Man on Wire

Man on Wire by Philippe Petit

I was nine years old when Philippe Petit walked across the twin towers on a tight rope on a misty August morning in 1974. I recall seeing a picture of the crossing in the newspaper the following day. It was unbelievable to me that someone would attempt such a thing and succeed (and survive).

Several years later I visited New York City and made my way down to the World Trade Center. Though I did not go inside, I remember going up to one of the towers, touching it, and looking up. The sheer height was stunning, and the architecture was something else. Just two tall towers, but something special in its simplicity. The buildings seemed to fit down there by the seaside, and seduced Philippe Petit to the point where he just had to walk across the sky from one tower to the other and back again for 45 minutes.

This book explores the years of preparation Philippe and his companions endured (this
performance was not sanctioned by anyone and totally illegal), and the chapters where he's actually on the wire are written so beautifully. There's a picture in the book of Philippe with a big smile on his face in the middle of the high wire. He wasn't going to fall on that day.

Pete