The World Walk

For fans of Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild and Suleika Jaouad's Between Two Kingdoms, the invigorating true story of a man and his dog who circled the globe on foot.

“Gripping . . . A delightful companion for adventurers and dog lovers alike, The World Walk poignantly grapples with strength and vulnerability, love and loss, and unpacks what it really means to summon the will to keep going.” —Suleika Jaouad, New York Times bestselling author of Between Two Kingdoms

"Quietly stunning." —Laurie Woolever, New York Times bestselling author of World Travel with Anthony Bourdain and Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography

After the death of a close friend at seventeen, Tom Turcich resolved to make the most out of life; to travel and be forced into adventure; to experience and understand the world. On April 2nd, 2015, he set out to see it all—one step at a time.

The World Walk is the emotional and exhilarating story of the tenth person and first dog to walk around the world. Together, Turcich and his dog, Savannah, covered twenty-eight thousand miles over the course of seven years. Through deserts, jungles, cities, and mountains, Turcich meditated on what’s important in life and took lessons from cultures around the globe.

Rarely has there been a true-life tale of such scope. From sheltered suburbanite to world traveler, Turcich’s epic account runs the full gamut: He is held up at knifepoint in Panama and gunpoint in Turkey; wanders deep within himself in the deserts of Peru; watches a democracy fortify itself in Georgia; and takes it all in with his resolute companion by his side. His growth spans the most basic elements of surviving on the road—finding food, water, and safe places to camp—to humanity’s more noble aspirations, such as the benefits of democracy, the search for love, and the weighing of personal significance.

Accompanied by some of the author’s world-class photography, this tour de force of resilience and triumph of the human spirit will reaffirm to readers that the world is beautiful, people are good, and life should be a generous, vibrant adventure.