Archive for the 'Book Reviews' Category

An Honorable Run – Matt McCue – Book Review

Matt McCue was kind enough to send me an advanced copy of his book An Honorable Run. I started the book on Monday and finished Wednesday, it was fairly short at 155 pages and I found it entertaining and well written.
I should preface that I am biased growing up in Iowa, about an hour [...]

A Race Like No Other: 26.2 Miles Through the Streets of New York – Liz Robbins

A Race Like No Other chronicles the 2007 NYC Marathon. The book is a series of human interest stories as well as a play by play of the men’s and women’s race, divided up into 26.2 chapters. The stories revolve around a cancer survivor running his first marathon, a Mother who had battled [...]

Born to Run: Christopher McDougall – Book Review

Born to Run is essentially three stories in one book, intertwined. The stories revolve around the Tarahumara tribe and the “greatest race you’ve never heard of.” The book also hits upon an evolutionary discussion that humans evolved to run. The third story is on the shoe industry, which McDougall asserts is a [...]

Bowerman and the Men of Oregon: The Story of Oregon’s Legendary Coach and Nike’s Cofounder – Kenny Moore

Bill Bowerman, legendary University of Oregon Coach, Nike Co-Founder and the man often credited for the running boom of the 1970’s. “Bowerman and the Men of Oregon” is the biography of Bill Bowerman. It’s a good book, albeit a long one at 480 pages.
My main complaint with the book was the length and the [...]

Sub 4:00: Alan Webb and the Quest for the Fastest Mile – Chris Lear – Review

After finishing Running with the Buffaloes, I snatched up Sub 4:00. Sub 4:00 is a story about Alan Webb, entering his freshman year at the University of Michigan. Before entering college, Alan had recently broken Jim Ryun’s 36 year old high school mile record. The book chronicles the 2001-2002 freshman year of [...]

Running with the Buffaloes – Chris Lear

“Running with the Buffaloes” is the best running book that I have ever read, 5/5 stars. That’s it, it’s that good, pick up a copy, and you will not be disappointed. Ok, Ok, I will give you a review.
“Running with the Buffaloes” chronicles the 1998 Cross Country season at the University of Colorado. [...]

The Perfect Mile – Neal Bascomb

“The Perfect Mile” tells the story of three athletes trying to be the first to break the coveted four minute mile. The story focuses on John Landy, Wes Santee, and of course Roger Bannister. The book chronicles the races and training that eventually lead up to that historical day on May 6, 1954, the day [...]

Once A Runner – John L. Parker, Jr. – Review

The books a “cult classic”, that’s what they told me. It’s also out of print and hard to find, unless you want to spend $200+ on Ebay for a used edition. I was reading a formal book review for “Again to Carthage”, John L. Parker’s much anticipated sequel to “Once a Runner” when [...]