12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One mans' extrordinary walk around the world, November 5, 1997
By A Customer
This is one of my most favorite books - Mr. Newmans' writing of his trip through Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia made me want to chuck everything and go along
with him! His indominable spirit and enthusiasm to see and experience what the world
has to offer is a clarion call to one and all that our world, with all of its' problems,
is a wonderous place, filled with fantastic people. Every time I read and re-read it, I want to
make the same journey, and, in reading it, I do!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
DON'T PUT OFF READING THIS FOR AS LONG AS I DID!, June 8, 2008
This work has been around for a few years now and is one of those I kept meaning to read, but never seemed to get around to it. Thanks to an Amazon Friend who read my "wish list," I received this one on my birthday...Thanks Terry! Anyway, as I suspected, I have missed out on a great read for all of these years.
Worldwalk by Steven M. Newman is the true story of a young man, who at the age of 28, left his front door on a small town in Ohio, and walked around the world alone. This was not one of those walks with a gigantic support team or financed by some company or cause. This was a walk undertaken by a guy who wanted to see the world, to meet its people, who lived simply off the charity of others for the most part, and who sincerely wanted to learn. It is actually more of a pilgrimage that a journey. While it is certainly an adventure of the highest sort, it is so much more.
To begin with, this is one very lucky young guy. I have been to many of the places he walked, alone, with no support, no guide no special language skills and no special help. I on the other hand, was usually with people, heavily armed people, as I was myself, and I was still fearful many times. There is absolutely no reason that he should not have been killed a dozen times over, either through exposure, accidents or human intervention, i.e. robbery or murder. His journey began in Ohio, on April 1, 1983 where he walked east. He, in his travels passed though Scotland, Ireland, England, France, Spain, several countries in North Africa, Turkey, Greece, some of the Balkans, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Australia and the Western United States. He actually crossed around twenty countries. Steven Newman gives us a first hand account of the country, and more importantly profiles of the hundreds of people he met on his journey.
This is a very inspirational book. Newman pretty well proves his beginning belief, that is, that people all over the world are a pretty nice lot, and that despite cultural differences, religious differences, races, creeds, histories, and we are all pretty much the same. Most of us are down right good and a few of us are bad.
The author has told of his four year journey through simple prose, almost always upbeat, almost always realistic. I feel the author was a bit naïve at times, but perhaps that was an advantage and perhaps that is one of the things that allowed him to complete this spectacular journey. I was quite struck with the author's faith, not only in his God, but in the goodness of mankind...a rare thing these days.
I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of the various individuals the writer encountered on his journey, and the record of the conversations he had with these individuals. I also enjoyed his description of the physical challenges he faced on a daily basis. This was truly inspiring.
Now this walk took place over twenty years ago and you would think that some, or most, of the material might be a bit dated. Not so! I suppose the one part of the book that did discourage me some what is that not all that much has changes in those twenty years, and if anything, things have gotten a bit worse. Still good people, but, as usual, poor governments. This is a very enjoy able read and I do highly recommend it. It is one of those books that you will hate to put down.
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