false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169880792m/42287.jpg 42287 4 There was a time when running the mile in four minutes was believed to be beyond the limits of human foot speed, and in all of sport it was the elusive holy grail. In 1952, after suffering defeat at the Helsinki Olympics, three world-class runners each set out to break this barrier. Roger Bannister was a young English medical student who epitomized the ideal of the amateur still driven not just by winning but by the nobility of the pursuit. John Landy was the privileged son of a genteel Australian family, who as a boy preferred butterfly collecting to running but who trained relentlessly in an almost spiritual attempt to shape his body to this singular task. Then there was Wes Santee, the swaggering American, a Kansas farm boy and natural athlete who believed he was just plain better than everybody else. Spanning three continents and defying the odds, their collective quest captivated the world and stole headlines from the Korean War, the atomic race, and such legendary figures as Edmund Hillary, Willie Mays, Native Dancer, and Ben Hogan. In the tradition of Seabiscuit and Chariots of Fire, Neal Bascomb delivers a breathtaking story of unlikely heroes and leaves us with a lasting portrait of the twilight years of the golden age of sport. 41779 2004 The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It total:319|5:97|4:173|3:45|2:3|1:1| 319 1319 458 84 4 1 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Feb 25 15:27:05 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 25 15:28:23 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Tue Mar 11 06:09:00 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 11 06:33:16 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jan 23 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 22 15:54:20 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 22 15:54:20 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Sep 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 29 13:51:24 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 29 14:57:44 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Aug 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 07:30:34 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 07:47:46 -0700 2009
One review compared the book a bit to ...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Mar 08 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 16:20:56 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 08 16:25:02 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed May 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon May 11 13:25:19 -0700 2009 Wed May 27 13:47:59 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Oct 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 00:23:05 -0700 2009 Wed Nov 18 15:50:27 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Nov 20 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri May 09 07:23:45 -0700 2008 Fri May 09 07:24:03 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 true false Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Mon Oct 01 17:52:35 -0700 2007 Tue Dec 04 03:00:15 -0800 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jun 24 04:56:36 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 24 05:02:39 -0700 2009 being a mile runner, I wondered if I would dig this or not- SO glad I went for it. While it offers some insight into track and field history, this book is moreso about the psychology of the very real and very public perception that a sub 4 could NOT be done. If you are rea...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Oct 09 13:55:48 -0700 2008 Thu Nov 20 16:06:33 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 true false Mon May 23 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Sat May 23 16:18:05 -0700 2009 Sat May 23 16:24:50 -0700 2009 1 During a time when the Korean War was dominating the headlines, three very different men took on one very same goal- to ru the mile in under four minutes.

Their struggles and triumphs spanned three continents, yet all the world became instantly captured by the quest to achieve ...more...]]> 1 0 false false Wed Jan 07 16:49:02 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 07 16:59:22 -0800 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Tue Jun 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 23 16:23:49 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 23 16:28:41 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Dec 05 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 05 17:13:29 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 05 17:14:56 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Thu Aug 27 18:45:02 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 27 18:48:18 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jan 14 21:10:26 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 21:11:19 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sat May 09 21:21:14 -0700 2009 Sat May 09 21:23:30 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Aug 05 19:42:39 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 19:52:31 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=42287