What do you think?
Rate this book
The Path of Light: Walking to Auschwitz
In 2020, Anthony Seldon, inspired by a fallen World War I soldier who dreamed of a 'Via Sacra' to commemorate the war dead and stand as a marker for the triumph of peace, set out on a 1,000km walk tracing the historic route of the Western Front. But there wasn't to be lasting peace, with the continent falling into an even more horrific war two decades later.
In The Path of Light, Seldon walks the route from where World War I ended to Auschwitz, discovering the towns and people who resisted in the face of unbearable destruction, and ruminating on the Second World War's legacy.
In The Path of Light, Seldon walks the route from where World War I ended to Auschwitz, discovering the towns and people who resisted in the face of unbearable destruction, and ruminating on the Second World War's legacy.
- GenresNonfiction
Audible Audio
Published December 4, 2025
2 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Seldon
83 books70 followersSir Anthony Francis Seldon, FRSA, FRHistS, FKC, is a British educator and contemporary historian. He was the 13th Master (headmaster) of Wellington College, one of Britain's co-educational independent boarding schools. In 2009, he set up The Wellington Academy, the first state school to carry the name of its founding independent school. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham from 2015 to 2020. Seldon was knighted in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to education and modern political history.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 28, 2025
I had two different people say to me ‘jolly reading?’ while reading this (I’m assuming most books with the word Auschwitz on the cover get this), but I was left thoroughly uplifted by this travelogue by Anthony Seldon.
While walking across Europe to the most infamous of concentration camps, Seldon tells stories of heroism and bravery (some famous, some I’d never heard of) alongside ones of barbarity from the Second World War, all the while asking what makes people good and bad. I found his writing thought provoking and tender. He concludes the best people are the ‘bridge builders’, ones who saw beyond the Nazi hatred and tried to help Jewish people. Throughout the book Seldon draws parallels to today’s world, namely Russia / Ukraine and Isreal / Palestine, whilst also comparing today’s leaders with those in the 1930’s. As a ‘fighting age male’, his thoughts on the fragility of democracy, the degrading of world institutions, the appeasement of dictators and the complacency of believing another large scale war could not happen hit home.
Also, what a beautiful cover.
While walking across Europe to the most infamous of concentration camps, Seldon tells stories of heroism and bravery (some famous, some I’d never heard of) alongside ones of barbarity from the Second World War, all the while asking what makes people good and bad. I found his writing thought provoking and tender. He concludes the best people are the ‘bridge builders’, ones who saw beyond the Nazi hatred and tried to help Jewish people. Throughout the book Seldon draws parallels to today’s world, namely Russia / Ukraine and Isreal / Palestine, whilst also comparing today’s leaders with those in the 1930’s. As a ‘fighting age male’, his thoughts on the fragility of democracy, the degrading of world institutions, the appeasement of dictators and the complacency of believing another large scale war could not happen hit home.
Also, what a beautiful cover.
Displaying 1 of 1 review