Where is Ottawa’s oldest street? Which 20th-century architect designed much of the Glebe? In which Ottawa neighbourhood can you find Nanny Goat Hill, the civic address of the former Grads Tavern, and a Franciscan seminary? Take a history walk with author, musician, and journalist Phil Jenkins to find the answers. Along the way get an almost block-by-block re-telling of Ottawa’s history. Curated from a quarter-century of columns written for the Ottawa Citizen, As I Walked About is Jenkins fifth non-fiction book, and a worthy successor in tone and spirit to his previous bestsellers Fields of Vision, An Acre of Time, and River Song. This book is a loving tribute to a city that begins with an epigraph: A city is a book we learn to read by walking it. When readers have finished the rollicking, foot-trip stories inside As I Walked About, they will indeed have learned much about Ottawa. And thanks to Jenkins -- their curious and irreverent fellow walker and tour guide -- they will have chuckled and stared in amazement for much of the journey.
