What sets Philippe in a class all his own is his restless quest to conquer the greatest physical heights, achieving a precise balance of chaos and creativity. He is an inspiration.--Mikhail Baryshnikov
Philippe Petit is an artist whose theater is the sky.--Robin Williams
This is a book of instructions to those who will dare one day the impossible. It shows the art to fill and illuminate the Void, a void between two towers, two edges of a ravine, or two planets, or the space between heart and mind. A wire connects what would have been separated in loneliness forever. 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"
What most recommends On the High Wire is the voice of its author. Petit's style, true to his title of the Magician of High Altitudes, captivates.--Zach Davidson "The Brooklyn Rail"