Athletics Books

Michael Lewis has done it again, presenting an overview of the evolution within a sport, while providing insightful social commentary within the context of a captivating story.

Like in Moneyball, Lewis tracks the evolution of a major sport within the course of a generation; and like Friday Night Lights (by Buzz Bissinger), the social commentary about the role of sports, the values of our society, and the impact of race/wealth/privilege are presented through a heartful mosaic of incidents. I was especially impressed by the way this story highlights how unequal access to "the system" can be for kids growing up in different backgrounds (not a huge surprise), but what a case study!

I couldn't put the book down and finished at 4 am. I will concur with a previous reviewer who felt a little bamboozled by the disclosure in the afterword about Lewis's relationship with the Tuohys. On the face of it, it seems like there should have been disclosure BEFORE reading the book - allowing the reader to make of it what he would.

One of the best sports books I have ever read. I enjoyed MoneyBall but could not put down this book. Fascinating.

Michael Lewis does it again: this time running two wonderful stories in parallel - that of a virtually-orphaned African-American child taken in by a wealthy white family that resoundingly points to nurture rather than nature as a determinant of success; and that of the revolutions in modern football that led to a reliance on the passing game. The reasoning and argumentation behind both of these stories is economic, and as always, Lewis writes with a flair and an ear for dramatization that makes what are sophisticated arguments into a compelling read - believe the story is actually being made into a movie. Terrific page turner.

This is an outstanding book. Tells a story about a great young man and a great family that overcome a lot together. Fascinating as a sports story, a social commentary, inspirational to anyone who wonders if he can make a difference. And the best part is it's all true. A real page turner, more exciting than any novel.

This book is different from Lewis last few books in that sports takes a back seat to the human element.

Lewis's theme in this book is that when a person is given an honest shot to succeed, then more often than not, that person will succeed. Michael Oher is functionally illiterate and almost incapable of learning when he enters high school. Through the availability of resources provided by Sean and Leann Tuohy, Michael Oher is able to graduate in time and play football at Ole Miss. I felt that Lewis glossed over a lot of the difficulties that Michael must have faced while he was studying. Lewis instead gives us anecdotes that show how Michael Oher is a fish out of water. He does prove his hypothesis that an underprivileged kid can succeed simply by being given love and opportunity.

The book also shows the extreme divide between rich and poor in this country. While Oher was in the projects, no one cared whether he went to school. He spent his days playing basketball and hanging out. When Oher started attending high school in the rich part of Memphis, he was instantly thrust into an environment of privilege. Even when Oher is not living with the Tuohys, he is getting much more of an education than he would otherwise. The most stark example of this divide is that Oher's tutor is a teacher who used to teach in the Memphis Public Schools. Although it is never said, one can imagine she makes close to or more than what she made as a public school teacher tutoring Michael Oher. Lewis does a good job in showing the inequality that still exists between the resources of the rich and the poor.

Finally, the pageantry and politics in big time college football recruiting, Given the recent scandals involving Bobby Petrino and Nick Saban, the reader can see the slimy way these coaches lure young kids to play for their programs. Beginning in his junior year, Oher gets hundreds of letters a week. Coaches are at all of his practices. Oher's high school coach tries to get his by making an assistant coaching job for himself a de facto prerequisite for Oher attending the University of Tennessee. College recruiting comes off as dishonest and unethical.

As usual, Lewis has done a good job of mixing society and sport into an enjoyable narrative.

All I wanted was to learn how to properly stretch to increase my flexibility and to prevent injuries. This book not only did that, but it hammered home the message that you shouldn't compare your flexibility to that of others, and that stretching has a multitude of practical benefits, besides flexibility. This is not a book for extremists trying to do the splits on two folding chairs with a child perched on their shoulders. I've never been able to touch my toes, but this book has shown me what stretches to do to get my hamstrings more limber and it's also shown me that stretching is beneficial in many more ways than just flexibility.

