The star of MAN ON WIRE offers a meditation on the ecstasy of conquering our fears and reaching for the stars, translated and introduced by Paul Auster

TRANSLATED AND INTRODUCED BY PAUL AUSTER

In cities you travel to, always remember to visit the highest monument. Remain at the top for many hours, looking into the void.

In this poetic handbook, written when he was just twenty-three, the world-famous high-wire artist Philippe Petit offers a window into the world of his craft. Petit masterfully explains how preparation and self-control contributed to such feats as walking between the towers of Notre Dame and the World Trade Center. Addressing such topics as the rigging of the wire, the walker's first steps, his salute and exercises, and the work of other renowned high-wire artists, Petit offers us a book about the ecstasy of conquering our fears and reaching for the stars. A W&N Essential