{"product_id":"the-perfect-mile-three-athletes-one-goal-and-less-than-four-minutes-to-achieve-it-isbn-9780618562091","title":"The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Perfect Mile,\u003c\/em\u003e Neal Bascomb, the\u003cem\u003e New York Times\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRoger 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSpanning 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. | \u003cp\u003eThe Perfect Mile returns the reader to a time when a sporting ideal was not an oxymoron . . . Enthralling.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003cbr\u003eA rare literary win... Bascomb has penned a sports tribute book that transcends the genre.\u003cp\u003eThe Oregonian\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA splendid book... Well-written, suspenseful.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSt. Louis Post-Dispatch\u003cbr\u003eA vivid human-interest story... Engrossing, excruciating, and exhilarating.\u003cp\u003eBoston Herald\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA fine, gripping book.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Chicago Sun-Times\u003cbr\u003eA marvelous book.\u003cp\u003eKansas City Star\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA thriller.... This being an Olympic year, The Perfect Mile comes just in time to remind us what being an athlete can, and should, be about.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNewsday\u003cbr\u003eThe Perfect Mile captures the awe-inspiring quality of ordinary men who achieve what had been thought impossible.\u003cp\u003eTimeOut New York\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCaptivating.... Much joy and inspiration to be found here.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003cbr\u003eCompelling human drama. [Bascomb's] crisp, detailed narrative helps readers step into the milers' spikes. A resplendent story of an epic event in sports history.\u003cp\u003eChristian Science Monitor\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBascomb delivers, with stylish and swift prose well matched to the subject... This is an agile and informative read, and we should compare Hillebrand's \"Seabiscuit\" to it, not the other way around.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMSNBC.com\u003cbr\u003eIn masterly fashion, Bascomb re-creates the battle of the milers, embellishing his account with fascinating forays into runner's lore... It's a mark of Bascomb's skill that, although the outcome of the race is well known, he keeps us in suspense, rendering in graphic detail the runners' agony down the final stretch.\u003cp\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mariner Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44890212729061,"sku":"NP9780618562091","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780618562091.jpg?v=1730232773","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-perfect-mile-three-athletes-one-goal-and-less-than-four-minutes-to-achieve-it-isbn-9780618562091","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}