The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It

by Neal Bascomb

The inspirational story of three international runners attempting to achieve what no one had managed -- to break the four-minute mile barrier. It was the ultimate test of endurance, and the human drama that unfolded is told here for the first time. In sport, running the four-minute mile was the elusive Holy Grail, considered by most to be beyond the limits of human endeavour. Then in late 1952, shortly after the Helsinki Olympics, three men set out to challenge the record Roger Bannister, the Oxford medical student, the great British hero who epitomised the ideal of the amateur athlete; John Landy, the tireless Australian, the romantic who trained night and day in search of perfection; and the American Wes Santee, son of a Kansas ranch hand, a natural runner and the quickest of the three ('I was just born to run fast'). Three men, each of contrasting character, competing thousands of miles apart, but all with the same valedictory goal. The Perfect Mile is the stirring account of their quest for sporting martyrdom, charting their journey through triumph and failure, culminating in the moment when Bannister broke the record in a monumental run at the Iffley Road cinder track in Oxford in May 1954. It was a feat that became one of the most celebrated in the history of British sport. Far from bringing an end to the rivalry, this watershed moment turned out to be merely the prelude to a final climactic battle three months later -- the ultimate head-to-head between Bannister and Landy in what was dubbed 'the mile of the century' at the Vancouver Empire Games. Bascomb provides a fascinating account of what happened and an invaluable insight into the motivations and characters of three amazing achievers.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, History, Biography, Historical, Audiobook, Biography Memoir

384 pages, Audio CD

First published April 1, 2004

About the author

Neal Bascomb is a national award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of a number of books, all non-fiction narratives, all focused on inspiring stories of adventure or achievement. His work has been translated into over 18 languages, featured in several documentaries, and optioned for major film and television projects.

Born in Colorado and raised in St. Louis, he is the product of public school and lots of time playing hockey. He earned a double degree in Economics and English Literature at Miami University (Ohio), lived in Europe for several years as a journalist (London, Dublin, and Paris), and worked as an editor at St. Martin’s Press (New York). In 2000, he started writing books full time.

His first book HIGHER was selected for the Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writer award and was featured in a History Channel documentary. His second THE PERFECT MILE was a New York Times bestseller and frequently ranks as one of the top books on running. His third RED MUTINY won the United States Maritime Literature Award and critical acclaim around the world. His fourth HUNTING EICHMANN was an international bestseller and led to a young adult edition called NAZI HUNTERS that was the 2014 winner of the YALSA Award, Sydney Taylor Book Award (Gold Medal), among numerous others. His fifth book THE NEW COOL was optioned by major producer Scott Rudin for film. His sixth ONE MORE STEP, focused on the first man with cerebral palsy to climb Kilimanjaro and finish the Kona Ironman, was a New York Times bestseller as well.

An avid hiker, skier, and coffee drinker, he is happily settled in Seattle, Washington with his family.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started my running career in high school about 2 years after Bannister broke the 4-minute mile. He was, of course, a great inspiration to all us middle-distance runners, but my real hero was Landy. The sportsmanship he demonstrated in the 1500 meters final at the 1956 Australian National Championships when he stopped to help the fallen Ron Clarke was an example I have never forgotten. Then for him to leap back into the race and win decisively after losing several seconds was one of the greatest things I've ever seen. Bascomb's book covers these events in a very compelling way that brought back all the great memories and feelings of those days for me. I highly recommend this book to every one, but especially to those who have themselves run a mile race...at any speed.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

(At the end I'll give a list of places to go for race footage and other info relating to the subject for those who have already read the book and are interested in knowing more) I have no interest in sports, and of all the sports, I would vote for running as the least interesting, but I absolutely LOVED this book. The author does a wonderful job of building suspense even if normally it is something you couldn't care less about. How many times I have been on the edge of my seat waiting to hear who was going to win or what their time was going to be (I listened to the audio version which was very well done). There were times when I arrived at my destination but didn't want to turn off the car because I had to find out what was going to happen. A very compelling, gripping book. There were times I cried and there were times I laughed, but it was the suspense that I remember the most. Part of the appeal of the book is the three men it is about. They were interesting and, for the most part, admirable men. I will say at first it was a bit confusing trying to remember who was who but after a few chapters I had them nailed down and it was much easier to follow. It probably would've been easier if I had been reading the book version and could have glanced back and reminded myself. I also appreciated the lack of anything vulgar in the book.The epilogue may be my favorite part of the book or at least it included my favorite story of the book. That was one of the times I cried, not because of something sad, but because of something very sweet and truly heroic.

