Ocean State Libraries

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • Colum McCann’s beloved novel inspired by Philippe Petit’s daring high-wire stunt, which is also depicted in the film The Walk starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt
In the dawning light of a late-summer morning, the people of lower Manhattan stand hushed, staring up in disbelief at the Twin Towers. It is August 1974, and a mysterious tightrope walker is running, dancing, leaping between...

In 1974, 100,000 people on the ground watched 24-year-old high wire artist Petit make eight crossings between the World Trade Towers. In this visually and verbally stunning book, Petit tells for the first time the story of his walk, from conception and clandestine planning to the performance and its aftermath. 140 illustrations.

This is Philippe Petit's direct account of his walk across a high wire rigged between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York in the summer of 1974. The 140 drawings and photographs are by Petit and his comrades and they give readers an idea of just how audacious a feat it was. The way in which the walk itself stopped traffic and galvanized the city is captured in Petit's descriptions and black and white photos (including Petit's notebook...

A lyrical evocation of Philippe Petit's 1974 tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers.