On August 7, 1974, with the help of a few accomplices, an optimistic, puckish young Frenchman named Phillipe Petit strung a tightrope wire across the 200-foot gap between the World Trade Centre buildings and spent 45 euphoric minutes “dialoguing with the sky”—almost half a kilometre above the ground—until forced to stop by the police who threatened that he would be plucked off the wire by helicopter.Continue...