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The Last Great Walk: The True Story of a 1909 Walk from New York to San Francisco, and Why it MattersToday
In 1909, Edward Payson Weston walked from New York to San Francisco, covering around 40 miles a day and greeted by wildly cheering audiences in every city. The New York Times called it the "first bona-fide walk ... across the American continent," and eagerly chronicled a journey in which Weston was beset by fatigue, mosquitos, vicious headwinds, and brutal heat. He was 70 years old.In The Last Great Walk, journalist Wayne Curtis uses the framework of Weston's fascinating and surprising story, and investigates exactly what we lost when we turned away from foot travel, and what we could potentially regain with America's new embrace of pedestrianism. From how our brains and legs evolved to accommodate our ancient traveling needs to the way that American cities have been designed to cater to cars and discourage pedestrians, Curtis guides readers through an engaging, intelligent exploration of how something as simple as the way we get from one place to another continues to shape our health, our environment, and even our national identity.Not walking, he argues, may be one of the most radical things humans have ever done.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 9, 2014
47 people are currently reading
815 people want to read
About the author
Wayne Curtis
29 books40 followersNew Orleans-based writer Wayne Curtis is a contributing editor at Garden & Gun, Imbibe, and The Daily Beast, and a former contributing editor to The Atlantic magazine. He's also written for American Scholar, Yankee, Smithsonian, Saveur, the New York Times, Architect, Wall Street Journal, Sunset, enRoute, and American Archeology. His newest book is The Last Great Walk, an account of a remarkable 4,000-mile journey taken in 1909, and why it’s relevant today. His previous book was a cultural history of a loathsome intoxicant: And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in 10 Cocktails.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
July 11, 2025
In The Last Great Walk, author Wayne Curtis shares the story of Edward Payson Weston otherwise known as ‘Weston the Pedestrian”.
In 1909 Weston undertook to walk from New York to San Francisco in 100 days. The man was 70 years of age on the day he began the long trek across the continent. This was a time when automobiles were beginning to make headway into the lives of ordinary Americans. Curtis, in his telling of Weston’s walk, alternately describes the collision of the automobile era with the bipedal form.
It was with fascination that I went along on Weston’s journey and the story of what we have lost in moving away from foot travel: its impact on our bodies: homo sapiens are designed to walk eight to 12 miles a day, our minds: walking helps keep our minds sharp, and our society and surroundings.
Makes me want to put on my walking shoes and grab a map! -Amy O.
In 1909 Weston undertook to walk from New York to San Francisco in 100 days. The man was 70 years of age on the day he began the long trek across the continent. This was a time when automobiles were beginning to make headway into the lives of ordinary Americans. Curtis, in his telling of Weston’s walk, alternately describes the collision of the automobile era with the bipedal form.
It was with fascination that I went along on Weston’s journey and the story of what we have lost in moving away from foot travel: its impact on our bodies: homo sapiens are designed to walk eight to 12 miles a day, our minds: walking helps keep our minds sharp, and our society and surroundings.
Makes me want to put on my walking shoes and grab a map! -Amy O.
June 25, 2021
Was disappointed as for some reason I expected a retrace of the original route a century ago. Instead the text is about half description of the 1909 walk (with a bit of commentary) and alternating sections of "related" nonfiction material, such as walking as a health benefit, urban planning, history of the auto in America, etc. which didn't interest me as much.
Author did a good job with his objective - just not what I was looking for really.
Author did a good job with his objective - just not what I was looking for really.
January 20, 2015
My first nomination for the best nonfiction book read in 2015!
I found the story of the 70yo man walking across the US in 1909 fascinating, but the commentary on the importance of walking, past and present, individually and as a species, was riveting and thought-provoking.
I'd say more, but I have to go take a walk. And you should just read the book!
I found the story of the 70yo man walking across the US in 1909 fascinating, but the commentary on the importance of walking, past and present, individually and as a species, was riveting and thought-provoking.
I'd say more, but I have to go take a walk. And you should just read the book!
January 24, 2016
This book should be required reading for students of land use planning and municipal councillors.
March 25, 2015
The content about Weston's walk was interesting, although I expected more of an adventure tale than what it was.
The content in between reports on Weston's progress was intermittently interesting. About the third or fourth time I was reading about how walking is good for our health, I started skimming. When the author started talking about how cars changed our environment, I returned to reading. About the third or fourth time the author returned to that particular topic, I began skimming again.
Definitely worth the read. It will give you much to think about and you will look at your surroundings a little differently.
But you have permission to skim when you feel like a dead horse is being beaten. (Apologies for the gruesome imagery.)
The content in between reports on Weston's progress was intermittently interesting. About the third or fourth time I was reading about how walking is good for our health, I started skimming. When the author started talking about how cars changed our environment, I returned to reading. About the third or fourth time the author returned to that particular topic, I began skimming again.
Definitely worth the read. It will give you much to think about and you will look at your surroundings a little differently.
But you have permission to skim when you feel like a dead horse is being beaten. (Apologies for the gruesome imagery.)
October 24, 2014
Rewarding read with a multifaceted look at how we shaped the 20th Century and how we might shape the 21st. Meanwhile, I intend to step up my jaywalking.
November 26, 2018
“Not walking, I believe, is one of the most radical things we ever decide to do.“ (xviii)
Best thing about this book, is that several times it encouraged me to stop reading and take a walk!
“[Chairs are]… A self sabotaging technique. A sitter is become a custom to the support of a back rest, their back muscles weekend and they must recliner even more. The chair is a machine for producing dependency on itself.” (P 48)
I thought this book would effectively be the final word on this event, so that the author is forgiven for indulging us with every single detail he found, even trivia. Yet on p222 I finally learn about Paul Marshall’s 1500 pages of deep research, published 2008-2012. As a historical artifact, The author could have done this better with longer direct quotations. For example the scattered studies of health benefits of walking bored me, but cognitive mapping of walking onto spinal cord ganglia (at least in cats) was unique. Overall though, a book about historical walking doesn’t need to invite historical psychology and physiology. Some of these segues are especially weak, like topography on p112, and traffic engineering on p145.
When Curtis talks about TV replacing walking using 2009 stats in 2014, (p52) he’d be horrified by what mobile screens have become now, even as he predicted a hint of it. I’ve never had enough sympathy pedestrians, well enough awareness of crosswalks. (p176)
The nutrition and health sections are all better written elsewhere, and several of his adhoc calculations are just wrong, including of walking calories on pg 60.
Artistic rhetorical flourishes abound, some more effective than others. “[Aurora became the] drain into which those who couldn’t withstand the buffeting of personal squalls were swept.” (p158) Curtis does endeavor to end each section with a pithy, memorable summary.
Best thing about this book, is that several times it encouraged me to stop reading and take a walk!
“[Chairs are]… A self sabotaging technique. A sitter is become a custom to the support of a back rest, their back muscles weekend and they must recliner even more. The chair is a machine for producing dependency on itself.” (P 48)
I thought this book would effectively be the final word on this event, so that the author is forgiven for indulging us with every single detail he found, even trivia. Yet on p222 I finally learn about Paul Marshall’s 1500 pages of deep research, published 2008-2012. As a historical artifact, The author could have done this better with longer direct quotations. For example the scattered studies of health benefits of walking bored me, but cognitive mapping of walking onto spinal cord ganglia (at least in cats) was unique. Overall though, a book about historical walking doesn’t need to invite historical psychology and physiology. Some of these segues are especially weak, like topography on p112, and traffic engineering on p145.
When Curtis talks about TV replacing walking using 2009 stats in 2014, (p52) he’d be horrified by what mobile screens have become now, even as he predicted a hint of it. I’ve never had enough sympathy pedestrians, well enough awareness of crosswalks. (p176)
The nutrition and health sections are all better written elsewhere, and several of his adhoc calculations are just wrong, including of walking calories on pg 60.
Artistic rhetorical flourishes abound, some more effective than others. “[Aurora became the] drain into which those who couldn’t withstand the buffeting of personal squalls were swept.” (p158) Curtis does endeavor to end each section with a pithy, memorable summary.
July 30, 2018
An entertaining book covering different aspects of walking anchored by the historic walk mentioned in the title. Well-researched and at times even laugh-out-loud funny, the book does make you want to get up and take a long walk (though that makes it rather harder to keep reading).
July 20, 2016
After perusing a friends’ response to his reading of this book, I ordered it. There was something intriguing about the idea of a Seventy-year-old man walking from NYC to San Francisco, then to learn that this stroll occurred in 1909, that caused the intrigue I felt to bloom into a thirst to learn the “why it mattered today.” I was not disappointed in the story of Edward Payson Weston or of the author’s building of his case as to why an event that occurred over a century ago had any bearing on life in the fast-paced computer age.
Mr. Weston began long walks (hundreds of miles) in the 1860’s, at time when “pedestrianism” events were drawing huge crowds of spectators to witness the completion of such sojourns. According to the author’s description, he was the Lebron James of the “Pedestrian” world during his day. The fanfare around such practices was in its decline when he announced that he would walk from New York City to San Francisco in one-hundred days and the journey would begin on his Seventieth Birthday. The stamina he had to undertake such a journey would require he walk an average of 47.29 miles daily (3925 miles/83 days, as he rested on Sundays). He would be supported along the way, by turn, from: hired assistants, the kindness of strangers, various railroad companies and often large crowds who would join him for sections when he was near their towns – but he was as singular in his quest as he was alone in completing it. Within nine months of his completing this walk, he walked from San Francisco back to NYC!
The story of this walk is the basis upon which the author explores the history of walking, particularly in America. In so doing, the reader is given an overall engaging (there are occasions when Mr. Curtis puts too much of himself in the otherwise well-researched material) history of roads, the psychological effects of walking and the sociological implications of pedestrianism, all of which were viewed in comparison to riding in a machine.
When Mr. Weston left New York City, roads were still “multiuse” thoroughfares – walkers, horses, carriages and automobiles all shared the same space and worked out how each would use what space when as all were going in, literally, every direction. Within twenty years of this Great Walk, roads were the domain of automobiles only and the other modes of transport once common, specifically walking, began their decline into uselessness, at least in practice.
Psychologically, according to Mr. Curtis, walking is better for us on every count – physically we are created to walk and have done so for 4.5 million years, our minds “slow down” when we walk and our brains are simulated by what we see as they are empowered by the increased oxygen exercise brings to the body.
In a machine, we are removed from our surroundings and feel detached from the land and each other, becoming isolated in our own “reality.” When we walk, we engage our surroundings, others and nature in such a way that reality becomes more of an experiential moment than merely one that is observed.
The author holds out hope that the domain of the automobile is now where walking was in 1909 – on its way to becoming an option rather than the expectation of transportation. He cites the city planners who are looking again at mixed use roads; multi-use, dense communities whose real estate is valued more on its Walk Score than its size and the desire of many Millennials to not have to purchase, insure, maintain and gas an automobile when other modes of “getting around” are so much cheaper and healthier.
This book is a treasure for those who enjoy learning “obscure” history and how history influences the life we presently live. The author attempted to walk a “Weston” (a 40-mile walking day) and found he could not accomplish it even though he is decades younger than Mr. Weston. Perhaps, if I start today, I could get to the place where I could walk 15 miles in a day without experiencing profound injury or death. It may take me until I am Mr. Weston’s age, but that sounds like a worthy challenge.
Mr. Weston began long walks (hundreds of miles) in the 1860’s, at time when “pedestrianism” events were drawing huge crowds of spectators to witness the completion of such sojourns. According to the author’s description, he was the Lebron James of the “Pedestrian” world during his day. The fanfare around such practices was in its decline when he announced that he would walk from New York City to San Francisco in one-hundred days and the journey would begin on his Seventieth Birthday. The stamina he had to undertake such a journey would require he walk an average of 47.29 miles daily (3925 miles/83 days, as he rested on Sundays). He would be supported along the way, by turn, from: hired assistants, the kindness of strangers, various railroad companies and often large crowds who would join him for sections when he was near their towns – but he was as singular in his quest as he was alone in completing it. Within nine months of his completing this walk, he walked from San Francisco back to NYC!
The story of this walk is the basis upon which the author explores the history of walking, particularly in America. In so doing, the reader is given an overall engaging (there are occasions when Mr. Curtis puts too much of himself in the otherwise well-researched material) history of roads, the psychological effects of walking and the sociological implications of pedestrianism, all of which were viewed in comparison to riding in a machine.
When Mr. Weston left New York City, roads were still “multiuse” thoroughfares – walkers, horses, carriages and automobiles all shared the same space and worked out how each would use what space when as all were going in, literally, every direction. Within twenty years of this Great Walk, roads were the domain of automobiles only and the other modes of transport once common, specifically walking, began their decline into uselessness, at least in practice.
Psychologically, according to Mr. Curtis, walking is better for us on every count – physically we are created to walk and have done so for 4.5 million years, our minds “slow down” when we walk and our brains are simulated by what we see as they are empowered by the increased oxygen exercise brings to the body.
In a machine, we are removed from our surroundings and feel detached from the land and each other, becoming isolated in our own “reality.” When we walk, we engage our surroundings, others and nature in such a way that reality becomes more of an experiential moment than merely one that is observed.
The author holds out hope that the domain of the automobile is now where walking was in 1909 – on its way to becoming an option rather than the expectation of transportation. He cites the city planners who are looking again at mixed use roads; multi-use, dense communities whose real estate is valued more on its Walk Score than its size and the desire of many Millennials to not have to purchase, insure, maintain and gas an automobile when other modes of “getting around” are so much cheaper and healthier.
This book is a treasure for those who enjoy learning “obscure” history and how history influences the life we presently live. The author attempted to walk a “Weston” (a 40-mile walking day) and found he could not accomplish it even though he is decades younger than Mr. Weston. Perhaps, if I start today, I could get to the place where I could walk 15 miles in a day without experiencing profound injury or death. It may take me until I am Mr. Weston’s age, but that sounds like a worthy challenge.
August 16, 2016
I've always enjoyed a nice leisurely walk, and I often walk to do short errands. But after reading this record of a walk taken in 1909 from New York City to San Francisco, completed in just over 100 days I will never think about walking the same way again.
Edward Payson Weston left NYC on March 15, 1909, to walk to the West Coast. He took a mostly northerly route, through New York state, over to Chicago and across the Great Plains. He walked alone except for a car that was supposed to follow him with food and supplies and except for the many crowds and fans that met him along the way. He sometimes relied on homeowners to take him in and give him a good meal or to shelter him in storms if he couldn't walk through them. This may not sound like much but I can't imagine walking hours and hours every day through rain, sleet, snow, muddy roads, roads barely worthy of the name, and constant isolation in some parts. And yet Weston was part of a still popular but waning movement of pedestrianism. As Weston set out, the car was becoming a factor in American life.
The author, Wayne Curtis, interweaves the story of Weston's walk with information on all manner of related topics--the landscape Weston encountered, the growing issues around automobiles and how they changed the landscape (in ways I had never known--I'll never look at a city street with the same eyes again) and the rights of individuals in public spaces, the importance of movement in locating the self in space among other mental health and physical issues.
After approximately a hundred years people are beginning to understand what they've lost to the car culture and making efforts to reclaim it. If you live in a walkable community, count your lucky stars. If you don't, read this book and figure out how to make some changes.
I gave this book a rating of 4 because I would have liked to know more about other walkers of the period, and how those who couldn't walk coast to coast might have emulated Weston. I know of one example but I would have enjoyed hearing more.
Edward Payson Weston left NYC on March 15, 1909, to walk to the West Coast. He took a mostly northerly route, through New York state, over to Chicago and across the Great Plains. He walked alone except for a car that was supposed to follow him with food and supplies and except for the many crowds and fans that met him along the way. He sometimes relied on homeowners to take him in and give him a good meal or to shelter him in storms if he couldn't walk through them. This may not sound like much but I can't imagine walking hours and hours every day through rain, sleet, snow, muddy roads, roads barely worthy of the name, and constant isolation in some parts. And yet Weston was part of a still popular but waning movement of pedestrianism. As Weston set out, the car was becoming a factor in American life.
The author, Wayne Curtis, interweaves the story of Weston's walk with information on all manner of related topics--the landscape Weston encountered, the growing issues around automobiles and how they changed the landscape (in ways I had never known--I'll never look at a city street with the same eyes again) and the rights of individuals in public spaces, the importance of movement in locating the self in space among other mental health and physical issues.
After approximately a hundred years people are beginning to understand what they've lost to the car culture and making efforts to reclaim it. If you live in a walkable community, count your lucky stars. If you don't, read this book and figure out how to make some changes.
I gave this book a rating of 4 because I would have liked to know more about other walkers of the period, and how those who couldn't walk coast to coast might have emulated Weston. I know of one example but I would have enjoyed hearing more.
November 21, 2014
This 2014 book gets 4 out of 5 stars.
It really held my interest. I found out about a popular cultural phenomenon of the late 19th century-American pedestrianism. During the 1870s and 1880s, America’s most popular spectator sport wasn’t baseball, or football—it was competitive walking. Inside sold-out arenas, competitors walked around dirt tracks almost nonstop for six straight days, risking their health and sanity to see who could walk the farthest—500 miles was standard.
This book is about the “final” mega-stroll of Edward Payson Weston, who, in 1909, walked across the USA on a bet that he could ambulate from coast to coast in 100 days or less, demanding an average of 40 miles a day. Weston was 70 years old when me took on the challenge. He was the best known of the competitive walkers. We join the taciturn Weston as he is mostly angered, but rarely dismayed about the unexpected pitfalls that he encountered through the Great Plains-over the Rockies, across some deserts, and often struggling through deep mud. The upside of his western journey were the massive crowds that greeted him as his highly publicized venture was big National news.
At the time, there were far fewer roads into the West. The automobile was just gaining momentum at the time, and tarred roads were unheard of outside the more populated Eastern seaboard. Weston often walked the newly established railroad system, and was challenged by navigational issues, deep sections of sticky mud, and downright nasty weather ( He left new your on a chilly March day).
The book’s back story is about the loss of walking as a viable means to getting about one’s local communities, as well as a highly interesting discussion about the medical, physical, and spiritual benefits that are gained from spending hours moving about the countryside, on our own two feet.
The book is very well written, and authored by Wayne Curtis, the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year in 2002.
It really held my interest. I found out about a popular cultural phenomenon of the late 19th century-American pedestrianism. During the 1870s and 1880s, America’s most popular spectator sport wasn’t baseball, or football—it was competitive walking. Inside sold-out arenas, competitors walked around dirt tracks almost nonstop for six straight days, risking their health and sanity to see who could walk the farthest—500 miles was standard.
This book is about the “final” mega-stroll of Edward Payson Weston, who, in 1909, walked across the USA on a bet that he could ambulate from coast to coast in 100 days or less, demanding an average of 40 miles a day. Weston was 70 years old when me took on the challenge. He was the best known of the competitive walkers. We join the taciturn Weston as he is mostly angered, but rarely dismayed about the unexpected pitfalls that he encountered through the Great Plains-over the Rockies, across some deserts, and often struggling through deep mud. The upside of his western journey were the massive crowds that greeted him as his highly publicized venture was big National news.
At the time, there were far fewer roads into the West. The automobile was just gaining momentum at the time, and tarred roads were unheard of outside the more populated Eastern seaboard. Weston often walked the newly established railroad system, and was challenged by navigational issues, deep sections of sticky mud, and downright nasty weather ( He left new your on a chilly March day).
The book’s back story is about the loss of walking as a viable means to getting about one’s local communities, as well as a highly interesting discussion about the medical, physical, and spiritual benefits that are gained from spending hours moving about the countryside, on our own two feet.
The book is very well written, and authored by Wayne Curtis, the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year in 2002.
May 26, 2025
A cute book that I enjoyed reading, though I could have done with fewer/shorter digressions into human nature and more focus on the walker himself. (This also has the smallest font of any book I've ever read.) The cover doesn't give away the astounding fact that Weston was 70 years old when he attempted his walk (nor the explanation that he was a professional distance walker for most of his life, which makes it a bit less astounding).
Tidbits:
- People could get paid for doing long-distance walking challenges in the late 1800s, mainly as something for others to bet on. (Sometimes people would even do 100-hour walking challenges on a small track inside a tavern.)
- Our velocity isn't constant while walking -- the process of taking steps involves small accelerations and decelerations. (If you're holding a beverage, this causes it to oscillate and eventually spill.)
- Amish people walk 15k+ steps per day. Curtis says this is probably a decent proxy for the average human around 1900, but it's hard to know if that's true.
Tidbits:
- People could get paid for doing long-distance walking challenges in the late 1800s, mainly as something for others to bet on. (Sometimes people would even do 100-hour walking challenges on a small track inside a tavern.)
- Our velocity isn't constant while walking -- the process of taking steps involves small accelerations and decelerations. (If you're holding a beverage, this causes it to oscillate and eventually spill.)
- Amish people walk 15k+ steps per day. Curtis says this is probably a decent proxy for the average human around 1900, but it's hard to know if that's true.
August 19, 2015
It is not often that I read a book that I simply cannot put down. That is the case with this extraordinary story carefully researched and crafted by Wayne Curtis. Typical of Wayne's books, he documents the 1909 transcontinental journey of superwalker 70 year old Edward Payson, and at the same time explores how we in America shifted from foot travel to wheeled locomotion. From the connection between our brains and our desires for faster modes of locomotion, this book explores how we "forgot" about walking as a daily activity, and the resultant changes in our lifestyles, connections and health. This book describes the transition of transportation modes and provides a compelling history of changes in our streets and cities and of course, ourselves as citizens.
A great book to give as a gift, thought provoking, and a good read. Highly recommended.
A great book to give as a gift, thought provoking, and a good read. Highly recommended.
January 26, 2015
This was not as colorful as I hoped. It contains a lot of data on the benefits of walking and the history of walking as a competitive sport. The reasons for the decrease in walking as America discovered the car. Which also brought into play the development of suburbia. Interspursed with these treatise are the antidotal progress of Edward Payson Weaton as he walked across America. He made this last walk at a rather advanced age just as the car was gaining in popularity. There are several fun facts that will raise your eyebrows.
April 7, 2016
This was a very interesting book on two levels. It tells the story of Edward Payson Weston, a 70 year old gentleman, who walked from New York City to San Francisco in 1909 in 1o5 days. Interspersed in this true story is an fascinating look at walking and its great benefits to mankind and its recent resurgence after the dominance of automobiles in our society.
I highly recommend it as a great book for further discussion on the topic of walking with your friends.
I highly recommend it as a great book for further discussion on the topic of walking with your friends.
March 21, 2019
The author, Wayne Curtis, literally “walks us through” the life of Edward Payson Weston. I found the book very interesting from start to finish. He does a fantastic job keeping our interest; weaving us through other interesting facts and sometimes profound thoughts to consider. We learn about many things along the way……there are topics on chairs, architecture, transportation, traffic management, today’s technology and even about secret stairways.
Here are just a few things I learned:
• We walk less today because the opportunities have diminished, and then we walk less because we’re increasingly unfit.
• Walking 40 minutes, 3 times a week basically increases the voltage in our brains.
• Children learn skills by walking around in life that they won’t ever learn constantly sitting in the passenger seat of a car all the time.
• Electronic gadgets today isolate us from other people and from ourselves……..keeping us from moving (safely) and enjoying life.
• Electronic gadgets erode our connection to the actual physical places around us. We become less observant.
• Being lost can be a good thing. It’s an essential human condition, and it helps us to learn to problem solve.
A word of advice: decide whether a standard book or a digital copy is best for you.. I borrowed this book through the interlibrary loan system. I bailed after 10 pages and purchased the e-reader version; I enjoyed it so much more. Rodale published this book with, what seemed like, an Arial 8 pt. font which made it quite bothersome to read.
Here are just a few things I learned:
• We walk less today because the opportunities have diminished, and then we walk less because we’re increasingly unfit.
• Walking 40 minutes, 3 times a week basically increases the voltage in our brains.
• Children learn skills by walking around in life that they won’t ever learn constantly sitting in the passenger seat of a car all the time.
• Electronic gadgets today isolate us from other people and from ourselves……..keeping us from moving (safely) and enjoying life.
• Electronic gadgets erode our connection to the actual physical places around us. We become less observant.
• Being lost can be a good thing. It’s an essential human condition, and it helps us to learn to problem solve.
A word of advice: decide whether a standard book or a digital copy is best for you.. I borrowed this book through the interlibrary loan system. I bailed after 10 pages and purchased the e-reader version; I enjoyed it so much more. Rodale published this book with, what seemed like, an Arial 8 pt. font which made it quite bothersome to read.
October 6, 2021
I found this book delightful, and occasionally hilarious (mostly because early 1900's newspapers phrase things in a way that is funny to me. Like the headline "PEDESTRIANS FAKING" or calling the main subject of this book a "plucky old trudger.")
Anyway, this book is mostly about a 70-year-old man who walked across the country in 1909. Back then, one could be a "professional pedestrian" and get paid for going on long, possibly ill-advised walks. This man was greeted by thousands in nearly every city he passed and was a huge celebrity of his time. Yet, we've all but forgotten him.
