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    Why Knot?: How to Tie More than Sixty Ingenious, Useful, Beautiful, Lifesaving, and Secure Knots!
    Why Knot?: How to Tie More than Sixty Ingenious, Useful, Beautiful, Lifesaving, and Secure Knots!
    Why Knot?: How to Tie More than Sixty Ingenious, Useful, Beautiful, Lifesaving, and Secure Knots!
    Ebook184 pages19 hours

    Why Knot?: How to Tie More than Sixty Ingenious, Useful, Beautiful, Lifesaving, and Secure Knots!

    By Philippe Petit

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    “Mr. Petit is the perfect teacher” in this fascinating, educational volume on knot-tying—an art and science that has held civilization together (The Wall Street Journal).
     
    Philippe Petit is known for his astounding feat of daring when, on August 7, 1974, he stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between the World Trade Center’s twin towers in New York City. But beyond his balance, courage, and showmanship, there was one thing Petit had to be absolutely certain of—his knots. Without the confidence that his knots would hold, he never would have left the ground. In fact, while most of us don’t think about them beyond tying our shoelaces, the humble knot is crucial in countless contexts, from sailing to sports to industrial safety to art, agriculture, and more.
     
    In this truly unique book, Petit offers a guide to tying over sixty of his essential knots, with practical sketches illustrating his methods and clear tying instructions. Filled with photos in which special knots were used during spectacular high-wire walks, quirky knot trivia, personal anecdotes, helpful tips, magic tricks, and special tying challenges, Why Knot? will entertain and educate readers of all ages.
     
    “In reading Philippe’s book we are cogently reminded that without the ability to secure a rope, or tether a goat, or make fast the sheets of a galley, much of the civilization that we take for granted would disappear as easily as a slipknot in the hands of a Vegas conjuror.” —Sting, musician and activist
     
    “His descriptions are clear, he deploys humor frequently and he makes his points with anecdotes that are colorful and memorable. Explaining the purpose and creation of knots and thanks to those flawless drawings Mr. Petit earns perfect marks.” —The Wall Street Journal
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherABRAMS
    Release dateApr 9, 2013
    ISBN9781613124680
    Why Knot?: How to Tie More than Sixty Ingenious, Useful, Beautiful, Lifesaving, and Secure Knots!
    Author

    Philippe Petit

    Philippe Petit is a world-renowned high wire artist who has performed all over the world. He lives in the Catskills and New York City, where he is artist-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

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    • 5/5
      Why Knot is a very interesting book for anyone that has ever tied a knot. Isn't that all of us? I suppose almost everybody can tie a square knot and a bowline. If this is your limit, this book is for you. The book is well illustrated and annotated on how to tie knots and which knot to use. But in addition Philippe includes anecdotes and stories that put the book well beyond a simple reference.
    • 4/5
      Very interesting - I like knots and knotting, and this has a lot of knots usefully presented, with the what and why to use as well as how to tie. There are some problems with the ebook formatting - some images which are supposed to be little circled numbers to correspond with instruction steps are huge, and overlay words; in some places, words are missing (possibly run off the side of the screen) after a tangle with these images. More importantly, there are a lot of knots here, and just reading through the book they all run together in my memory. I'll need to go back and check them over and over - and that's relatively difficult to do in an ebook. Not impossible, but difficult - searching and bookmarking the interesting ones will take some time. But it will be worth doing, I think - next time I pick it up I'll have some cord handy to try the knots. The stories are mildly interesting, and frequently serve to explain exactly why this knot works in this situation.

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    Why Knot? - Philippe Petit

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