The Greatest by Jim Denison
Two Olympic 10,000m golds; eight world championships indoors and outdoors; seventeen world records over four different distances; a fifty-four race winning streak--Haile Gebrselassie utterly dominated a decade of distance running. The Greatest is his authorized biography, written by Jim Denison, who worked on it with Haile for over two years, visited him in Ethiopia, and traveled with him on the European track circuit. Haile's life story is fascinating, detailing his early years of hard poverty in war-torn Ethiopia, his relentless training, his rise to godlike status in the track world, and the good works he has done for his country with his fame and fortune. Most of all it is a glimpse of the kind, fascinating man behind all the records and medals._________________ Haile Gebrselassie is the best distance runner I have seen in the last quarter-
century, the most electrifying personality, and somewhat of an enigma, given his Ethiopian roots. With this wonderful book, Jim Denison allows the whole world to learn more about Haile The Great, a distance-running star whose brilliance won't soon be forgotten.
--Amby Burfoot, executive editor, Runner's World, and 1968 Boston Marathon winner Be in no doubt Haile is the greatest distance runner the world has ever seen.
--Dave Bedford, former 10,000m world record holder,
and currently race director for the London Marathon Haile is an elegant champion and a fine example of sportsmanship.
--Lasse Viren, Olympic double-gold medalist In my view Haile is the greatest distance runner of all time and a fantastic testimony to his legacy is that the man who is going to challenge for that title 'the greatest' has been nurtured by Haile and his coach, Dr. Wolde-Meskel Kostre. Haile has taken care of the present and he is passing on the baton to the future, to one of his pupils, Kenenisa Bekele.
--Brendan Foster, MBE, 1976 Olympic bronze medalist 10,000m, former world record holder 3000m, and presently Track and Field Commentator for the BC Haile's accomplishment is a class act on and off the track. He is not only admired for his running, but his universal smile (whether he wins or finishes second).
--Meb Kheflezighi, two-time Olympian and American record holder for 10,000m
William Bridel is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary, Canada. His teaching and research focus on socio-cultural aspects of the body, sport, physical activity, and health. His research interests include: the emergence of ultra-endurance sports as forms of leisure activities; social and political aspects of health; sport-related pain and injury; and, gender, sexuality, and sport. His work has appeared in various journals including The Sociology of Sport Journal and Leisure/Loisir. His current list of projects includes collaborations with national and provincial sport organizations, focused on inclusivity and diversity
Pirkko Markula is a professor of socio-cultural studies of physical activity at the University of Alberta, Canada. Her research interests include social analyses of dance, exercise, and sport in which she has employed several theoretical lenses ranging from critical, cultural studies research to Foucault and Deleuze. While her work is based on qualitative research methods (textual analysis, participant-observation, interviewing, ethnography), she is also interested in methodological experimentation including autoethnography and performance ethnography. She is the previous editor of the Sociology of Sport Journal. She is the co-author, with Michael Silk, of Qualitative Research for Physical Culture (Routledge, 2011), co-author with Richard Pringle, of Foucault, Sport and Exercise: Power, Knowledge and Transforming the Self (Routledge, 2006), editor of Feminist Sport Studies: Sharing Joy, Sharing Pain (SUNY Press, 2005) and Olympic women and the media: International perspectives (Palgrave, 2009), co-editor with Eileen Kennedy of Women and Exercise: Body, Health and Consumerism (Routledge, 2011), co-editor, with Sarah Riley, Maree Burns, Hannah Frith and Sally Wiggins, of Critical Bodies: Representations, Identities and Practices of Weight and Body Management (Palgrave, 2007) and co-editor, with Jim Denison, of Moving Writing: Crafting Movement in Sport Research (Peter Lang, 2003)
Jim Denison is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation at the University of Alberta, Canada. A sport sociologist and coach educator, his research primarily examines the formation of endurance running coaches' practices through a Foucauldian lens. Along with numerous book chapters and referred articles, he edited Coaching Knowledges: Understanding the Dynamics of Performance Sport (2007, AC Black) and was co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of Sports Coaching (2013, Routledge). In addition, Denison is the author of The Greatest (2004, Breakaway Books), the official biography of the Ethiopian running legend Haile Gebrselassie, and Bannister and Beyond: The Mystique of the Four-Minute Mile (2003, Breakaway Books), a collection of in-depth interviews with a wide-array of sub four-minute milers
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781891369483 |
| ISBN 10 | 1891369482 |
| Title | The Greatest |
| Author | Jim Denison |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Breakaway Books |
| Year published | 2004-09-01 |
| Number of pages | 272 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |