stars) but the message of worldwide love and friendship was not lost. Adds to ones wanderlust.
April 21, 2021
mediocre writing and a stereo typed view of the world's people
August 28, 2011
I was 11 years old on April 1, 1987, when Steven Newman completed his walk around the world and returned to his home in southwestern Ohio, which was located only 12 miles from my home. No doubt the proximity of his origin drew me into his story more strongly than if he had lived on the west coast. But it was also his adventure, filled with awe and lacking in hubris, that kept me wide-eyed with wonder. True, his worldwalk was a physical "feat" (indeed, he made it into the Guinness Book of World Records), but the stories Mr. Newman told were about people, vulnerability, connectedness, and, above all, majuscule Love.
Shortly after his hero's welcome back to Ohio, I drew a picture of Mr. Newman as part of a "current events" assignment for my sixth grade class, fascinated as ever by this man who explored a world about which I was endlessly curious. Impressed by the drawing, my teacher urged me to mail it to Mr. Newman. But, I never did. A few years later, my mother took me to a local bookstore where Mr. Newman was signing copies of "Worldwalk". By then I was 14 and plagued with an awkward stage of teenhood that I was convinced only affected me. I was too shy to ask Mr. Newman about what it was like to hear foreign languages, to see hindu temples, or to know the smiles of so many people. But I remember inwardly savoring his handshake, awed that this same hand had shaken the hands of so many around the globe. And that moment made my longing for first-hand knowledge of the world feel both stronger and possible.
It's difficult to say how much influence any one person has on a life. But I think it's no coincidence that it was during this period of learning about Mr. Newman that I hung a world map in my bedroom and stuck innumerable pins into all the places I wanted to visit. I also signed up for a penpal and relished every letter from her unique perspective on the other side of the globe. Now, nearly 25 years after Mr. Newman completed his worldwalk, I find myself gratefully enriched with the memories I've made throughout my own extensive explorations of our world, undertaken with much of the same spirit of reverence and openness set forth by Mr. Newman.
When my mother recently sent me the original "Worldwalk" book that she bought, and that Mr. Newman inscribed, all those years ago, she must have reflected as she prepared the mail package on how influential his story was on my development. When I received the book, I found a note she had tucked into one of its pages that simply said, "If Steve could only have known that the young girl before him would have become such a world traveler..."
Shortly after his hero's welcome back to Ohio, I drew a picture of Mr. Newman as part of a "current events" assignment for my sixth grade class, fascinated as ever by this man who explored a world about which I was endlessly curious. Impressed by the drawing, my teacher urged me to mail it to Mr. Newman. But, I never did. A few years later, my mother took me to a local bookstore where Mr. Newman was signing copies of "Worldwalk". By then I was 14 and plagued with an awkward stage of teenhood that I was convinced only affected me. I was too shy to ask Mr. Newman about what it was like to hear foreign languages, to see hindu temples, or to know the smiles of so many people. But I remember inwardly savoring his handshake, awed that this same hand had shaken the hands of so many around the globe. And that moment made my longing for first-hand knowledge of the world feel both stronger and possible.
It's difficult to say how much influence any one person has on a life. But I think it's no coincidence that it was during this period of learning about Mr. Newman that I hung a world map in my bedroom and stuck innumerable pins into all the places I wanted to visit. I also signed up for a penpal and relished every letter from her unique perspective on the other side of the globe. Now, nearly 25 years after Mr. Newman completed his worldwalk, I find myself gratefully enriched with the memories I've made throughout my own extensive explorations of our world, undertaken with much of the same spirit of reverence and openness set forth by Mr. Newman.
When my mother recently sent me the original "Worldwalk" book that she bought, and that Mr. Newman inscribed, all those years ago, she must have reflected as she prepared the mail package on how influential his story was on my development. When I received the book, I found a note she had tucked into one of its pages that simply said, "If Steve could only have known that the young girl before him would have become such a world traveler..."
February 26, 2025
Occasionally fascinating, informative, and inspiring, but without a through-line it's hard to feel like getting back to it isn't a chore. Glad I finished it if only for the things I learned, which I will include here to save you the trouble (spoilers):
He ignored the locals' advice to not walk certain areas in Thailand and Morocco after dark, and got attacked by locals. He defended himself with his hunting knife.
He got harassed by a drunk local in the bush in Australia who almost killed him. He escaped by jumping into a random passing truck without permission.
He had to escape from the Turkish jail because the cops were corrupt and could've held him indefinitely for no reason.
He watched American-made supplies go into Iraq to fund the war that we eventually fought from the other side in the 90's.
Most people were really nice and friendly outside the U.S.
He miraculously was able to keep walking after getting exhausted in the first few days, and was able to continue forever.
So, what I learned: Most people will love you, unless they're desperate, in which case they'll absolutely take anything they can from you. It is from those people we must physically defend ourselves.
Also, the outback of Australia has a TON of unreported murders every year and no one really minds (or they get murdered too).
He ignored the locals' advice to not walk certain areas in Thailand and Morocco after dark, and got attacked by locals. He defended himself with his hunting knife.
He got harassed by a drunk local in the bush in Australia who almost killed him. He escaped by jumping into a random passing truck without permission.
He had to escape from the Turkish jail because the cops were corrupt and could've held him indefinitely for no reason.
He watched American-made supplies go into Iraq to fund the war that we eventually fought from the other side in the 90's.
Most people were really nice and friendly outside the U.S.
He miraculously was able to keep walking after getting exhausted in the first few days, and was able to continue forever.
So, what I learned: Most people will love you, unless they're desperate, in which case they'll absolutely take anything they can from you. It is from those people we must physically defend ourselves.
Also, the outback of Australia has a TON of unreported murders every year and no one really minds (or they get murdered too).
July 3, 2013
Found a copy of this book in my work book-bin and thought it looked interesting. Opened the cover to find that it had actually been autographed by the author Steven Newman as well. I read it and was amazed at the story of a man who left on a journey shortly around the time I was born, and walked around the world. The stories he wrote about finding the good left in humanity he met along the way was touching. I havbe read it a few times and lent it out to friends but it will remain a "keeper" on my bookshelf at home.
January 8, 2011
The book is motivational and inspiring. It's motivational because, although Steve feels like he bit off more than he could chew at the begining of his journey, he never gives up and he never gives in. It's inspiring because it makes you want to go out and live life, follow your dreams, and see the beauty in people all around the world. It helps a person realize that people are the same wherever you go; we all need love and want happiness.
January 5, 2014
Very good book. The stories are entertaining, some funny, some terrifying, some heartwarming, and some heartbreaking. The author writes in such a way that leaves me feeling as though the country he had just described was my favorite yet, only to be changing my mind as he describes yet another country and it's peoples. Reading his epic adventure makes me think about my own dreams that I might be shuttering due to my inability to believe they are possible...
Read
October 29, 2018An amazing, gripping, and sometimes frightening book about a man named Steve Newman. He quits his job and leaves his dying parents to walk around the world in search of kindness and hospitality, proving that the world isn’t all dark and hostile. In his journeys he sleeps in barns, citizens houses, and sometimes on the side of the road, but of course not without a local grandmother’s home cooking. A real page turner!👌
April 12, 2016
Worth a second reading
I read this book years ago, it left an imprint on my mind. So I searched it out, was surprised how many google searches I had to do to find it. It brings to life the many countries and people who are in the news in the last few years, but reinforces my belief that most people the world over just want to live in peace.
I read this book years ago, it left an imprint on my mind. So I searched it out, was surprised how many google searches I had to do to find it. It brings to life the many countries and people who are in the news in the last few years, but reinforces my belief that most people the world over just want to live in peace.
March 21, 2008
A really great book for motivating you to go out and do a similar type of walk or adventure. The theme pretty much ties in with Into the Wild, but its a more personalize journaling of Newman's adventure around the world over four years during the Cold War.
September 16, 2012
I really liked the book to begin with but as I got closer to the end, boredom set in. I don't really know why. Not much changed in the writing style but I felt that the book was a bit repetitive although I still think I would recommend it.
April 29, 2022
One of the most amazing books I've ever read. Steven's journey was incredible and his insights were so interesting. A truly inspirational book and real-life experience. I used small portions in class to teach my students about writing and even geography for years.
June 7, 2008
My gosh what a trip! I wish I could have done it! Wonderful stories. One of my favorite books of the year!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews