Walkers by Miles Jebb

Walkers Reviews

• 
  Jonathan Pathuis

  There are two different phases in my life that are loosely based around my discovery of this book.
  
  I heard about it from one of my best friends, Mr. Tyler Hale, after he purchased it from a used bookseller in Ojai, California. Ty has a taste for things that are enthusiast-focused, Anglo, and the cover particularly stood out. The book sat on his guest bedroom bookshelf in his Southern California home and whenever I would head out there for a long weekend I would thumb through a few pages in each chapter, but our busy social schedule never afforded me the luxury of actually reading it.
  
  I recently purchased the book for myself after some strong walking bouts. It’s a slow burn and is better digested over time where you can reflect on the different types of walking and how that relates best with your style. He goes a little bit too deep into some of the stories and admittedly it could be shorter, but the way he chooses to segment walkers and then talk about the certain aspects for each is well done.
  
  The reason the impact was so pivotal for me is the appreciation for small things. Walking is something humans always do, but rarely appreciate. I find something similar with bird watching which is an appreciation that can easily be folded into everyday life to simply enhance what you’re already doing. This book does a great job of helping us to appreciate the small nuances of walks that are magical. I loved the chapter on Strollers and how walking can be a great romantic exploit. The chapter on Athletes helps us understand what we’re really capable of if we just take our time. Intellectuals help us understand the value of taking a break from work and thinking about things while getting our blood moving.
  
  Appreciating the small things is what makes life magical and this book helps open up another path to that.
  
  If you can't find it used somewhere let me know and I'll copy the pages at my local library and fax them to you.