I salute you, Philippe, the Fragile Man of the Wire, the Emperor of the Air. Like Fitzcarraldo you are one of the ever so rare and wondrous men: a Conquistador of the Useless. I bow my head in reverence.
— Werner Herzog
“On the High Wire is fascinating to read. You will learn about the man, his work, his passion, his tenacity and lucidity” (Marcel Marceau)
In this poetic handbook, written when he was just twenty-three, the world-famous high-wire artist Philippe Petit offers a window into the world of his craft. Petit masterfully explains how preparation and self-control contributed to such feats as walking between the towers of Notre Dame and the World Trade Center. Addressing such topics as the rigging of the wire, the walker’s first steps, his salute and exercises, and the work of other renowned high-wire artists, Petit offers us a book about the ecstasy of conquering our fears and reaching for the stars.
I salute you, Philippe, the Fragile Man of the Wire, the Emperor of the Air. Like Fitzcarraldo you are one of the ever so rare and wondrous men: a Conquistador of the Useless. I bow my head in reverence.
— Werner Herzog
In the hand it feels like a guidebook and reads like a dream diary. The book is both of those things.
— Michigan Quarterly Review
An inspiration to all who dare to dream of the seemingly impossible.
— Mikhail Baryshnikov
Philippe Petit is an artist whose theater is the sky.