Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
The Four-Minute Mile
A personal and heartfelt account of the most stunning athletic achievement of the twentieth century.
Paperback, Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, 280 pages
Published
May 1st 2004
by Lyons Press
(first published 1981)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
181)
This is the best book on running that I’ve read.
In 1954, at the age of 25, Roger Bannister became the first person to break the four-minute barrier for the mile, with a recorded time of 3:59.4. A little over a year later, Bannister retired from racing, and wrote a book entitled, "The First Four Minutes". This 2004 edition has been updated with new material in recognition of the 50th anniversary of Bannister’s feat.
Bannister was one of the last great amateur champions. No special diet or training...more
In 1954, at the age of 25, Roger Bannister became the first person to break the four-minute barrier for the mile, with a recorded time of 3:59.4. A little over a year later, Bannister retired from racing, and wrote a book entitled, "The First Four Minutes". This 2004 edition has been updated with new material in recognition of the 50th anniversary of Bannister’s feat.
Bannister was one of the last great amateur champions. No special diet or training...more
About 58 years ago, on May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister of England broke the four-minute barrier for a Mile race for the first time in history. I read The Perfect Mile that detailed how the stage for this athletics breakthrough was set up among Bannister, John Landy of Australia and Wes Santee of the United States. In his memoir, The Fout-Minute Mile, Roger Bannister himself tells how such great milestone was achieved. This is not his training log or a ‘how to run a strong Mile race’ text book. In f...more
This book, the autobiography of the first man to run a sub-four minute mile, Sir Roger Bannister, is interesting and inspiring. At times, it gets a little dry, as Bannister talks about races and times for too long. But throughout the book, and especially when he details his successful attempt at breaking the four minute mile, and then his duel with fellow sub four minute miler John Landy at the Empire games, he brings great insight to about the truths of running: why run? what do we get out of i...more
After reading "The Perfect Mile", I wanted to get Roger Bannister's perspective, and read this book also.
I enjoyed this book immensely. Perhaps I enjoyed this book more than some of the other reviewers because I am a runner, and thus it had a lot of meaning for me. Here are a few things that I quoted to my extended family in a letter when I had only read half the book.
“As a neurologist, I now understand more about such sources of pleasure and pain and the strange, some say mystical experiences t...more
I enjoyed this book immensely. Perhaps I enjoyed this book more than some of the other reviewers because I am a runner, and thus it had a lot of meaning for me. Here are a few things that I quoted to my extended family in a letter when I had only read half the book.
“As a neurologist, I now understand more about such sources of pleasure and pain and the strange, some say mystical experiences t...more
I was pretty disappointed with The Four-Minute Mile. While it served as an interesting look into amateurism through the eyes of one of its strongest supporters, the book really failed at getting the reader to relate to Bannister. It seemed to have almost an over-emphasis on telling stories about racing and a huge under-emphasis of detailing training. The races described were fairly detailed, yet somehow their telling failed to excite me.
This particular 50th anniversay edition also includes a new...more
This particular 50th anniversay edition also includes a new...more
A matter-of-fact read about Sir Bannister's quest to run a 4 minute mile, complete with his underlying theories on sport. Interesting to hear about the extended process behind his famous run, though not especially entertaining.
Every student of the sport should know this history. You have to wonder what Bannister could have done had he been able to train and perform in a modern arena. Running on cinders- incredible!
Bannister's tale is inspiring to people in all walks of life - not just runners. It was a hard read to get through at times (sometimes a little dry), but in the end I feel a little more inspired to be more reflective in those things that I pursue and want to succeed in.
Cool story, but not the best writing.
There are not many books that a skinny and mediocre high school cross country runner could read for inspiration, this is the only one that I can recall. Bannister ran the first sub four minute mile while he was a medical student in Oxford. Dry prose but did I mention he ran the mile in less than four minutes? Imagine chariots of fire without the poetry.
Roger went on to become a distinquished doctor and wrote medical textbooks showing that he was more than a athlete.
Roger went on to become a distinquished doctor and wrote medical textbooks showing that he was more than a athlete.
More January running motivation, but I ended up loving his understated writing style. One reviewer said he writes as gracefully as he runs - I'll go along with that.
Interesting perspective on the value of sport in a post-WWII context, some good insights into the mind of the elite runner.
This is a classic first-person account of the path to the historic first four-minute mile. Highly recommend.
Brilliant! A fascinating insight into when elite running was still an amatuer sport.
A bit dull at times, not fast enough (the book) to be inspiring..
May 20, 2013
Maggie
is currently reading it
May 13, 2013
Rehan Mahmood
marked it as to-read
May 08, 2013
Shaylin
marked it as to-read
May 03, 2013
Mona
marked it as to-read
Mar 20, 2013
Devang D
marked it as to-read
Feb 07, 2013
Rik
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister, CBE is an English former athlete best known as the first man in history to run the mile in less than 4 minutes. Bannister became a distinguished neurologist and Master of Pembroke College, Oxford, before retiring in 2001.
More about Roger Bannister...
Share This Book
1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...
