Wonderful * * The Times * * Brilliant . . . Go on. Start walking. Get lost. Who knows what you'll find * * Guardian * * Rebecca Solnit is unquestionably one of the finest non-fiction writers of her generation. Possessed of eloquence and erudition in equal measure, her books have a wonderful capacity to lead the reader on unexpected and intriguing journeys ... As with Solnit's previous books, there is an emotional, even a polemical dimension to these ideas. It is a rare writer who can write so excitingly with both heart and head * * Scotsman * * Like Simon Schama, Solnit is a cultural historian in the desert-mystic mode, trailing ideas like swarms of butterflies * * Harper's Magazine * * Fascinating, inspiring and beautifully written -- George Monbiot Flawless scintillating prose, writing it is impossible not to admire * * Financial Times * * The book itself is a kind of wandering, and it is hard to say where we get to, but there are good things along the way. * * Sunday Times * * Radical, humane, witty, sometimes wonderfully dandyish, at other times, impassioned and serious -- Alain de Botton