A few years ago, I began rediscovering my hometown of Denver as I walked neighborhoods and revisited landmarks of the city that I had not seen since I was a kid. Essential Denver highlights the fabulous things the city offers from my perspective as a Denver native. I encourage readers to explore Denver, plan outings, and become involved in the community. I hope this Denver book list sparks more interest in landmarks, treasures, and the history of Denver to ensure the cityâs future is strong and vital.
I had fun learning more about Denver by walking. I decided to take 32 different friends or family members on the 32 different walks outlined in the book. It was a great way to spend time outdoors in conversation and exploration. It is fabulous if you are new to Denver or if you want to rediscover the city where you have lived for a long time.
Get to Know Denverâs Most Vibrant and Historic Neighborhoods
People come to Denver for the nearby mountains and spectacular natural beauty, the outdoor lifestyle and mild climate with abundant sunshine. They also discover a city thatâs ideal for exploring on foot. Become an urban adventurer! Mindy Sink guides you through 32 unique walking tours in this comprehensive guide to the best sights and sites that Denver has to offerâwith insider advice on where to dine, have a drink, and shop. Enjoy routes that showcase diverse neighborhoods and spectacular natural beauty, all in one of Americaâs most walkable cities. Discover DenverâsâŚ
I teach literature, Labor Studies, and writing at San Diego City College and have written three San Diego-based novels: Drift, Flash, and Last Days in Ocean Beach, along with Under the Perfect Sun: The San Diego Tourists Never See, a radical history of San Diego that I co-wrote with Mike Davis and Kelly Mayhew. Both as a writer and as a daily wanderer on the streets of San Diego, I have a passion for the psychogeography of the city space and a deep curiosity for and love of the people I encounter there.
This book really got to me because it offers a rich and quixotic history of walking that encompasses the Romantics, the French flaneurs, and a host of other wanderers. In her chapter on San Francisco, Solnit re-maps the space of her home city in a way that outlines her own rediscovery and gave me new eyes to see a place that I love.
A passionate, thought provoking exploration of walking as a political and cultural activity, from the author of the memoir Recollections of My Nonexistence
Drawing together many histories--of anatomical evolution and city design, of treadmills and labyrinths, of walking clubs and sexual mores--Rebecca Solnit creates a fascinating portrait of the range of possibilities presented by walking. Arguing that the history of walking includes walking for pleasure as well as for political, aesthetic, and social meaning, Solnit focuses on the walkers whose everyday and extreme acts have shaped our culture, from philosophers to poets to mountaineers. She profiles some of the mostâŚ
Keith Foskett has hiked around 15,000 miles on classic hiking trails including the Pacific Crest Trail, El Camino de Santiago, and the Appalachian Trail. He has written four books, and contributes to various outdoor publications. Having once been described as an anomaly (it was apparently a compliment), he now divides his time between walking, cycling, and delving into the merits of woollen underwear.
I followed Nickâs adventures from a young age, and heâs partially responsible for my wanderlust. I learned I didnât have to conform to societyâs expectations, that is was OK to follow my dreams, and to pursue what I wanted from life, not what others wanted for me. Nickâs book takes him on an epic hike across Europe, including walking through winter. He is a master storyteller.
This is the story of a journey of 10,000 kilometres across Europe from the Atlantic coast of Spain to Istanbul. Nick Crane completed this adventure entirely on foot. It took him 17 months crossing Europe's uplands from the Cantabrian mountains of Spain via the Alps and the Carpathians to the Balkans and finally the Black Sea. His aim was to find for himself Europe's last mountain wildernesses and to record the lives of its people living at the periphery of the modern world. The journey was also to become a test of his own physical and mental determination. Most ofâŚ
