In books such as The Complete Walker and The Man Who Walked Through Time, Colin Fletcher has established a reputation as a literate and witty apostle of roughing it. His newest book is a highly personal celebration of solitary backpacking (and day walking, too), in the wild places of the world, and of all the attendant pleasures: of finding a foothold in difficult terrain, of catching a glimpse of an unsuspecting coyote, of healing the wounds that civilization inevitably inflicts on human nature —of simply "mucking about." Overflowing with fresh descriptions of nature and with the wisdom of a curmudgeonly Thoreau, this book is a must for backpackers and all unconstrained spirits.