The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It
by Bascomb, Neal
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Fine/Very Good
- ISBN 10
- 0618391126
- ISBN 13
- 9780618391127
- Seller
-
Woodlawn, Illinois, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
There was a time when running the mile in four minutes was believed to be entirely 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 set out individually to break this formidable 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 mind and 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. Santee was the first to throw down the gauntlet in what would become a three-way race of body, heart, and soul. Each young man endured thousands of hours of training, bore the weight of his nation's expectations on his shoulders, and still dared to push to the very limit. 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. Who would be the first to achieve the unachievable? And who among them would be the best when they raced head to head? In the answer came the perfect mile. 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.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Granada Bookstore (Member IOBA) (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 046479
- Title
- The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It
- Author
- Bascomb, Neal
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- ISBN 10
- 0618391126
- ISBN 13
- 9780618391127
- Publisher
- Houghton Mifflin
- Place of Publication
- Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
- Date Published
- 2004
- Pages
- 322
- Size
- 8vo - over 7¾" - 9&f
- Keywords
- Bannister, Roger; Landy, John, 1930- ; Santee, Wes; Runners - Biography. Running & Jogging, History
Terms of Sale
Granada Bookstore (Member IOBA)
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Granada Bookstore (Member IOBA)
About Granada Bookstore (Member IOBA)
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...