The Longest Walk: An Odyssey of the Human Spirit

Mr. Meegans feat, (and feet) is/are simply unreal. Next time your kid wants a ride somewhere local. Hand him or her this book. I particularly liked his entries for what he experienced in Honduras. After experiencing what sounds like a complete mental breakdwon in a church basement in Tegucigalpa, he gets up in the morning and starts walking again. Keep on truckin Meegan! You rule, sir.

George Meegan writes about his walk through Latin America and north, a walk during which he had almost no financial support. He gives the reader an insight into the remote rural communities he traveled through and the hospitality of people he met along the way. George's adventures on the road, visited and cheered on by his young wife and small children visiting from their home in Japan, and his determination to walk through a gamut of different types of weather and walking conditions to his goal in Canada, make for great reading!

Too bad it is out of print. I read this years ago and it still haunts my memory as clear as yesterday. Not only is the journey remarkable, but the author is very down to earth and likeable. This is a story of setting a goal and sticking to it to the end.

I really enjoyed this book. I can relate with the author about many of the personal experiences that he came across in his long journey. George Meegan must be a very deep person in his method of handling the situations that he encountered. On his trip of 7 years, he managed to get married,and father children without totally breaking his mileage countings, however, this is not the main plot of the book. He brought out the warmth of these little known and studied peoples of Latin America and showed the world that these people are really generous and kind, other than what the media makes them out to be. I can relate with one particular experience he had in Mexico that struck me deeply. Anyway, I recommend this book to anyone that may enjoy an adventure of the human spirit. It makes for good reading.

'The Longest Walk' is an amazing story about the author, George Meegan, who begins walking from the tip of South America, at Ushuaia, and ends up at Pruhoe Bay, at the North Pole. Journeying with him is also his Japanese wife, Yoshiko, and his two children who the have along the way, there names translated meaning: Don't Stop, and Keep Walking. I thoroughly enjoyed this book for many reasons. Meegan gives excellent descriptions of the people and places he meets, and gives insight that is not seen on the surface. I would reccommend this book for anyone who has dreams they want to come true, and also for those who like to read about travel. A great read, no matter how hard it is to find!