In books such as "The Complete Walker" and "The Man Who Walked Through Time," Colin Fletcher has established a reputation as a literate and witty apostle of roughing it. His newest book is a highly personal celebration of solitary backpacking (and day walking, too), in the wild places of the world, and of all the attendant pleasures: of finding a foothold in difficult terrain, of catching a glimpse of an unsuspecting coyote, of healing the wounds that civilization inevitably inflicts on human nature --of simply "mucking about." Overflowing with fresh descriptions of nature and with the wisdom of a curmudgeonly Thoreau, this book is a must for backpackers and all unconstrained spirits.