In Praise of Walking
The New Science of How We Walk and Why It’s Good for Us
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In Praise of Walking
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Narrated by:
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Laurence Dobiesz
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By:
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Shane O'Mara
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
Walking upright on two feet is a uniquely human skill. It defines us as a species.
It enabled us to walk out of Africa and to spread as far as Alaska and Australia. It freed our hands and freed our minds. We put one foot in front of the other without thinking – yet how many of us know how we do that, or appreciate the advantages it gives us? In this hymn to walking, neuroscientist Shane O’Mara invites us to marvel at the benefits it confers on our bodies and minds.
In Praise of Walking celebrates this miraculous ability. Incredibly, it is a skill that has its evolutionary origins millions of years ago, under the sea. And the latest research is only now revealing how the brain and nervous system performs the mechanical magic of balancing, navigating a crowded city, or running our inner GPS system.
Walking is good for our muscles and posture; it helps to protect and repair organs, and can slow or turn back the ageing of our brains. With our minds in motion we think more creatively, our mood improves and stress levels fall. Walking together to achieve a shared purpose is also a social glue that has contributed to our survival as a species.
As our lives become increasingly sedentary, we risk all this. We must start walking again, whether it’s up a mountain, down to the park, or simply to school and work. We, and our societies, will be better for it.
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What listeners say about In Praise of Walking
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael Walsh
- 21-05-20
What a good book
This book was a rather interesting route through the quotations of famous people linked with motivation of having a good walk and linked with some deep brain stuff. For this last part I had to place a marker so that I could go back to it and go through it again.
I really enjoyed the references to the historical people and places.
I like walking in any case but this book makes me feel like I have to do even more of it.
Thank you for such a pleasant read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 04-02-22
A kind evidence-based reminder
An amazing experience & journey! I totally recommend this book for every walking lover
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Karen
- 18-01-21
Droning
The narrators. Voice was like a drone-it’s was hard to stay focused on text.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 31-10-19
Walk encouraging
Nice scientific book. Walk encouraging. I love every precise detail in the book, starting from how we "as human" learn to walk to the effect of walking in many aspects of our life.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anthony Saville
- 28-01-20
Technical presentation of a crucial subject
Fascinating study of the importance of walking. If it didn't get the full 5, that was because the initial imaginative presentation of the what and why of human upright bipedal walking turned more and more into highly technical scientific experiments; he does not waste words, and I loved his precision, but at times it was too dense. I think some of the later material needed more reflection - ironically more walking and musing would have made it an easier listen. But a most important book: let us hope that at least some urban planners read it carefully.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gordon Murray
- 07-07-21
Interesting read on the benefits of a brisk walk
Listed to the audiobook version. It was a very interesting listen on the value of a good brisk walk!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 11-12-22
Listen whilst walking
If you want to get into walking this is worth a listen. I have a broader understanding of walking now.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- James McCarthy
- 15-08-19
Walk on
Listen to this friendly and informative audiobook while walking if you can. A good way to realise in real time the benefits of walking
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- TL
- 31-03-20
Some interesting points but heavily bulked out.
I was hoping for something like Matthew Walker's 'Why We Sleep' but for bipedal movement, instead a lot of the book was bulked out by such things as tips and opinions on walking around cities etc, such material really drags for me and becomes dry. This being said there is a good section on the biochemical effects of walking which I appreciated.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- mum
- 30-06-22
Not for me
Goes into too much detail about each study he mentions, sorry, not for me. I would have preferred if he cut back on the number of studies mentioned and just summarised their findings (which often weren't particularly interesting in my opinion). I guess I was after a more poetic book 'in praise of walking'.
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