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Letters from Steven: Stories from the First Solo Walk Around the World
On April 1, 1983, adventurer/journalist Steven Newman set off from his home in Bethel, Ohio to walk around the world. Four years later, he completed his historic walk, and became the first person ever to walk around the world alone. Letters From Steven is the story of that grand odyssey, and is comprised of letters that Steven wrote throughout his journey to the readers of Capper's. With the publication of this, the first book by the first person ever to have walked around the world alone, you will share this grand adventure. Through his letters, his stories from the Worldwalk, you will walk along with Steven on his 20,000 mile journey through 20 countries on five continents, and will experience our world in a fresh, exciting, inspiring way.(Non-fiction)
- GenresTravel
367 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 25, 2023
Super interesting
March 18, 2025
A truly heartwarming, sweet journey across the world.
June 1, 2012
Due to my recent completion of a Camino in Portugal and Spain, I was interested in reading about someone who walked a super-long distance. This guy claimed to be the first solo walker around the world.
First, no one can really do that. There is a lot of water to be crossed.
You can, however, put together a travel route that will take you across continents. That is what Steven did. Even so, he had to occasionally resort to airplanes due to closed borders and whatnot.
He walked 4 years, averaging 13 miles a day. There were frequent stops and lots of sought publicity. Steven started as a journalist and made constant connections through his column in a magazine, so he was getting his name out there. This opened quite a few doors as he went, and those doors led to free warm meals, baths and beds.
Not that he didn't do his share of roughing it. He did.
Why do I only give this an average rating then?
I really disliked his writing style. For a journalist, he was awfully heavy on the florid language. Castles were dark, brooding and mysterious; I can't repeat what sunrises and sets were like. His use of flowery words to describe things was far too frequent and intense for me.
His cultural experiences were easier to read. Oddly, one of his most interesting encounters (in Australia with aggressive ants) was not even included in his letters.
He also took chances I wouldn't take- notably in Southern Thailand where he was almost killed by thieves.
At the end of his book, he recounts what he learned on the road...most of which one can gain from much shorter trips. I could see some of my own travel experiences resonating in his, but without all the frilly descriptions.
Favorite line: "...I never did leave home. Home isn't ahead of me, and it never was behind me. I was there all along."
First, no one can really do that. There is a lot of water to be crossed.
You can, however, put together a travel route that will take you across continents. That is what Steven did. Even so, he had to occasionally resort to airplanes due to closed borders and whatnot.
He walked 4 years, averaging 13 miles a day. There were frequent stops and lots of sought publicity. Steven started as a journalist and made constant connections through his column in a magazine, so he was getting his name out there. This opened quite a few doors as he went, and those doors led to free warm meals, baths and beds.
Not that he didn't do his share of roughing it. He did.
Why do I only give this an average rating then?
I really disliked his writing style. For a journalist, he was awfully heavy on the florid language. Castles were dark, brooding and mysterious; I can't repeat what sunrises and sets were like. His use of flowery words to describe things was far too frequent and intense for me.
His cultural experiences were easier to read. Oddly, one of his most interesting encounters (in Australia with aggressive ants) was not even included in his letters.
He also took chances I wouldn't take- notably in Southern Thailand where he was almost killed by thieves.
At the end of his book, he recounts what he learned on the road...most of which one can gain from much shorter trips. I could see some of my own travel experiences resonating in his, but without all the frilly descriptions.
Favorite line: "...I never did leave home. Home isn't ahead of me, and it never was behind me. I was there all along."
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews