Synopses & Reviews
There was a time when running the mile in four minutes was the elusive holy grail, believed to be beyond the limits of human speed. In 1952, after suffering defeat at the Helsinki Olympics, three world-class runners set out individually to break that barrier. Roger Bannister was a young English medical student who epitomized the ideal of the amateur — 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 achieve this singular task. Then there was Wes Santee, the swaggering American, a Kansas farm boy who was a natural athlete and 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 his very limits. 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 went head to head?
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.
Synopsis:
In the tradition of "Seabiscuit," Bascomb delivers a breathtaking story of unlikely heroes and leaves readers with a lasting portrait of the twilight years of the golden age of sport.
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