The Old Ways

In this exquisitely written book, Robert Macfarlane sets off from his Cambridge, England, home to follow the ancient tracks, holloways, drove roads, and sea paths that crisscross both the British landscape and its waters and territories beyond The result is an immersive, enthralling exploration of the ghosts and voices that haunt old paths, of the stories our tracks keep and tell, and of pilgrimage and ritual Told in Macfarlane s distinctive voice, The Old Ways folds together natural history, cartography, geology, archaeology and literature His walks take him from the chalk downs of England to the bird islands of the Scottish northwest, from Palestine to the sacred landscapes of Spain and the Himalayas Along the way he crosses paths with walkers of many kinds wanderers, pilgrims, guides, and artists Above all this is a book about walking as a journey inward and the subtle ways we are shaped by the landscapes through which we move Macfarlane discovers that paths offer not just a means of traversing space, but of feeling, knowing, and thinking. Best Read Books The Old Ways Author Robert Macfarlane – kino-fada.fr I didn t enjoy this book at all I thought it was as boring as it was well written Walking isn t a subject that interests me much, but the location and history of the walks does There was too much about the minutae of the walks long lists of every kind of plant and a thesaurusful of synonyms The author is in love with words for words sake I m not, I like the words to go somewhere, and these didn t for me.Written whilst reading the book view spoiler I m listening to the BBC abridged book, I didn t enjoy this book at all I thought it was as boring as it was well written Walking isn t a subject that interests me much, but the location and history of the walks does There was too much about the minutae of the walks long lists of every kind of plant and a thesaurusful of synonyms The author is in love with words for words sake I m not, I like the words to go somewhere, and these didn t for me.Written whilst reading the book view spoiler I m listening to the BBC abridged book, ...This one really hit the sweet spot for me It gets you tuned into walking journeys all over the U.K with side trips in Spain, Palestine, and Tibet Lyrical presentations of the author s sensory experiences with the geography and the flora and fauna are harnessed as a gateway to history of the particular paths he took and the inspired outlooks of people who have thought deeply about the affinity of the human mind and civilization to walking in general and connectedness to the land I have long be This one really hit the sweet spot for me It gets you tuned into walking journeys all over the U.K with side trips in Spain, Palestine, and Tibet Lyrical presentations of the author s sensory experiences with the geography and the flora and fauna are harnessed as a gateway to history of the particular paths he took and the inspired outlooks of people who have thought deeply about the affinity of the human mind and civilization to walking in general and connectedness to the land I have long been fascinated by how people understand themselves using landscape, by the topographies of self we carry within us and by the maps we make with whi...We picked the path up at the edge of the cloud cover that day, she said, and then we stepped into the mist under the mountain and the rest of the world was lost Robert MacFarlane is a Cambridge professor of modern English literature However, he happens to be much better known for his secondary profession his travel writing on the interactions between landscapes and human personalities He is interested in how we are affected by the landscapes that we travel in and, evensohow peoWe picked the path up at the edge of the cloud cover that day, she said, and then we stepped into the mist under the mountain and the rest of the world was lost Robert MacFarlane is a Cambridge professor of modern English literature However, he happens to be much better known for his secondary profession his travel writing on the interactions between landscapes and human personalities He is interested in how we are affe...What I like about this is that it helps me to see the land and the biosphere, feel the land and its life in my body, to relate myself to the land, even in memory, and in the future As Naomi Klein puts it in This Changes Everything Capitalism vs The Climate, love will save this place And for many of Robert s fellow British, who have been what Klein, again, calls rootless consumers for most of our lives, feeling connected to the land other than in a proprietorial or nationalistic way I gues What I like about this is that it helps me to see the land and the biosphere, feel the land a...To begin with I found this a disappointing read I expected to be impressed and enthralled I love mountains, I love walking, and I like erudite writing, but I found this a little difficult to get into The writing flows, but the contents don t always work I think this is because Macfarlane quotes from too many different sources, and it seems as if he is wanting to show you all the clever stuff he has read without saying anything himself If you find this I say persevere, because it settles do To begin with I found this a