A History of the World in 500 Walks

by Sarah Baxter

This book covers a lot of ground!

From geologic upheavals and mad kings to trade routes and saints' ways, this book relates the tales behind the top 500 walks that have shaped our society. It's easy to imagine traveling back in time as you read about convicts and conquistadores, silk traders and Buddhists who have hiked along routes for purposes as varied as the terrain they covered. From prehistory to the present day, take a grand tour of world events at eye-level perspective with accounts that combine knowledgeable commentary with practical detail. You may even be inspired to lace up your own boots!

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, History, Nature, Walking, Coffee Table Books, Geography

400 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2016

About the author

Sarah Baxter is a writer, book author and editor specialising in travel, adventure, history and the great outdoors. In the name of exploration, she's climbed Kilimanjaro, snorkelled with killer whales, eaten sheep's brain, walked on the wings of a bi-plane, descended into an Icelandic volcano, learned to salsa in Barcelona and much, much more. Formerly deputy editor at Wanderlust travel magazine, she now writes for a range of outlets including The Telegraph, The Independent, iPaper, Wanderlust, Sunday Times Travel magazine, Country Walking and others. She has also authored many books, including A History of the World in 500 Walks, The Inspired Traveller's Guide to Spiritual Places and Lonely Planet's Where to Go When.

Reviews

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Christmas present from my OH. An excellent collection of walks of all lengths, arranged by their place in history. I’ve done far too few of these and am unlikely ever to do the more adventurous or long haul destination ones but never say never. To read, perchance to dream.....from the comfort of my old rocking chair!!

[Andy Weston · Rating 1 out of 5]

I came across this as I have interest in a more recent book of Sarah Baxter's, Hidden Places: An Inspired Traveller's Guide .
This is however, little more than a list, and a controversial one at that. Fitting 500 walks into 400 pages is a tough task also; I think Baxter has been over-ambitious in the number she chose.
I have many qualms with the book.
There is inconsistent use of data when describing the length of the walks, the amount of time to complete them, and the altitude gained; sometimes this information is included, sometimes it isn't.
There is little or nothing about accessibility to the walks, nor about the history, geography or culture of the area.
Has Baxter actually done any of the walks? and if so, I was hoping to read about that.
To include #74, Aconcagua, is a mistake I believe, and to use the words 'no technical skills required' is simply incorrect, and dangerously misleading. A close friend of mine died at the summit, in a summer when 8 climbers were killed. They were all extremely fit, experienced, and trained specifically for the climb.
She chooses to include Isla Navarrino, off the south coast of Chile; a walk I have hopes of doing one day. There are 20 words of writing about it. I actually know the person who consulted on the route that is now promoted. As it stands, this paragraph is a huge injustice to one of the wildest and most exciting walks in the world.

[Rocío Prieto · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Una historia del mundo en 500 rutas" es como un viaje épico a través del tiempo y el espacio, todo en las páginas de un libro. Sarah Baxter nos lleva por 500 rutas icónicas que han moldeado la historia de la humanidad. Desde antiguas rutas comerciales hasta modernos senderos de peregrinación, cada capítulo es una puerta abierta a nuevas aventuras.

El libro cubre de todo: rutas históricas, caminos naturales, y más. Es una mezcla rica que te permite conocer culturas y lugares de todo el mundo. Baxter tiene un estilo de escritura súper envolvente, combinando hechos históricos con anécdotas que hacen que cada ruta cobre vida. No es solo leer sobre un camino, es sentir que estás caminando por él.

Visualmente, el libro es una joya. Está lleno de mapas y fotos que no solo adornan las páginas, sino que realmente te ayudan a imaginar los lugares descritos. Es como tener un álbum de viaje y un libro de historia en uno solo.

Pero, claro, no todo es perfecto. Aunque el libro es súper amplio en contenido, algunas rutas no tienen toda la profundidad que uno podría desear. A veces te quedas con ganas de más detalles y contexto. Además, la organización del libro puede ser un poco confusa. Aunque está dividido en secciones por diferentes épocas, las transiciones entre rutas no siempre son claras, lo que puede hacer que te pierdas un poco en la narrativa.

A pesar de algunos puntos débiles en profundidad y organización, "Una historia del mundo en 500 rutas" sigue siendo una lectura recomendada. Es rico en contenido y visualmente atractivo, ofreciendo una manera innovadora de explorar la historia. Las historias intrigantes y las rutas emblemáticas hacen que valga la pena leerlo, aunque es mejor acercarse con expectativas moderadas respecto a la profundidad de algunos temas. ¡Una gran opción para los amantes de los viajes y la historia!

[Aletheiia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Descubriendo lugares asombrosos.😍

Me gustado la lectura porque puedes ir aprendiendo sobre todas esas rutas y su historia, y te dan ganas de viajar alrededor del mundo para poder andar por ellas. Las fotografías son preciosas, y los datos bastante útiles.

Por otra parte, el libro se me ha hecho un poco largo, pues hubiese preferido que tuviese menos rutas y más de la parte histórica. Hay muchas rutas que apenas tienen descripción y al final es casi imposible acordarse de tantas.

🚶🏻‍♀️

Pd. Aunque yo no soy de hacer rutas, si que me he apuntado muchos sitios como destino de posibles viajes.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent armchair traveling. But it gave me some serious wanderlust and an itching need to get myself back into shape. This is a book I need to purchase, and then actually plan some travels!

[Claire O'Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A present from my daughter Amy - a lovely inspirational read - lots of walks to look forward to once lockdown ends 😊

[Jeff Swystun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up, a room on the main floor of our house was renovated into a private den for and by my father. Years later I admired his attempt because later, in my own family, I fought for private space.

The door to his den had a key lock. The security failed. I knew where the spare key was so our family soon morphed his claim into a cozy tv room by occupation over time aided by my mother’s strategic, gradual redecorating.

I don’t know if my father formally surrendered or simply gave-in. I do know that what remained at the end of the invasion was a built-in book case spanning an entire wall.

On its shelves and in the cupboards contained a mini resource library. We had two sets of encyclopedias. That was like having two Googles. I can still picture their spine designs. I repeatedly read a Time-Life World War Two series that had shelf space. Then there were stacks of magazines, wow, do I remember them. What I am describing is this room’s life in the late 70’s through most of the 80’s.

In that time, it held Time, Newsweek, Macleans, Cosmopolitan, Gourmet, and National Geographic. At some point, National Geographic was replaced by Psychology Today. If you think my father was the subscriber to these publications, that would be a big “no”. All my mother’s doing. That switch from NG to PT had me thinking, “who was she trying to figure out?”. The answer, probably everyone.

With that preamble, there was another form of literary treasure on those shelves. Coffee table books. One would think they have since gone out of style. This staple of the last century has recently surged in my home. I am buying them and being gifted them. The difference in these more current works is they contain way more content. Still gorgeous and flippable but much more detailed.

That finally gets me to Sarah Baxter’s spectacular work. My sister sent this for my birthday because in the last 12 years I have become a hiker. Quite active. Still learning. A bit obsessed. She also knows that I love history so with Sarah’s twisting of my two loves, this is a definite sweet spot.

Now a confession. Have I read it cover to cover? No. This is a dense offering (all in a good way!). A colourful reference guide, rich in photos and daunting in what the world has to offer if you like taking step after step. Like life it is not truly linear. You hunt and peck, pick and choose, try and learn.

It is parsed into five chunks of our shared history. These hikes are given their due through “need to knows”, succinct maps, anecdotes, history lessons, and hiking watch-outs. There is both enough and teasing detail to compel you to explore just One or all Five Hundred walks.

As the book’s back cover states, this amazing effort appeals to the “seasoned hiker or an arm chair historian”. I aspire to be both. Sweet spot indeed because wouldn’t it be great to take an arm chair on a hike? To sit in plush comfort on a great trail and conversationally explore with others all that unites and all that intrigues?

Well, I think I just found my next hiking club. What a great workout to physically hoist an easy chair up a trail, what a great mental workout to discuss life’s mysteries whilst in that chair. Okay, it won’t be a long hike. I have a hard enough time with my backpack laden with treats, but it could be challenging and inevitably a plush and satisfying one.

[Sally Piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the walks are captured in just a few sentences, others a few pages, making it a great book to dip into for either escape or inspiration.

[Simas Rad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book to find new and exciting hikes around the world. With very beautiful pictures

[Tory · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of inspiration for walks around the world. The walks range from easy walks of a mile or so (around Walden Pond) to more arduous treks (Everest, Kilimanjaro) and include city walks (a 32 mile circuit along the Manhattan Shorewalk) as well as hikes in the wilderness. A lot of photographs, trail maps, and descriptions of the walks. The categorization of walks by history was okay, but I liked the map showing where the walks are around the world more, and would have preferred a geographic break-down rather than a 'history' one. A good book for a rainy day!

[Mike Wigal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ideas for future adventures.

[Callista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting; but the writing itself was a little odd. I can’t put my finger on why I didn’t love it.

[Ro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is based on a quick skim and cribbing for travel planning. I love the concept of the book, but find it to be a bit blurry rather than wholly informative. Some of the walks are mapped out and give a complete sense of the walk -- as if the author had made the journey. Other walks are like TV Guide capsules -- a good place to start, but not a travel guide.

I plan to refer back to this book in more detail and examine its structure as it relates to history, but for now, it is a quick research tool that will start me on research about certain areas I plan to travel to.

It would be nice if the book had a couple of different types of Tables of Contents. It has one that is very brief one that is chronological in terms of historical eras. For the type of research that I am currently doing one must rely on the index to guide the reader to particular countries. It would have been nice to know up front how many walks were in different places - this is pertinent to those of us who browse the "Look Inside" feature on Amazon rather than use physical bookstores.

I think it would be cool if the author had a blog that supplemented information as she makes these walks. Perhaps she does...

[Virginprune · Rating 2 out of 5]

Attractive package (gorgeous photos of featured walks, etc.) and something to have lying around to dip into, rather than to be read seriously.
The book's title is an over-reach. Although the contents are loosely sorted into six time sections ("Pre-History" to "20th Century"), there is no real attempt at presenting a coherent narrative. In fact, the narratives which are added against certain featured sections give the impression of having been written by various authors. It almost feels as if they've been lifted from other sources.
And that's the (roughly one in five) walks which DO get featured. Most of the others languish in simple side panels, with limited information and one or two lines of descriptive text; rarely enough to get the reader interested enough to find out more elsewhere!
As to the selection of the "500" - well, there are quite a few outliers (impossibly long and difficult or laughably short or simply uninteresting), but you'd expect that. However, I got no impression that these were curated with an overriding theme or scheme in mind. It felt almost as if someone had sent a robot off with instructions to collect 500 walks. It did find some gems, though.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

With all the stuff that goes on it is easy to forget that there are still many wonderful places in the world. Many of these walks are truly epic, but the descriptions are fascinating even for readers with worn out knees. If I were to reread someday (and I probably will) I would go backwards starting with the walks related to historical events in the 20th century such as the Philosopher’s Path in Kyoto and the Tolkien Trail in the UK. I would end up with the awesome geological treks to the Burren, the Jurassic Coast, and ancient landscapes of Australia, Madagascar, and Venezuela.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro che raccoglie quelli che sono probabilmente i migliori trekking al mondo con tante idee che invogliano a mettersi in cammino. Sfogliando il libro, ci si sente realmente trasportati dentro la storia del mondo. Peccato che dell’Italia si parla ben poco mentre ci sarebbe molto da dire. Gli itinerari presentati sono molti ma le descrizioni sono limitate e superficiali . Un libro che invita a sognare ma che non ha nulla del manuale da trekking . Lo consiglio solo se volete sognare, per approfondire invece è meglio passare ad altro.

[Kelly Sedinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hiking is a burgeoning passion of mine, and I've always loved history, so I liked this book's notion of hiking through history. It's a fun book to flip through, but given that there are five HUNDRED specific walks cited, depth is a bit lacking. Many of the walks only merit a couple of sentences in a sidebar. I like the conceit here, but maybe a book that tries to be a bit less thorough might have been the way to go here.

Good photography, and a particular plus is that the book does shine some light on parts of the world that don't often turn up in the general history texts.

[Derek Bridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was delighted to receive this as a Christmas gift. I thought it might have pleasures similar to those of Neil MacGregor's "A History of the World in 100 Objects", which I had really enjoyed. But, no. As a history of any kind, it is an abject failure.

But it does have its pleasures. For me, these were two-fold. First, some of it was a trip down memory lane: it reminded me of many places to which I have traveled. I was surprised at how many of the book's routes I had walked along or, at least, intersected. Second, it advertised many places in the world that I might like to visit in future.

[Robert Bagnall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent for what it is: a bedside or coffee-table book to inspire you out on the trail. There’s no way that you’ll pack this in your rucksack; far too weighty with too little information. It doesn’t pretend to be a guide. Even so, I would have preferred better maps (even central London’s Jubilee Walkway map diminishes the northern stretch up towards Euston, and if that’s overly simplified, what about the ones lost in the jungle?) and maybe some profiles too in order to decide which are worth investigating further.

[Clara Mazzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Questa raccolta di camminate, che spaziano per l’intero pianeta così come attraverso i secoli, tra pianure, colline, campi di battaglia, foreste, rovine, catene montuose, è molto di più di un libro: è una bellissima fonte di ispirazione per un sacco di viaggi bellissimi. Tra i miei preferiti ci sono i due trekking ai campi base del K2 e dell’Everst, il giro del Monte Bianco, El Camino del Rey, la grotta di Son Doong, il Kilimangiaro, l’Aconcagua, Petra, il Macchu Picchu, la Ciudad Perdita, Darjeeling, l’Annapurna, Stone Henge, il Vesuvio… Non vedo l’ora di partire. Di farne almeno qualcuno.

[Lexy · Rating 4 out of 5]

this slaps.

i've sticky tabbed this to death with trails i'm interested in hiking along with trails/walks that have such interesting history behind them! i wish some of the "walks" had shorter sections while some absolutely needed longer write ups (lookin at you PCT mini description).

*read in 09/2020 but not marking as such as this is more of a reference type/coffee table book than a book book, u feel?

[Jessica Dykins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish that Canada was actually featured. There are so many beautiful sights and honestly I am surprised that there are no pictures of Canada in this book. Missed opportunity.

Otherwise this was a beautiful book and I did enjoy flipping through it.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really great book for anyone who likes to take a walk, whether a long hike or just a short stint. This has great practical info, amazing pictures, great history info and lots of inspiration.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I was retired, in excellent physical condition, and rich (with a private jet) - this book would be my bucket list. But I'm none of those things - so thank goodness for armchair travel.

This is also a clever, creative way to learn some world history.

[Tiffani · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the concept - a travel book about different hikes and treks across the world and over time. I have little experience with hiking or camping. As such, I can't comment on the accuracy of the data or anything but it was interesting read.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully laid out index of 500 walks across the globe. A source of inspiration rather than useful for planning as such.

[Paulo Reimann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought the book believing it would be walkable. Ain't. But is great regardless the practicality of the walks. A must read (and walk)

[Magpie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melanie 2018

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a reference book than a guide book. Kind of hard to navigate (pun intended).

[S.E. Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book, some walks way too ambitious for me but still nice to dream. Such a good book I bought it for my son for Christmas