As a Christian I often found myself challenged to run my race the way they ran their races. I often thought of Paul's words about laying aside anything that would encumber us in our race when I read about them being so careful about the smallest things, the dirt on the spikes of their shoes, the weight of the shoes themselves, etc. It seems silly to us but these little things made a difference in their speed. I suspect that little things make a difference in our spiritual lives as well and want to be more like them in forgoing "innocent" things in order to run faster. But on the other hand I was made thankful that God isn't a harsh taskmaster and doesn't demand of me the things that their sport demanded of them- the little sleep, the brutal workouts, the sacrifice of relationships. Above all I'm thankful for the assurance that I will win my race, something they never could know. I may not run a perfect mile but I have a perfect Savior who ran it for me and through Him and His grace I will be victorious!

Additional info:

Footage of the barrier being broken:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWqwi6...

Bannister in 2012 carrying Olympic torch
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olym...-
2012-Olympic-torch.html

Interview with Bannister
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/pa...

Bannister and Landy’s race:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP_NzZ...

Landy helps teammate and still wins:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wQLEK...

2005 Movie by ESPN
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457350/

1988 movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095171/

[Brian Sweany · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Usain Bolt captivated the world in London just as he had done in Beijing, my mind wandered to some of my favorite Olympic- and running-themed books. It is a genre that takes up nearly an entire shelf in my library and is perfectly book-ended by David Halberstam's AMATEURS and Christopher McDougal's BORN TO RUN. But one of the most underrated books on this shelf has to be Neil Bascomb's THE PERFECT MILE. Written before THE NEW COOL put Bascomb on the map, this book is to running what Laura Hillenbrand's SEABISCUIT is to horse racing.

Bascomb has a novelistic narrative voice not unlike Hillenbrand's as he weaves together the biographies of three amazing and strikingly different athletes. There's Roger Bannister, the Oxford-educated amateur sports-for-sports-sake archetype with his come-from-behind running style. There's his fiercest rival John Landy, the Aussie with the unorthodox training methods and a relentless wire-to-wire front runner. And lastly there's Wes Santee, the American, a tough Kansas-born farmer's son who history forgot. On May 6, 1954 one of them did what scientists had actually dismissed as beyond the scope of human endurance: running a mile in four minutes or less. Even as the 20th century wound down, this penultimate event was treated with a hallowed reverence; Sports Illustrated chose the four-minute mile--"the perfect mile"--as The Greatest Sporting Achievement of the Century.

As I watched Bolt strut and pose for the cameras--another gold medal around his neck, another world record shattered--a part of me imagined the trio of runners from THE PERFECT MILE rising from the grave, tapping the towering Jamaican on the shoulder, and saying, "Four laps, Mr. Bolt, let's see who's the better man." Bascomb's earnest story will make you believe nothing is impossible.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook about the race to break 4 minutes in the mile back in the early 1950s. It is a deeply researched biographical narrative about the three men who were in contention to break this barrier in England, Australia and the U.S. Although I am a recreational and (highly!) amateur runner and have done some races myself, I was unfamiliar with all the athletes profiled, so I didn’t know in advance who would win. The author made all the men’s stories very compelling and all the races described were suspenseful and exciting. I found it particularly fascinating how different athletes strategize their races.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subtitle of this book is "Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It." This is the story of the race to break the four-minute mile barrier in 1954, but also the story of the three men who were all poised to do it first: Englishman Roger Bannister, Australian John Landy, and American Wes Santee. My husband and son (who was a miler himself in high school) would probably give this book a 5. We found ourselves groaning and cheering in the car as we listened to the audiobook on a recent trip. The sub-four-minute mile has been achieved about 1,000 times since the original breakthrough, including by both Bannister and Landy three months later in a head-to-head race, but a sentence from the epilogue of the book really summed up the reason Bannister's 3 minute 59.6 run was so astounding: "On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister, an amateur who trained little more than an hour a day, and for whom running was little more than a passionate hobby, achieved greatness on a cinder track he had helped to build in front of a small crowd, a handful of journalists, and a lone camera crew that had to be persuaded to attend." The same year he broke the 4 minute barrier, Bannister passed his medical boards and began practicing medicine. The book really highlighted for me the glory of amateur sports, something we don't really have any more in this day of high tech training. In addition, each of the three men was admirable and honorable in his own right, and we found ourselves rooting for each of them individually.

[Edward Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read. Going into the book I really only knew about Sir Roger Bannister having been the first to break the 4 min mile. The author did an awesome job in telling three POVs towards the four min mile. I would argue that the five stars is due to my enjoying of running. But even not being a big running fan. It’s an amazing sports book and also just an awesome book in general.

[David Kenison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-researched account of the dramatic race to be the first man to run a mile in less than 4 minutes - a barrier once thought to be unbreakable. The author has created a very readable story, reconstructing conversations and documenting the feelings and emotions of those involved. The three main competitors - Roger Bannister of the UK, Landy of Australia, and Santee of the US - are all included in great detail. The book rambles a bit and occasionally uses pretty unimaginative prose. But the descriptions of the races are detailed and gripping.

I was surprised that "the perfect mile" of the book's title was not Bannister's run that first broke the barrier in 1954, but a later showdown between Bannister and Landy - also a fascinating account.

Thanks to the wonders of Google, you can now search for
"roger bannister video"
and watch Bannister's first 4-minute mile, as well as the showdown with Landy. Also fascinating is the Wikipedia article on "World record progression for the mile run"

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well-written and well-researched book. I was impressed with how well the story was told. It kept my interest much as a novel keeps my interest: I didn’t want to put it down. I especially appreciated that it didn’t come across as a research project, but rather as a good story to share. Now I know the story of the four-minute mile, and what a great story it is!

[Riley Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Triumphant.

[Grayson shuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book. I did not know Roger banister was a med student. And he was diving into exercise science; a young pioneer when it comes to oxygen consumption and lactate. He was running experiments on some of the mountaineers making attempts on Everest. He was a Brit but well forgiven him that. Also another take home point from this book, the AAU sucked back in the day.

[Pjackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful read. This book has it all--drama, action, suspense. One can not help but be inspired by the story of Bannister, Santee, and Landy as they struggle to acheive the first sub-4 minute mile. Bannister's story is perhaps the most engaging of all, as he achieved the distinction of breaking the mark first, while he was going to medical school and pursuing a life outside of athletics. In an age when records are regularly broken by professional atheletes who train hours a day and frequently misuse an assortment of performance enhancing agents, the story of the men chronicled here is most remarkable. Yes, today sub 4-minute miles are typical among elite athletes, but I doubt that many of todays stars would be where they are if they had to work full time jobs, etc. Bannister and company did what they did out of love for the sport and without concern for money. Neal Bascomb should be commended for bringing this wonderful story to light. It is carefully researched and eloquently written. Even those with zero interest in track and field will find this book of interest. I especially recommend this to youngsters in hopes that it will inspire them to achieve their goals even if their conditions for success are not optimal. Do yourself a favor and pick up this book--you will not be disappointed.

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my holy fudge, I LOVED this book. I savored every page and looked forward to reading it at every opportunity. At the same time, this wasn't one of those books where I could toss off a few pages while cooking dinner. I had to make sure I could really give myself to the reading of it, so I often had to wait until all other obligations were taken care of (see also: why it took me more than two weeks to get through it).

That said, there is a litmus test for predicting one's potential interest in The Perfect Mile, and it is this: take a look at the front cover. If you know who that is, and what he's doing, then I think you're going to love this book.

Even if you don't know just from looking at the picture, if you've ever run competitively, or taken any interest in track, or if you have a good sense of running times vs. distances (in meters and yards/miles), or really, if you think you could enjoy the suspense of lots of footrace descriptions, The Perfect Mile is going to be a fun book for you to read.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kid you not, but there were numerous times in The Perfect Mile where it seemed I was as breathless reading Neal Bascomb’s wonderful book as his subject runners were in their bid to run a mile in under four minutes! Each attempt brought me to the edge of my seat, and each failure had me racing to the next chapter. This behavior is doubly peculiar since the outcome of this piece of athletic history is probably well-known by high school students, and perhaps even by those in middle school.

Though there are many sub-four-minute mile contenders, Bascomb quickly narrows down the field in 1952 to three world-class runners: Englishman Roger Bannister, a diligent, studious medical student, who found “time to run only between his hospital rounds”; John Landy, “privileged son of a genteel Australian family”; and Wes Santee, “a Kansas farm boy” who, not lacking in hubris, “believed he was just plain better than everyone else.” The inspiring beauty of The Perfect Mile is that all these contenders were running as pure amateurs—no helpful scholarships, no endorsements, no other sources of funding, and initially, no trainers.

But up to this point, the four-minute mile was both a physical and a psychological barrier “that begged to be broken.” Author Bascomb says “the number had a certain mathematical elegance,” and yet another writer expanded on that: “four laps, four quarter-miles, four-point-oh-oh minutes.” The best middle-distance runners had tried repeatedly and failed. The challenge became a race against the clock rather than traditional fellow competitors. Not surprisingly, Santee, brimming with confidence, “was the first to announce his intention of running the mile in four minutes.” And the gauntlet was thrown down—and readily picked up by both Bannister and Landy.

Bannister’s training was anything but regular, his work ethic constantly putting his studies ahead of athletic training. But he was a man of science. Certainly, the achievement took “human spirit,” but it also took “a calculated plan…scientific experiments, the wisdom of a man who knew great suffering, and a magnificent finishing kick.” All three men trained relentlessly and recklessly, Bannister testing himself to the point of collapse. Indeed, observers and sports commentators believed that the person who ran a mile in four minutes would collapse and die just beyond the finish line.

To non-runners (like myself), it was a simple beat-the-clock endeavor: you begin, you run like the wind, and if the clock stops a fraction short of four minutes, you are done. If not, you try again. Wrong! The four-lap run is made up of any number of segments comprising 220 yards, 440 yards, 880 yards, and even 100 yards; some runners view it as a three-lap-plus-one-lap construction. Various segments have their own strategy, and each of those strategies was unique to a runner. It was a case of finding the best composition of those segments to accomplish the task. But it was even more than that. Since the ability to time things in hundredths of a second had arrived, no consideration was too small to consider: runners’ feet must be pointed forward, not splayed even slightly, for that meant covering more distance; similarly; runners’ hands had to be held to minimize wind resistance; and spikes had to be sharpened to penetrate quickly and pick up the minimum deposit of track material.

Each upcoming attempt by one of these three men caused palpitating anxiety for the other two; and each failure recharged all three with renewed hope and determination.

It is not a spoiler to reveal that, on May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister was the first person in the world to run a sub-four-minute mile—his time, 3:59.4—and the barrier was forever broken. Bannister enjoyed his unique achievement for 44 days, when John Landy broke his record with a time of 3:58, and after that, the mile record was broken repeatedly in steady progression. Roger Bannister was to remark somewhat phlegmatically: “Après moi, le déluge!” Bascomb brings readers up to the cusp of the 20th century when, on July 7, 1999, Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj ran a mile in 3:43.13. By then, “almost one thousand individuals had run under four minutes.” Nowadays, it would appear that if one cannot run a sub-four-minute mile, it is pointless to even enter the race!

Neal Bascomb has done a remarkable service to sports history with The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It. Using amateur athletes Bannister, Landy, and Santee (whose best time was 4:00.5), he has fashioned a gripping, soul-stirring story that is less about winning and losing races, than it is about the spirited endeavor to challenge, and then break a human barrier!

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bascomb's meticulous research paid off. The book is gripping as he weaves the stories of the three amateur milers pursuit of greatness. The details bring you into all the events, relationships, personalities, and inner feelings of the athletes in their multi-year struggles.