disappointing read I expected to be impressed and enthralled I love mountains, I love walking, and I like erudite writing, but I found this a little difficult to get into The writing flows, but the contents don t always work I think this is because Macfarlane quotes from too many different sources, and it seems as if he is wanting to show you all the clever stuff he has read without saying anything himself If you find this I say persevere, because it settles down and one or two pieces are excellent and moving espe...This was an interesting and well written book The author clearly love words and is frequently intoxicated by them.I enjoyed the first halfthan the second His familiarity with and attention to the details of the local is wonderful Later, when he travels Abroad and clearly does not have a feel for the terrain or its history, it was not so great And I could have done without the long biographical section on Thomas Just a passing comment, as this is not a concern of the book I found it a This was an interesting and well written book The author clearly love words and is frequently intoxicated by them.I enjoyed the first halfthan the second His familiarity with and attention to the details of the local is wonderful Later, when he travels Abroad and clearly does not have a feel for the terrain or its history, it was not so great And I could have done without the long biographical section on Thomas Just a passing comment, as this is not a concern of the book I found it a bit odd that someone so attached to the landscape would seemingly have so little concern for environmental destruction or the slaughter of animals Perhaps he didn t want to be political by venturing into that territory.Anyway somewhathighly recommended than my rating indicates If you are interested in walking, in premodern paths, or in British landscape you will probably enjoy reading at least a few chapters There isn t much of a progression,a meandering of thought, so no pressure to comp...My criteria for giving a book five stars is that during the day I think on what I ve read, and look forward to continuing my adventure with the author at the end of day and the writing must be good MacFarlane s writing is lyrical and masculine, too Maps You don t need maps he s not writing a guide book for you, but inviting you to come along with him over old and ancient paths Why would he recommend you walk the treacherous Broomway, where incoming tides over foggy quicksand have drowned h My criteria for giving a book five stars is that during the day I think on what I ve read, and look forward to continuing my adventure with the author at the end of day and the writing must be good MacFarlane s writing is lyrical and masculine, too Maps You don t need maps he s not writing a guide book for you, but inviting you to come along with him over old and ancient paths Why would he recommend you walk the treacherous Broomway, where incoming tides over foggy quicksand have drowned hundreds Simply walk beside him as he attempts it My favorite treks with him were through England and Scotland, as he relates history, anecdotes and the natural beauty surrounding him But Palestine and Tibet would have had me at the edge of my seat, if I hadn...MacFarlane has some poetry to his credit and it shows Of course this is not surprising, as he is a travel writer, and travel writers are all about description imagery, in other words They are our planes, trains, and automobiles, bound to get us there And, in this case, once there, McFarlane asks that we walk by his side and listen as he identifies the rocks, trees, birds, cloud types, and historical back stories These are the old ways, the foot paths the link, if you will, to our anc MacFarlane has some poetry to his credit and it shows Of course this is not surprising, as he is a travel writer, and travel writers are all about description imagery, in other words They are our planes, trains, and automobiles, bound to get us there And, in this case, once there, McFarlane asks that we walk by his side and listen as he identifies the rocks, trees, birds, cloud types, and historical back stories These are the old ways, the foot paths the link, if you will, to our ancestors.The book s...This is a wonderful book Superbly written, reflective, illuminating on connections between people, places, journeys and times A treasure.As Macfarlane himself wrote in the Author s note It tells the story of walking a thousand miles oralong the old ways in search of a route to the past, only to find myself delivered again and again to the contemporary p364.It is not just about walking, journeys on foot One...My hopes for this book were dampened by the heavy handed opening section, but when MacFarlane got to talking about his excursion on the Broomway, a tidal public right of way between the Essex coast and Foulness wonderful name , he had me He had me, that is, but then lost me again after fudging what seemed two promising but poorly accomplished sailing expeditions and unadvisedly taking seriously an artist friend who believes his masterpiece will involve implanting a human skeleton packed in My hopes for this boo...

• English
• 03 February 2017
Robert Macfarlane
• Hardcover
• 433 pages
• 0241143810
• Robert Macfarlane
• The Old Ways