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The Amazing Story of the ‘Man on Wire’
by Reg Seeton
There are moments in all of our lives that we’ll remember forever. Whether it was knowing exactly where you were when the United States Men’s Hockey team defeated the Soviet Union’s Red Army team at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics, the day the Berlin Wall came down, seeing Neil Armstrong walk on the moon, watching Britney’s horrible performance on the MTV awards, or seeing Star Wars in the theater for the very first time in 1977, there are memories engraved in everyone’s mind that will last forever. Until recently, when I received a copy of the newly released book Man on Wire, one memory that I hadn’t thought of in a long time, perhaps two decades, is Frenchman Philippe Petite’s unbelievable high wire walk between the two World Trade Center towers back on August 7, 1974.
 I was a young kid at the time of the actual walk, but I’ve never forgotten how captivated I was by the news footage of an event so unbelievable that it still feels like it was performed on the fringes of reality whenever I see the images of Petit walking on a wire 110 stories above the street between the Twin Towers. It’s still hard to talk about the World Trade Center without thinking back to 2001, but the Twin Towers are brilliantly alive within Philippe Petit and Man on Wire. It’s inspirationally uplifting to look back at the early life of the towers and one of the most remarkable individual feats one human being has ever undertaken. After reading Petit’s story of how he planned and executed the unbelievable high wire walk in Man on Wire, the event still seems impossible. What’s even more astonishing is that Peitit made eight trips across the wire, at times lying down on his back, bending to one knee, and balancing on one leg. Still, it doesn’t seem possible. But it really happened and Philippe Petit lived to not only tell his story but to write about it for posterity as well.
To put the event into context, Man on Wire is the story of an artist, an expressionist, a magician, a daredevil, an actor, a rebel, and, by legal standards given New York City law, a criminal. From front to back, Man on Wire chronicles the high wire walk from the initial idea after reading about the construction of the Twin Towers in a French newspaper, Philippe’s quest to become a high wire artist, his travels and training in Australia, his move to New York City to become a street performer, his obsession with the Twin Towers, setting the high wire plan in motion, assembling his trusted team of friends, plotting a coup on the towers, going undercover to get access to the top of the world, the meticulous six-year mission, the actual walk itself, and the aftermath of being at “Death’s Door” with the New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.). As Petit explains, it was more dangerous to be ushered down the WTC steps by the police at breakneck speed than to perform the walk.
Although the walk itself lasted for about 45 minutes, it was a meticulously planned six-year mission to, in Petit’s own words, execute “the coup”. Man on Wire beams with Philippe’s passion and determination, but it also reveals how the death defying walk was also a result of a tight and trusted collaboration with Petit’s closest friends Jean-Louis and Annie, and several others. Strewn throughout the book are images of the actual blueprints of the Twin Towers, security sketches, original conceptual sketches, equipment, photos of the walk itself, and more. Petit leaves no stone unturned in revealing every aspect of how he pulled off his high wire coup.
 As unique as the walk itself, is the style in which Philippe Petit writes Man on Wire. Clearly penned by an artist, Petit’s accounts are often poetic and painterly expressionist, leaving many personal feelings of the events up for interpretation as if you’re staring into a work of art at one of Manhattan’s many galleries. The big question of what was going through his mind as he took the first steps and throughout the walk is written in such a unique and cerebral style that it takes you to a completely different, otherworldly place as a reader. And with a sense of extraordinary confidence, Petit writes, “ Do not provoke an eclipse, do not show up, do not shine! But watch closely. You’re not going to believe your zillion eyes.”
At the same time, however, Petit talks directly to historians and speaks of the walk in a way that sometimes feels as though he senses the magnitude of his accomplishments have been forgotten. And he’s completely justified in making sure that his accomplishment isn’t forgotten since it’s not only part of the history of the Twin Towers but one of the most amazing feats ever performed by a human being. Now a heartwarming, inspirational, and emotional documentary as well as a book, Man on Wire exemplifies how any human being can defy the odds and reach for the sky to fulfill their dreams. And with a warm tribute to the tragic fate of the Twin Towers and all of its victims on September 11, 2001, Petit reminds us that like his triumph back in 1974, we shall all overcome.
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