The Verge Wire · Story 2

On Trails is a wandering tale that blends hiking, science, and history

Robert Moor’s book *On Trails* examines how paths — both physical trails and conceptual ones like the internet — connect hiking, science, history, and human systems. The book spans topics from ant trails to colonization to modern digital networks.

The book offers a unified look at how routes shape nature, society, and technology, making it relevant for readers interested in systems thinking, environmental history, or the intersection of technology and human movement.

Key details

• The book is written by Robert Moor.
• It blends hiking narrative with science, history, and cultural analysis.
• Topics range from animal trails (ants) to human colonization to the internet.

Discussion angles

• How the book connects physical trails (hiking) to conceptual trails (internet infrastructure).
• Whether the wide scope — from ants to colonization — is cohesive or too diffuse.
• The relevance of trail-based thinking for understanding how ideas, data, and people move through systems.
• The book’s treatment of colonialism as a kind of trail-making and its implications.