Table of Contents

ContentsIntroduction: Walking Is Talking In the Beginning Was the Foot: Walking from the Origins of Bipedal Humanity to Marching Roman Legions Along the Road: Medieval Pilgrims, Beggars, Mounted Warriors, and the Early City Walkers Put Your Best Foot Forward: The Rise of Upper-Class Promenading and Strolling Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling North American Walking: Exploring the Continent on Foot City Walking: The Genesis of the Urban Pedestrian in Nineteenth-Century London A New Footing for the Nation: Taming and Cleaning Up Revolutionary Paris Getting in Step: Disciplining the Mob and Marching the Masses Off to War Wheels and Cars: The Eclipse of the American Walker by the Motorist Conclusion: Choose Your Steps-Re?ections on the Transformation of Walking from Necessity to Choice Notes Acknowledgments Index About the Author

About the Author

Joseph A. Amato is the author of fifteen books, including Dust: A History of the Small and Invisible. He is professor emeritus of history and rural and regional studies at Southwest Minnesota State University. He lives in Marshall, MN.

Reviews

"A rambling pleasure-leisurely paced and full of interesting cul-de-sacs-pleasantly garrulous and filled with the anecdotes of small details aptly observed." -Star Tribune "This is a fascinating book, extremely knowledgeable and ambitious, thought provoking in the best sense. Simply put: a very imaginative presentation and, someone has to say it, not at all pedestrian." -Peter Stearns,author of Anxious Parents "An in-depth examination." -Forecast "An enlighening compelling read...a well-researched, well written piece of work." -TCM Reviews "Joseph A. Amato has written a richly detailed and engaging account of walking from ancient times to the present. His book explores the many modes and contexts of human ambulation: marching, strolling, promenading, rambling, sauntering, commuting, to name just a few. Taking full account of the evolution of the city, shifting attitudes toward the countryside, and the role of class and labor in determining the value and meaning of walking, this book helps us to see a basic human activity as a complex cultural and historical phenomenon." -Roger Gilbert,author of Walks in the World: Representation and Experience in Modern American Poetry "I suggest you leave your car at home, go for a long walk, and buy it." -Dr. Mike DeBrule "Extremely readable account ... invites a global edition." -Choice "On Foot is an expansive and illuminating field trip, complete with rest stops for little-known facts about an everyday activity many of us take for granted." -Minnesota History "Provides a valuable background treatise for the enlightenment of students who more often prefer to drive their automobiles than walk for any trip that ranges more than a few blocks!" -Journal of Social History "A thought-provoking survey across time and space... Pick up On Foot and carry it home. It will renew your appreciation for the pedestrian in your own flesh." -Cleveland Plain Dealer