The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb

The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb

In The Perfect Mile, Neal Bascomb, the New York Times bestselling author of Faster, presenst the riveting, true story of the three world-class athletes who individually became the first runners to break the four-minute mile.



There was a time when running the mile in four minutes was believed to be 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 each set out to break this 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 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.



Spanning three continents and defying the odds, 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. 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.

Neal Bascomb is the author of The Nazi Hunters, which has won multiple honors, including the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award. In a starred review, School Library Journal rated his second young adult novel, Sabotage, superb, and his third young adult novel, The Great Escape, a fantastic selection for avid history readers. He's also the author of six adult nonfiction books about everything from a 1905 Russian submarine mutiny to a modern high school robotics team. Hunting Eichmann, The Perfect Mile, and Winter Fortress were all New York Times and international bestsellers. His novel The Racers was selected a BCCB Blue Ribbon Book, and School Library Journal gave it a starred review, calling it Highly Recommended.

Neal, their family, and his mischievous dog, Moses, live in Philadelphia. Neal Bascomb's website is nealbascomb.com, and he can be found on Facebook as @nealrbascomb.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780618562091
ISBN 10	0618562095
Title	The Perfect Mile
Author	Neal Bascomb
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Mariner Books
Year published	2005-04-06
Number of pages	322
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.