On the High Wire

This is a book of instructions to those who will dare one day the impossible. It shows the art to fill and illuminate the Void, a void between two towers, two edges of a ravine, or two planets, or the space between heart and mind. A wire connects what would have been separated in loneliness forever. I salute you, Philippe, the Fragile Man of the Wire, the Emperor of the air. I bow my head in reverence -- WERNER HERZOG Petit meditates on his calling, his prose aphoristic, gem-like. The book is about what he does, but it's also about what we all do, if there's anything we're obsessed with, or passionate about. He outlines a whole approach to life, and his vision is pure, primitive and poetic . . . The lessons are simple, universal. Be committed. Feel alive. Give everything * INDEPENDENT * Fascinating. You will learn about the man, his work, his passion, his tenacity and lucidity -- MARCEL MARCEAU Philippe Petit is an artist whose theatre is the sky -- ROBIN WILLIAMS A remarkable book . . . the high wire is an art of solitude, a way of coming to grips with one's life in the darkest, most secret corner of the self. When read carefully, the book is transformed into the story of a quest, an exemplary tale of one man's search for perfection. As such, it has more to do with the inner life than the high wire . . . anyone who has ever tried to do something well, anyone who has ever made personal sacrifices for an art or an idea, will have no trouble understanding what it is about -- PAUL AUSTER, from the Introduction What sets Philippe in a class all his own is his restless quest to conquer the greatest physical heights, achieving a precise balance of chaos and creativity. He is an inspiration -- MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV