A rich and almost eerily timely book, Nat Segnit's exploration of the history and meaning of retreat maps copious research onto a vivid personal quest that reads at times like Eat Pray Love as written by David Foster Wallace -- William Fiennes, author of The Snow Geese

We typically live tangled in our busy routines. Segnit takes us on a delightful expedition into the ancient personal quest to decamp, relinquish, discover -- David Eagleman, neuroscientist at Stanford University, author of Livewired

To read this marvellous book is to be absorbed in Segnit's personal search for retreat, illuminated by science, erudition and art, and reminded of the grand retreat of a book that speaks to one of the fundamentals of life -- Zia Haider Rahman, author of In the Light of What We Know

This lovely book is a retreat in itself - into history, psychology, religion, individuals and the almost universal human desire to escape everyone, even one's self, every now and again. It persuades us, with an excellent mix of charm and erudition, that going in can be the real adventure -- Louisa Young, author of You Left Early: a True Story of Love and Alcohol

With a charming blend of sincerity and intellectual curiosity, Segnit leads us sure-footedly into the wilderness ... moving, even inspiring - Literary Review

Nat Segnit's investigations into the human impulse to withdraw took him to India, Greece, the US and the Arctic Circle, until unforeseen circumstances forced his own retreat, along with the rest of humanity. He has written for the New Yorker, Harper's, 1843 magazine and the TLS, and regularly writes and broadcasts for BBC Radio 4. Retreat is his second book.