I recently purchased the book "Stretching" by Bob Anderson. It is great a book for any one that has back problems, sore hamstrings or that just needs to stretch the body from soreness. It is extremely informative and easy to follow.

For anyone in the healthcare profession(s), this is a must for getting clients into proper home care or self care, as well as anyone wanting to improve their own range of motion and flexibility

This book has great drawings of showing you the correct and incorrect ways of doing the different stretches. I only wish this version (20th anniversary) was put in a spiral binding, so the pages would lay flat when you're trying to do the exercises!

This is an excellent resource guide to stretching different muscle groups before exercising or vigorous activity. Many people are "weekend warriors" regarding exercise, thus incurring preventable injuries trying to participate in strenuous activity without proper warm-up. This book has it all! Specific stretching exercises designed for 35 different sports plus a variety of every day stretches. This is a book for everyone who desires to stay in shape, reduce muscle tension, prevent injuries, increase range of motion, maintain flexibility and FEEL GOOD. I highly recommend it.

This is a great book for both beginnners and intermediate triathletes. The book contains the basics, as well as advanced techniques, of training. The concept of "periodization" was especially helful for me. It is easy to read and the author fully explains everything. It is does not matter whether you train for sprint events or Iron Man level events, the concepts still apply.

it takes either a lot of hubris or some sort of confidence to put "bible" into the title of your book. joe friel doesn't do so without good reason. not only does this book come highly recommended from my collegiate triathlon friends, but in taking a triathlon "class" this semester to help with my pre-season training, this was our supplementary textbook. a great book through and through with advice for athletes on so many levels from a proprietor of the (tri)sport.

Buy this book! If you are a Triathlete, novice or Elite, this book will help you to train smart and reach your goals! Period.

I am an exercise scientist, and triathlete, and this is the best book on periodizing triathlon workouts that I have come across. It is very detailed, so is more geared toward intermediate to advanced athletes. If you are looking for good strength training workouts, though, this book does not have that. The strength training in here is very generic, not tri specific.

All triathletes should begin here. Even if you have lots of experience, you should own this book. Everything you need to know, every question you might have, this book will guide you in the right direction. Even after 6 years of racing, and 5 Ironmans, I still refer to it.

Tour Tempo is a very useful instructional book for someone who has an intermediate level of golf ability/experience. It may be the only golf book that deals with how fast one should swing, as opposed to the detailed positions and mechanics that also make up a golf swing. Tempo is indeed important in a golf swing, because a golf swing is not a static event.

This book is the perfect complement to another terrific instructional book, 'The Keys to the Effortless Swing' as Amazon noted.

As a coach and instructor I am allways looking for information that helps to explain aspects of the golf swing to my students. Tour Tempo has provided me with just another way of explaining what the effect of taking the club away to slowly will have on distance and direction. Thank you
John Novosel for your insite. Coach H.Turk Walker

Novosel's book makes an excellent point about how having good tempo in your golf swing will produce many benefits. Many golf instruction books give lip service to the concept of tempo, but I don't think anybody has ever explained it like this before and provided a rhythm track for you to practice with. He debunks the old saw about "swing slow" or "slow down your swing" etc. and shows how a slow swing actually allows a lot of counterproductive and inefficient movements to creep into your swing. When you swing with good consistent tempo every time, as do most PGA players, you improve the efficiency of your swing and you improve the likelihood of hitting the ball the same way every time. Of course, you have to have decent swing mechanics as well, and this book does not purport to teach mechanics.

Great product as everyone else points out. Such a simple idea, yet so remarkably capable of fixing your swing. I didn't realize just how mush I was trying to muscle the club, rather then let my natural tempo and fluidity carry it. I'm the kind of person who needs a swing thought, but at the same time they make me stiff and awkward. But if my swing thought is tempo, i.e. proper speed back and through, I become much more free loose and less timid, the club glides along rather then feeling like I have to reroute it and muscle it back to the ball. Truly a great book.

Tour tempo is easy to read, the concept is very simple to adopt and more importantly works! The downside is my wife thinks I have lost my mind walking around saying swing, set, through!

I've used this program for several years as part of my PT training cycle, and even as Ranger school prep with outstanding results. If you need a program that takes you away from the weights or you are bored easily with your workout, his program will push you out of your comfort bubble and keep you interested, especially when you see the results.

This is one of the best fitness programs ever. Regardless of if you are trying to become a Navy SEAL or not this is a great physical fitness program. The exercises are explained well and and theprogram is easy to follow. Great tips for just overall fitness are included throughout the book. I love it and use stuff from it all the time. I will be buying products from Stew Smith in the future.

If you are looking for a book that will get you into shape as well as give you a great look, well this is the book for you. I used this book a few times now and each time always see results. I must say one thing though if you are not dedicated don't buy this book. You will just be wasting you money. It is for a person with a great deal of desire and personel resolve. All in all this book is worth its weight in gold. No matter what physical expectation you are looking for this is the book for you. I have tried many other workout books and none seem to even come close to the quality of this. Just get this book and it will be your companion for a long time.

The Complete Guide to Navy SEAL Fitness is the most complete and informative SEAL preparation guide available.

The guide covers everything needed to prepare for BUD/S. It starts off by explaining how to properly warm up, then moves on to the exercises that are experienced in the workout. All of the stretches and exercises have excellent photos showing exactly how they are to be performed. There is also a helpful workout devoted to those who wish to start the 12 weeks to BUD/S workout, but who aren't yet in proper shape.

Not only does this guide cover workouts to get physically and mentally prepared for BUD/S, but it also covers how to properly run in the sand, techniques for climbing rope, and how to perform the Combat Swimmer Stroke.

All I can say is that this workout got me into the greatest shape of my life. I did the workout my senior year in high school and gained 15 pounds of pure muscle. I went from doing 13 pullups to 25 after the workout, and from 42 pushups to 100. Definite increase in chest size and some in arm size as well. Abs are now well defined. But that is not the best part. No, the best part is the unstoppable confidence that you gain from doing the workout - after this, I felt like I could do ANYTHING I set my mind to. Trust me, this workout is not easy, but it IS entirely doable. Just thinking back to the lonely nights where I was mentally and physically exhausted, having completed 60 pullups, 150 pushups, 300 situps, 100 dips...only to know that I was only halfway done...and pushing THROUGH that mental barrier gave me the utmost gratification. You feel powerful after each workout, knowing that you are doing something that the average man could not even dream of, and knowing that YOU possess the self-discipline to make yourself great is the most wonderous benefit that you will walk away with...if you complete it.

This book is not only trains your body, but your mind as well. Do it. Hooyah!!!

I think Dr. Daniels does a fine job of explaining the purpose of each of the exercises. His explanations of the physiological and metabolic changes that each specific run and intensity is trying to accomplish is helpful for people without a medical backround. However, he definitely slants the book towards collegiate and elite level athletes. As a novice runner, I found a lot of this irrelevant. I won't be running 6-7 days a week with a wife, two small children, and a busy career. I think for the bulk of Americans who run, we run for health and fun rather than to win titles and prizes. I think there are probably 300-500 people in the USA who can really follow his top training plan. For a book with less science explanation and a more realistic training schedule, try Run Less, Run Faster by Pierce , Murr and Moss. It does touch on some of the science but nearly as in depth but I found that it was more applicable to the average American's schedule.

I'm an old, but fairly serious competitive runner. Book was great set of routines to get faster without getting injured. Not as encyclopedic as Noakes', Lore of Running, but this is the book I will use to set my training schedule.

Every now and again I get back in the running habit. And what with it being so long since I've done any formal training and not being able to afford an actual coach, I usually call on my Brooklyn Road Runners Club buddies to recommend a decent training book.

Turns out Jack Daniels, the author of the book they recommended, lives less than an hour from where I spent my summer in 2006, in upstate New York. Not that it did me any good, as he's almost 80 years old and not taking in new athletes. Too busy taking in new wives, I guess - the newest one is as young as I am and has borne him a child that probably can't remember when her father wasn't farting dust.

But I digress. Geriatric standing aside, he's written the running book I've always wanted to find - very little of the confessional, running-as-spiritual-quest crap or Runner's World-style product mongering of the newest insoles or energy gels - just distance-specific training plans, time conversation tables, and scientific (as far as I know) reasoning for all of his advice.

There is some padding throughout - the "Training Essentials" unit is kind of general and not very useful, he puts runner's profiles at the end of each section that are uniformly dry and uninspiring ("Sara's ability to graciously accept both success and disappointment, her resolve to take one day at a time, and the faith we both share make me a fan of hers," "It's amazing how favorably his lab tests results compare to those of Jim Ryun"), and the "Training for Fitness" seems to have been added after the rest of the book was written just to get people who've never run before started. Come to think of it, some people may get something out of that section; I didn't even read it.

Overall though, a great textbook - easy to read, what's useful is easy to pick out, and the inevitable padding is easy to page through. So, like all good textbooks, the key word is "easy."

Comprehensive, clearly written explanation of the physiology and psychology of training and competing at all levels. For all serious, even if not elite, runners. Encouraging and inspiring.

This is a great book. It addresses the basic problem that most runners have when looking for workouts. All runners are different and have varied abilities. Strength of the book is learning how to target your workouts so that you can get the most out of them. The science is a bit wordy, but the concepts are great.

I think this may work for some people, but I am suspicious of any book that tells you that you only have to work out for half an hour a week to get good results. I tried the method detailed in the book (extremely slow and intense lifting without a break for half an hour) and didn't find it to be as effective for me as stated. However, that said, I am sure it does work for some. For me, the main benefit of this book is the detailed instructions he provides on how to use various weight lifting machines.

I was recommended this book by a guy from my church who lost something like 50 lbs on the program. I checked it out and was impressed that the program was both simple and yet also up to date with contemporary fitness research. It takes much of what I've read in books on fitness and nutrition and what my trainer has told me and puts it into a program that is simple to follow and easy to remember. It is probably not for the intense athletes or serious body-builders, but for those who want to stay or get into shape and stay there while still living a relatively normal and busy 21st century lifestyle, it is quite good.

I am not sure this is the correct style for everyone. I am trying to get strong which is typically done using heavy weight and low reps. And this training is not designed for that. I think you can only get so strong with this style because you will burn out before you build up.

I have been working out at home now for 4 weeks using one of the routines from Power of 10 and the wife has been noticing the pounds melting off around the waist. My sister noticed I was looking trimmer and she too has just bought the book. I love the work out because I am finally losing weight that has hung on to me despite the fact I bike to work 7 miles each way 3 or 4 times a week. With this work out, using just dumb bells and my own body weight, I get a deep work out in just 15 to 20 minutes (Though the book focuses on gym workouts, it also provides several workouts that can be done at home and on the road). As a beginner I try to work out 2x a week, but often times I have only worked out once a week because I felt I needed a little more rest before hitting the weights again.

If you're interested in the idea of lifting weight slowly, there are 3 books, that I am aware of, to consider:

1) Super Slow: The Ultimate Exercise Protocol, by Hutchins
2) The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution, by Hahn
3) Power of 10, by Zickerman

To sum up 1-3: lift weights slowly to help lessen momentum so you are lifting the weight using as much muscle as possible, which will lead to muscle failure, and can help reduce the possibility of injury. Also be wary of the stress caused by aerobics. Work out less per week so you have time for a real life, and follow a sensible diet.

Note that 1-3 all are preachy about weights being superior to health over aerobic exercise, although 3) is much less so. Also note that they don't seem to say 'get rid of' cardio, but that weightlifting provides some cardiovascular benefits itself, and to do aerobics as a supplement never as a substitute.

Some miscellaneous comments:

1) reads like a dissertation or a scientific manual, while 2) and 3) are popular reading, 3) moreso.

I like the comparison to taijiquan (t'ai chi ch'uan) that 1) makes.

Dislike the endless "this worked for me!" anecdotes in 1-3.

3) seems to have zero references.

2) and 3) take a lot of material from 1).

3) doesn't seem to be against stretching, but rather says stretching is built into the slow moving full range of motion system.

Final verdict? Get 3) because it is less preachy, costs less, and presents the main ideas from 1) in a more accessible form.

An avid runner, I enjoyed the book immensely. Read it before you hit the roads.

i am always interested in reading about successful athletes. pre was a great read, simple easy read, some great insight on pre from some of his running partners. i enjoy the statistics and he had many.

Taken too young from us - will always be a hero to us.
Read this motivational book.

This is an excellent read for anyone. You don't have to know who Steve was to enjoy this book. The book has a lot of information and details that were not in the movies.

This is one of the few negative reviews I have ever given. But I bought this book because I think Pre is interesting and I love Track and Field.

This book is sooooo boring. I forced myself to finish after a few months of reading it on and off. This is basically a book just listing times from races and people talking about how much they loved Pre.

Do NOT buy this book!

This book was recommended to me by a relative, who at the time was a doctoral student just like myself. We both desperately needed to fight off the stress of graduate school and to combat the bodily effects of endless hours of sitting in front of a computer. He had found the way to do it. Soon, I also knew what it was thanks to him. This is an excellent book for beginning runners. It is absolutely worth your time and money. The most valuable part of this book is the amazing 13-week program. I have gone through this program a few times now and keep coming back to it. Its promise is to put the least amount of pressure on your body to prevent injury, allowing your bones, muscles, and cardio system to adjust to running gradually. You can start the program if you have never run before (as I did the first time), and it will get you running 60 minutes straight if you follow the 13-week program without undue pressure on your body. The typical training session lasts about 40 minutes and you do three sessions every week.

In my experience, the program holds up to this promise. I have felt that each training session gave me exactly the right amount of challenge. I wasn't intimidated, I wasn't in pain, I wasn't worried about failing to run for the recommended time or about hurting myself (and I worry quite a bit about sensations coming from my body) and I wasn't bored either. I felt great after completing each session, and as a result, my feelings of competence and my belief in my ability to discipline myself increased naturally.

Besides the program, the book has many useful tips and lots of information about running. You will find something useful for you. The 13-week program is also supplemented by other kinds of programs, such as programs for those who want to run faster or farther once they finish the basic program, or a program for those who want to just walk.

The only negative thing I will say about the book is that it doesn't really address what to do when there are disruptions in your following the program (e.g., you miss a few sessions during week 8, where to start again now?). However, you intuitively figure it out, so it's not a big deal.

I am very pleased with this purchase and I'm keeping it in my library. I keep coming back to this program every spring when the weather gets better and I can run in the park. Overall, I highly recommend this book for anybody who wants to make a solid exercise program a part of their routine, but don't know quite where to start.

I bought this book when I decided to get back into running after 5 years of not doing much of anything. I really do not enjoy running, but find it is the best way to get into shape and lose weight. This book made it enjoyable! The weekly sessions are very doable and make you feel like you are really accomplishing your goals. I started out barely able to run 30 seconds, and now feel totally comfortable running 5K's or more. Great buy for someone just starting out or looking to ease back into the "fitness" scene. Great buy!!

I've just completed this program and I can't say enough good things about it. Other reviewers have knocked this book citing changes in the program from previous editions. I question the motivation behind such reviews. I've never been a runner and this program has taken me from barely being able to run for 1 minute to running 5 straight miles. The program seems to do a good job of challanging you, then backing off a bit. The ONLY complaint I could lodge is enough attention isn't given to what pace you should run at. This book is not the end all be all running book, there's certainly better books out there once you get started, but this is a great place to begin.

My wife and I (both non runners) picked up this book at the end of the summer based on the promise of getting into a regular running program without getting injured.

Prior to starting, neither of us could finish a mile without walking. At the conclusion of the program, we're both running 30-60 minutes at a time, 3-4 times per week. We've recommended this book to many others and they've achieved the same success.