Interspersed with the narrative are interesting-but-sometimes-skippable diatribes on the benefits of walking, car culture, etc. I found these fascinating but also kind of jarring. Sometimes I wanted to get back to the story of this super weird old dude that walked across the country eating raw eggs and complaining about Cleveland ("I have no use for anyone in Cleveland," he reported, because someone intentionally stomped on his foot years ago and he never [emotionally] got over it! You really can't make this stuff up.)
Anyway, this book is mostly about a 70-year-old man who walked across the country in 1909. Back then, one could be a "professional pedestrian" and get paid for going on long, possibly ill-advised walks. This man was greeted by thousands in nearly every city he passed and was a huge celebrity of his time. Yet, we've all but forgotten him.
Interspersed with the narrative are interesting-but-sometimes-skippable diatribes on the benefits of walking, car culture, etc. I found these fascinating but also kind of jarring. Sometimes I wanted to get back to the story of this super weird old dude that walked across the country eating raw eggs and complaining about Cleveland ("I have no use for anyone in Cleveland," he reported, because someone intentionally stomped on his foot years ago and he never [emotionally] got over it! You really can't make this stuff up.)
October 30, 2020
This book follows the walking competitions of the turn of the 20th century, and in particular the culmination of the sport, the New York-to-San Francisco walk by Edward Payson Weston. He was 71 years of age when he determined to do the 2,000+ mile trek in 100 days. He averaged 35 miles a day, often rising at 1:00 AM to eat a big breakfast and resume his walking. He never seemed to suffer or weary with his walking, and wore out 3 pairs of boots on the way. The following year, when he was 72, he reversed his route and walked from Los Angeles to New York in 76 days. When he was 86 he walked from Buffalo NY to New York City. The author intersperses his chapters on the fascinating trek with thoughts on walking--our history as humans with it, and how the automobile has curbed it. An apt pun! I found this a well-written and enjoyable book.
September 21, 2020
Purchase The Last Great Walk here for just $12!
This is such a good book. It includes history, research, and humour, and to have done it at the beginning of the twentieth century with the lack of paved roads in many places is utterly amazing. Very readable!
Alicia, The Book Grocer
This is such a good book. It includes history, research, and humour, and to have done it at the beginning of the twentieth century with the lack of paved roads in many places is utterly amazing. Very readable!
Alicia, The Book Grocer
April 24, 2019
The Last Great Walk paints a vivid picture of Edward Payson Weston as well as the time he lived in. I learned a lot about walking and being a pedestrian and how cars started to dominate the US. I found the part on evolution of humans to be able to walk interesting. I recommend it. Being primarily immobile too, it inspired me to walk more in a day.
January 7, 2022
This was a very interesting read about a profession I didn't know existed...professional walking in the 19th century. This book toggles back and forth between accounts of Edward Payson Weston's historic journey and the history of walking through sections on Body, Mind and Land. It ends with the hopeful resurgence of walking as a way to stay healthy and build community.
January 11, 2022
Interesting enough story of 70-year old Edward Weston, who walked from New York to San Francisco in 1909. But most of the book is about walking...why we walk, why we now avoid walking and why this is bad for us, and what we can do to walk again. These little studies are sometimes interesting, sometimes dull.
April 15, 2024
Be forewarned that the book is mostly about pedestrians being hit and killed by cars. Encroachment of cars, automobiles, how streets, roadways, sidewalks got formed/changed with the advent of cars, etc. Still interesting. Could have been edited a bit more. Some good chapters on the history of competitive walking.
June 29, 2017
It takes a certain interest to like this book. How have we arrived at our car lifestyle and even to an extent how have we arrived at our abundance of riches. Check out walkscore.com... it's pretty interesting.
July 31, 2017
As an avid walker and fan of walkable cities, Weston's feat and Mr Curtis' commentaries on walking were inspiring
September 23, 2017
Really fascinating and inspiring, although a bit dense at times, I enjoyed all the the topics that the author weaves into this story of a long-distance walk.
September 26, 2017
Interesting, well written, inspiring, recommended!
September 29, 2017
A fascinating story about a man and an era I never knew existed plus important contemporary commentary on humanity's reluctance to get off its collective rear end.
April 2, 2024
This is a 20 page story or magazine article, expanded into a 200+ page book with all kinds of extraneous facts that you are never likely to want to know. Quite a feat though!
4.5/10
4.5/10
September 1, 2024
The story of Weston is cool, but the flow of the books is poor, the writing is a little stilted and some sections are repetitive.
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