On Trails

 
　　阿帕拉契山徑的一趟健行，如何引領他踏入眾多知識領域的祕境，窺見「路」教給我們的智慧？
 
 
　　路，從何而來？為什麼有些路與時俱進，有些日漸凋零？
　　是什麼讓我們走既有的路？又是什麼，讓我們開創新徑？

　　摩爾在阿帕拉契山徑健行途中，看著腳下的路不斷往後退去，心中生起這些疑問。在接下來的七年，他走訪各種地形、探訪各界專家，向他們請教漫長道路歷史中的各項關鍵要素，並投身體驗。

　　．他造訪紐芬蘭島，探訪地球上最古老動物留下的移跡化石，希望揭曉「動物最初為什麼開始移動」，從而解答：遠古異世界如何轉變成今日的大自然？

　　・他調查單細胞生物乃至螞蟻和天幕毛蟲等昆蟲的研究，搞清楚這些生物如何藉由打造道路網絡，來彼此溝通，進而提升群體行動的智慧。

　　・他藉由實際觀察、放牧和打獵，跟隨大象、綿羊、鹿等的腳步，了解牠們的行動模式，以及人類對牠們的獵捕、圈養與研究如何形塑人類自身的發展。

　　・他探究古代人類社會如何利用步道網連接地貌連，這些步道又如何跟語言、傳說和記憶等文化絲線緊密交織。

　　・他追溯到歐洲人最初殖民美洲的年代，探尋阿帕拉契山徑與其他現代山徑的曲折起源，並探究這類「非我」世界為何深深吸引著現代人。

　　・他從現代交通系統與通訊網絡如何取法古道，到國際阿帕拉契山徑的概念提出與進展，探討我們對於與土地、與他人之連結的需求與困惑。

　　這本書是累積多年研究與長途行走的成果，結合作者的冒險與科學、歷史和哲學等面向的紀錄，深入探索路如何幫助我們理解周遭世界。（各章內容提要可參見「目錄的引文」）

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　　本文取自行路出版《路：行跡的探索》

　　“The best outdoors book of the year” (Sierra Club), from a debut talent who’s been compared to Annie Dillard, Edward Abbey, David Quammen, and Jared Diamond. On Trails is a wondrous exploration of how trails help us understand the world—from invisible ant trails to hiking paths that span continents, from interstate highways to the Internet.

　　In 2009, while thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, Robert Moor began to wonder about the paths that lie beneath our feet: How do they form? Why do some improve over time while others fade? What makes us follow or strike off on our own? Over the course of the next seven years, Moor traveled the globe, exploring trails of all kinds. He learned the tricks of master trail-builders, hunted down long-lost Cherokee trails, and traced the origins of our road networks and the Internet. In each chapter, Moor interweaves his adventures with findings from science, history, philosophy, and nature writing.

　　Throughout, Moor reveals how this single topic—the oft-overlooked trail—sheds new light on a wealth of age-old questions: How does order emerge out of chaos? How did animals first crawl forth from the seas and spread across continents? How has humanity’s relationship with nature and technology shaped the world around us? And, ultimately, how does each of us pick a path through life? With a breathtaking arc that spans from the dawn of animal life to the digital era, the whole of On Trails allows us see our world, our history, our species, and our ways of life anew.

　　On Trails has been described as “stunning” and “wondrous” (Departures), “a wanderer’s dream” (The Economist), and “a deeply thoughtful human meditation on how we walk through life” (The Boston Globe). Moor is “a philosopher on foot” (The Wall Street Journal) and “a sagacious walker and writer, [guiding] us on a new journey of discovery, a different kind of road trip about roads themselves and what they mean” (Kirkus Reviews).