If you're looking to "become" a runner, there are many programs to help you start, but none better than this simple, proven book.

Before I started reading this, I was a slug - never exercised and was 70 lbs. overweight. I started a weight loss program and was walking religiously, but found that I became used to the intensity so I needed something more. My daughter recommended this book as a way to "learn" running and I've been following it ever since. I've now lost 54 pounds and am about 25% through the program. My goal is to run a 5k on my 53rd birthday the end of March, and I am confident I will be able to do it with the help of this program. I'm amazed at how easy it is to follow. That doesn't mean it's not tough - obviously it requires exertion. However, I've never felt like it was anything I couldn't handle. The best part is that it's allowed me to get that "runner's high" that people talk about. I actually enjoy exercise now.

I would recommend figuring out how you like to run. Some people like to run outside (my daughter does this) - others prefer the convenience of a treadmill (that's my choice - I love watching DVDs while running). Some do a combination - outside in nice weather and inside during bad. Don't give up, though - keep trying and I guarantee that this book will make a runner out of you.

I'm not a track fan, but this book was recommended to me as being very well written, and I have to agree completely. Following the story of these three men from very different backgrounds as they all strive to be the first to break a previously considered unbreakable human feat, you get a sense that you were there watching it transpire. Even though it's a recounting of historical events, the narrative is so compelling that you find yourself mentally urging on the runners as the races are described. After reading this book, I immediately got myself a copy of "Chariots of Fire". :-)

3 atheltes; 3 continents; 3 training methods; 1 goal.

Roger Bannister - trained by Franz Stamfl (heavily influenced Mihaly Igloy and the LATC). Emphasis on intensity and speed endurance. A meticulous athlete who believed in measurement and gradual improvement.

John Landy - trained by Percey Cerutty (Herb Elliott's coach). Emphasis on longer intervals and higher volume. Ran most of his races solo; talented and agressive.

Wes Santee - trained by Bill Easton (coach of Billy Mills). Old school methods. Heavy racing schedule. Santee was a gritty competitor who liked to race, and had little patience for the patronizing AAU.

The book details these three atheltes attempts to break the "unbreakable" barrier. A number of close attempts are described in agonizing detail, in particular Santee's 4:00.2

If you have ever tried to break any running "barrier" - 5:00 mile, 4:00 marathon, etc. you will understand how this text captures the solitary focus that envelopes a runner as s/he pursues a goal.

The Perfect Mile takes the reader into the intimate worlds of three extraordinary men, all from diverse backgrounds and continents. Even though you're familiar that Roger Bannister eventually came out victorious as the first man to fun the mile in under four minutes, the drama and tension of the runners' race to become the first to break the barrier will keep you turning pages almost as fast as the men were running around the track.
Without divulging too much, I will say that near the book's end, when two of the three men are racing in the 1956 "Mile of the Century," the other runner, who because of military obligations is not able to participate, is masterfully woven into the race, almost as if he were actually racing--how he would have run that race, how he would have positioned himself among the two others, and how he possibly would have won the race.

There are certain barriers throughout life that are believed to be impossible to cross; some walls that people simply cannot get past due to physical or mental limitations. The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb tells a tale of one of those impossible-to-cross barriers, the four minute mile. Running a mile under four minutes was deemed impossible by nearly everyone ranging from well-known doctors to running experts to the common man. However in every generation comes those who challenge tradition, and the three who decided to challenge the four minute barrier were Roger Bannister, John Landy, and Wes Santee. Bannister a doctor himself who trained only during off hours, Landy a professional runner who dedicated his life to the mile, and Santee a college student who believed he was unbeatable. Bascomb's novel attempts to describe the courage and determination that these three men exuberated while trying to achieve something deemed impossible. However, he spends little time dealing with the actual training and preparation required to run a sub-four minute mile, and much more on the mundane daily life of Roger Bannister.

The novel is told mainly about Bannister's life, for he is the one who eventually becomes the first man to run under four minutes. It starts out with a young Bannister going off to college. Upon arrival he is asked if he would like to compete in any sports, and he chooses to run the mile. Though he is beaten by an elder man smoking a cigar both before and after the event, his talent is noticed and soon Bannister has a coach. From here on out, most people would expect the story to portray his great amounts of training, but instead we get a heavy dose of how boring it was to be a doctor back in the 1950s. Page after page the reader is bogged down with medical terms and descriptions of just how difficult it was for Roger to manage training and becoming a doctor. Maybe his life really was this boring, but did Bascomb have to making it seem this way? I spent the entire time reading this part of the book (other than the time I spent sleeping) thinking "my God I thought this book was about a runner!" When Bascomb does mention the athletic aspect of this book it is simply to list the times Bannister achieved as he slowly marched towards the four minute mile, no description of the races, just times.

After briefly covering the American Wes Santee's attempts at the four minute mile in college and John Landy's own struggle to break the barrier, the story once again turns back to Bannister. Finally the big day is upon him, although the conditions are less than ideal. It is rainy, which does not make for a quick pace, but Bannister wishes to continue nonetheless. He starts the day out like any other, and once again Bascomb seems to describe in detail every patient Bannister sees that day before heading out to the track. However he does finally manage to step onto the track with his two rabbits standing beside him ready to pace him through three of the four hopefully historic laps. Finally the reader is blessed with a description of the race. Bannister exhausts one of his pacers after a 1:58 split through the first mile and continues on through the third lap in three minutes even. As Bannister barrels through the line Bascomb does an excellent job of describing his collapse and nearly dead facial expression. Bascomb allows the suspense to mount as the reader anxiously turns page after page in an attempt to discover the final time. All Bannister heard was "3" and the crowd went wild. The reader eventually learns that his final time was three minutes and fifty-nine seconds, a new world record and the first sub-four minute mile ever recorded.

Despite Bascomb's superb description of the arguably most important race of the century, he neglects to give much other running-related information throughout the rest of the novel. Obviously the reader needs to know just how much Bannister had to balance on a daily basis, but there is little need to go into such detail. Many of Bascomb's readers are sports fans who have picked up the book because they truly love the sport of running and therefore want to hear tales of heart-stopping finishes and awesome performances. The energy Bannister put into his training and medical work is evident, and Bascomb does a superb job at portraying the human spirit through him. However, it would have been nice to have the story more related to the actual "Mile".


From: Colin Daileda

The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb is a perfect read for any sports fan. It is an exciting recounting of actual runners and their stories. I enjoyed this book that tells the story of three milers with a single goal: to be the world's first to break the four minute mile. The four minute mile was believed to be humanly impossible, until it was broken by a young English athlete named Roger Banister. Roger along with an American, Wes Santee, and Australian, John Landy all were ambitious, competitive, disciplined young men who wanted to show the world that the four minute mile was not impossible. But they also wanted to be the first to break the "impossible" barrier. The story takes place on three different continents as it follows the three athletes as they train and prepare for their next attempt on the barrier on the track.
Cries of encouragement from the fans and fellow runners pushed Roger toward the line. At this point he was beyond exhausted, yet there was no more pain he had simply used it all up. Yet he kept running on pure will, even as the distance from the tape appeared to get farther and farther away. Still he drove on three, two, only one more stride. He hurled himself at the tape. This is the description of my favorite scene in the book that I think will put a very good picture in anyone's head. This made me think of all the sacrifices that all athletes have to take to achieve any goal big or small. Yet many aren't willing to make this sacrifice.
I thought that Neal Bascomb did a great job writing this book he had many articles and transcripts and books to go through to find every detail about the runners and their background. He paints colorful pictures of the races in your head. There were a few parts that were hard to follow. I thought that this was a challenging book due to its length. I will definitely remember this book's descriptiveness in the future. I enjoyed learning all about the miles' history and it's very interesting origin. I think that any runner has to read this book, even if they don't like challenging books. They can still read it easily because there is little advanced vocabulary.