[Shaunkey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story, and really drove home the athletes obsession over breaking records, but the story telling was formulaic and each race was broken down in the same way

[Samuel Breckenridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid book held back by the fact that running races are soooo boring to read about. I am like in the top whatever percent of target audience for this book, I have been known to watch track for fun, but the description of every single race in this book is, "he felt really good for the first lap, he still felt good for the second lap, the third lap was tough but he was strong, the fourth lap really really hurt and he slowed down at the end". I did look up footage of some of the races after and that was kind of cool. That said I enjoyed the details about training and specific workouts this provided, could have had more. Definitely cool to learn about the context for the achievement considering Bannister breaking it is the only thing that is really common knowledge, emphasizes how much of it was contingent and things could really have played out very differently it seems, tough for Landy and Santee but thats how it goes I guess.

[Chip · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was great. Three men with such pure and unbridled ambition. Awesome read.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am kind of kicking myself for not having read this sooner as it has been on my shelf for a long time. Even though I knew some of the history, it was suspenseful and interesting. I really liked the bits on how training has developed over the years and what various people thought were the correct ways to train. I also was amused how the debate over what is "better", racing your competitors or the clock is still a thing. Reading stories about the AAU is just a nightmare. I wonder how those men justify how petty they were being.

I hope to read a book like this someday soon, when a woman breaks the four minute barrier. :)

[Landon · Rating 5 out of 5]

My sister gave me this book for Christmas. It's probably not one that I would have picked up on my own, but I was completely captivated from the very beginning. Whenever I was reading it, I didn't want to put it down. A few times I had to step away for a few days because parent, job, responsibilities, etc. but every time I started reading again after a little break I was pulled in again right away. Interesting, inspiring, and well told.

The Perfect Mile is a non-fiction work diving into three track runners in the early 1950s, as they train the beat the one mile world record and break a significant barrier- running a mile in less than four minutes.

[Joel Marji · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book. Often found my heart racing, palms sweating and lump in my throat as if I was the one running the races. I would highly recommend every runner read this book.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The exciting, motivating, and action-packed, non-fiction sports book The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb begins in the year 1952. This book takes place all over the world and features three main runners that want to achieve the common goal of running a mile in under four minutes. The three runners, John Landy, Wes Santee, and Roger Bannister are all able to one-up each other in some way shape or form, whether it is in the 1500 meter race or improving on their mile times. It all comes down to one race in order to decide who the best runner is. These men are very skilled in the sport of running and are determined to finish before the others in this race of a lifetime. There were some parts of the book that felt slow and uneventful, but all contributed to make the climax of the book even better. Overall, I think that The Perfect Mile was great and definitely the best non-fiction book that I have ever read.

I chose to give the book The Perfect Mile this overall rating because although it was a great book there were a few parts that seemed to move slower and took longer to develop. These parts were important to the book but they were not quite as fun to read as others. One example of these parts was when John Landy, and his roommates at the Olympic Village, exchange dialogue with their coach Percy Cerutty. Cerutty’s dialogue with Landy is important to show improvement and forward progression in Landy’s running career but is definitely not filled with action like the racing parts of the book. Another example of my least favorite parts of the book is during Wes Santee’s college life at Kansas University. These parts of the story can be very chaotic, from fraternity brothers, to getting married in college, there is a lot going on in Santee’s life. Despite how chaotic these sections get, it shows how many people supported Santee during his running career. These parts may have been boring but also were very crucial to the story.

One writing style that Neal Bascomb used to enhance the book The Perfect Mile was the use of quotes at the beginning of each chapter. The quotes related to the chapter in a certain way whether they were from the runner that the chapter focused on or were related to the topic the chapter focuses on. One example of this writing style is when Neal Bascomb quotes Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If”. This certain chapter is about the runners giving it their all in order to achieve their goals so Bascomb takes the part of the poem that applies most and writes, “If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew, to serve your turn long after they are gone, and so hold on when there is nothing in you, except the Will which says to them ‘Hold on!’” (Bascomb ix). Although this seems like one small quote at the beginning of the chapter, when you think about how it relates to the focus of the chapter it is very motivating and moving to read. Another example of this is in a chapter that is about the runner’s boldness to do something never done before. Bascomb quotes the German poet Goethe and writes “Whatever you can do, or think you can, begin it. Boldness has power, and genius, and magic in it.” (Bascomb 110) Obviously the chapters with races were the most exciting but these quotes add to your understanding about the story that is developing. I also feel that Neal Bascomb did a great job writing accurately about events from the past.

