Synopses & Reviews
On August 7, 1974, Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between the New York World Trade Center's twin towers, where he performed for nearly an hour. During this history-making walk, and many others throughout his celebrated career, knots have always been indispensable components the guardian angels protecting his life in the sky.
After years of hands-on research, Philippe presents Why Knot?, a guide to tying his essential knots. Philippe's own practical sketches illustrate original methods and clear, clever tying instructions. Photographs in which special knots were used during spectacular high-wire walks, quirky knot trivia, personal anecdotes, helpful tips, magic tricks, and special tying challenges ensure that, if you're not already nuts for knots, Petit will transform you into a knot aficionado.
Review
In reading Philippe's book we are cogently reminded that without the ability to secure a rope, or tether a goat, or make fast the sheets of a galley, much of the civilization that we take for granted would disappear as easily as a slipknot in the hands of a Vegas conjuror.” Sting
Review
Philippe Petit is an artist of knots: We get taken and sprung free at the same time. This is a dynamic book, eclectic, fun, and practical. From Nabokov to the World Trade Center to improvised handcuffs! Wonderful.” Colum McCann
Review
Read this book and pop it in your pocket....One day it may save your life!” Melissa Leo
Review
This is not your normal book for Boy Scouts. This is for those with a sense of poetry the poetry and the mystery of the Bowline in the Bight, the Highwayman's Hitch, and the Monkey's Fist revealed to us by a man whose life depends on ropes and knots.” Werner Herzog
Review
Petit's distinct and deeply insightful philosophy through the guise of mere knots forever binds us to surprising new joys.” Elizabeth Streb
Review
The book describes, among other things, the kind of knots that held fast when was high up without a net the locked constrictor he used at the trade center, the farmers loop he fastened to the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia in 1973, the jug sling he cast before he walked between Avery Fisher Hall and what was then the New York State Theater in Lincoln Center in 1987.” The New York Times
Review
Petit's illustrated guide to some of his favorites, like the slipped clove hitch he used to anchor the wire on which he walked across New York's Grand Central Terminal....[He] carried a length of rope in his pocket in order to perform tricks at a moments notice. The book comes equipped with a section of cord so readers can do the same.” Wired
Synopsis
On August 7, 1974, Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between the New York World Trade Center s twin towers, where he performed for nearly an hour. The death-defiying event has been the subect of two major films, the documentary Man on Wire (2008) and The Walk (2015) staring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. During this history-making walk, and many others throughout his celebrated career, knots have always been indispensable components the guardian angels protecting his life in the sky.
After years of hands-on research, Philippe presents Why Knot?, a guide to tying his essential knots. Philippe s own practical sketches illustrate original methods and clear, clever tying instructions. Photographs in which special knots were used during spectacular high-wire walks, quirky knot trivia, personal anecdotes, helpful tips, magic tricks, and special tying challenges ensure that, if you re not already nuts for knots, Petit will transform you into a knot aficionado."
About the Author
Philippe Petit has been artist-in-residence of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine for more than 30 years and has performed on the high wire more than 80 times around the world. He also street juggles, lectures, and practices magic. He is the author of several books, including To Reach the Clouds (Man on Wire). In 2011, he performed his one-man show Wireless!, and in 2012, he was selected as a TED speaker, and he recently finished Cheating the Impossible, the first TED multimedia book. He lives in New York.