‘A book of instructions to those who will dare one day the impossible. I bow my head in reverence’ Werner Herzog
‘Petit is an artist whose theatre is the sky’ Robin Williams
‘Fascinating. You will learn about the man, his work, his passion, his tenacity and lucidity’ Marcel Marceau
‘Petit outlines a whole approach to life. The lessons are simple, universal. Be committed. Feel alive. Give everything’ Independent
In cities you travel to, always remember to visit the highest monument. Remain at the top for many hours, looking into the void.
In this poetic handbook, written when he was just twenty-three, the world-famous high-wire artist Philippe Petit offers a window into the world of his craft. Petit masterfully explains how preparation and self-control contributed to such feats as walking between the towers of Notre Dame and the World Trade Center. Addressing such topics as the rigging of the wire, the walker’s first steps, his salute and exercises, and the work of other renowned high-wire artists, Petit offers us a book about the ecstasy of conquering our fears and reaching for the stars.
Translated and introduced by Paul Auster
A W&N Essential
‘Petit is an artist whose theatre is the sky’ Robin Williams
‘Fascinating. You will learn about the man, his work, his passion, his tenacity and lucidity’ Marcel Marceau
‘Petit outlines a whole approach to life. The lessons are simple, universal. Be committed. Feel alive. Give everything’ Independent
In cities you travel to, always remember to visit the highest monument. Remain at the top for many hours, looking into the void.
In this poetic handbook, written when he was just twenty-three, the world-famous high-wire artist Philippe Petit offers a window into the world of his craft. Petit masterfully explains how preparation and self-control contributed to such feats as walking between the towers of Notre Dame and the World Trade Center. Addressing such topics as the rigging of the wire, the walker’s first steps, his salute and exercises, and the work of other renowned high-wire artists, Petit offers us a book about the ecstasy of conquering our fears and reaching for the stars.
Translated and introduced by Paul Auster
A W&N Essential
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Reviews
Petit meditates on his calling, his prose aphoristic, gem-like. The book is about what he does, but it's also about what we all do, if there's anything we're obsessed with, or passionate about. He outlines a whole approach to life, and his vision is pure, primitive and poetic . . . The lessons are simple, universal. Be committed. Feel alive. Give everything
Philippe Petit is an artist whose theatre is the sky
A remarkable book . . . the high wire is an art of solitude, a way of coming to grips with one's life in the darkest, most secret corner of the self. When read carefully, the book is transformed into the story of a quest, an exemplary tale of one man's search for perfection. As such, it has more to do with the inner life than the high wire . . . anyone who has ever tried to do something well, anyone who has ever made personal sacrifices for an art or an idea, will have no trouble understanding what it is about
Fascinating. You will learn about the man, his work, his passion, his tenacity and lucidity
This is a book of instructions to those who will dare one day the impossible. It shows the art to fill and illuminate the Void, a void between two towers, two edges of a ravine, or two planets, or the space between heart and mind. A wire connects what would have been separated in loneliness forever. I salute you, Philippe, the Fragile Man of the Wire, the Emperor of the air. I bow my head in reverence
What sets Philippe in a class all his own is his restless quest to conquer the greatest physical heights, achieving a precise balance of chaos and creativity. He is an inspiration
