“An intriguing amalgam of personal memoir, philosophical speculation, natural lore, cultural history, and art criticism.” —
Los Angeles Times
From the award-winning author of
Orwell's Roses
, a
stimulating exploration of wandering, being lost, and the uses of the unknown
Written as a series of autobiographical essays,
A Field Guide to Getting Lost
draws on emblematic moments and relationships in Rebecca Solnit's life to explore issues of uncertainty, trust, loss, memory, desire, and place. Solnit is interested in the stories we use to navigate our way through the world, and the places we traverse, from wilderness to cities, in finding ourselves, or losing ourselves. While deeply personal, her own stories link up to larger stories, from captivity narratives of early Americans to the use of the color blue in Renaissance painting, not to mention encounters with tortoises, monks, punk rockers, mountains, deserts, and the movie
Vertigo
. The result is a distinctive, stimulating voyage of discovery.