Overall, I think The Perfect Mile was a great and well written book. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves sports that is middle school aged and up. The book does not contain any inappropriate language or content, but the way it is written is definitely for advanced readers. If you are younger and feel like you would enjoy reading this book, it is not unbearably hard but you might have some difficulty understanding some of the situations in the book. It is a very inspiring and motivational read and I think any reader would enjoy their experience of reading it. Neal Bascomb makes the story very easy to understand so don’t worry about being confused if you know nothing about the story beforehand. The Perfect Mile was a great non-fiction sports book and I would highly recommend reading it as soon as possible if you can.

[Jacques Bezuidenhout · Rating 4 out of 5]

How the 4 minute mile got broken, told in a very captivating way.

You follow the life/careers of Roger Bannister (UK), Landy (AUS), and Santee (USA).
The book tracks their numerous failures, training regimes and how they worked to break the mile record.

There is a great deal of research that have gone into this book. Detailing races, feelings and emotions.

Few things as nice as listening to a well written running book, whilst running.

It was great hearing about the legends that have set the foundation of this great sport.

Would highly recommend to anyone that has any sort of interest in running and some of its history.

[Ben Porter]

Really enjoyed this! It is extremely well researched and the author does a great job weaving together three separate but adjacent storylines. There are plenty of interesting side-stories (the power-hungry AAU, Franz Stampfl, and Emil Zatopek, to name a few) and the race descriptions had me on the edge of my seat. I wouldn’t say this book is quite as compelling as The Boys in the Boat or Seabiscuit (two of my all time favs), but I would put it in the same category as those two in terms of genre. Overall I’d definitely recommend to anyone interested in sports and fitness.

Also… midway through the book I went down to the track and tried to run a “fast” lap or two… I gained even greater respect for these guys after seeing the time on my stopwatch (it was very slow!)

[Amy Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterfully told story capable of engaging those who are interested in the story from a historical perspective, those who are interested because they love the sport, and everyone in between. The story is a great one of itself, but Bascomb does an excellent job of putting the story in its historical context and showing the characters of all the significant players, while truly keeping it a book about running. I loved how he gave stats for the training, and his method for describing each of the significant races was phenomenal. The balance, cohesion, and straight-up awesome story telling in this book makes it one I will probably keep coming back to.

[Martha Reifenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book!! John Landy most resonated with me because he ran, “as an expression of the best that was within him, but Bannister ran to be better than anyone else.” Both reasonings are valid and propelled two men to accomplish an ‘Everest’ in sports (first sub 4 minute mile). As an ex-athlete who always lacked a vicious competitive spirit, it was comforting to see someone like John Landy. Someone that is in the top of their sport not to win but to be more present of the limitations and triumphs of their personal body.

[Emily Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite its slow start, this book was an exciting and exhilarating read that had you on the edge of your seat. The author did a great job of jumping between all three runners, building tension, and guessing which one would actually run the “perfect mile.” An inspiring read which left me feeling that I could accomplish anything with a little hard work and willpower. Or the very least maybe run a mile faster than 11 minutes hehe.

[Juuso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heavy on race reports, light on training regimens, the book is suitable for the running aficionado with a soft spot for history (and lap-times), but probably not many others. The reader's (yes, I listened to the audio book) matter-of-factly voice fit the 1950s setting, but took away from the emotional side of the story.

[Catherine Cervone · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars - a great book, very interesting and not dry. It’s certainly an inspiring story and I believe it’s well-told. However, it is simply TOO LONG. This book could have been cut in half and would have been just as effective.

[Leah Lorz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, probably would have been 4, but there was some slow and repetitive portions. Interesting bit of running history with a compelling story arc. Each of the three men had a different background pushing them to the 4 minute mile. Makes you want to get out and push yourself to something great.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Thoroughly enjoyable storyline, well written. Anyone who enjoys running would probably like this book. The athletes’ discipline, sportsmanship and work ethic was awe inspiring. Though long, the book kept me on edge, wondering at each new race, “is this the one?”. I’m glad I read it.