'It is good to collect things, but better to go on walks. ' Anatole France. A fundamental act, often taken for granted, yet through the centuries it has inspired a fascinating literature. This, the first comprehensive anthology on the subject, delves into why we walk and how we walk; the differences between the country hike and the city stroll; walking and wooing; walking into trouble and marching out. Then some of us will walk to meet the Maker. A mix of fiction and non-fiction, poetry and drama provides the reader with over two hundred booted authors. Xenophone and Baudelaire, Flora Thompson and Julian Barnes, Mark Twain and Roberto Calasso tramp the pages of this fascinating collection.

Duncan Minshull is a senior producer at BBC Radio. He is editor ofTelling StoriesVols 1-4,FanfareandThe Burning Leg. He has written extensively about walking for newspapers and magazines. He lives in London.