The Perfect Mile

The Perfect Mile

Cover of paperback, depicting Roger Bannister breaking the 4 minute mile record
Author Neal Bascomb
Country United States
Language English
Genre Non-fiction
Publisher Mariner Books
Publication date
2004
Pages 344
ISBN 0-618-56209-5
OCLC 54001404
Preceded by Higher: A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City
Followed by Red Mutiny: Eleven Fateful Days on the Battleship Potemkin

The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It (2004) by Neal Bascomb is a non-fiction book about three runners and their attempts to become the first man to run a mile under four minutes. The runners are Englishman Roger Bannister, American Wes Santee, and Australian John Landy. The book's climax is Bannister's breaking of the record on May 6, 1954.

Reception

The New York Times' review calls it an "enthralling book" and says Bascomb "expertly winds up the tension of the three men's many failed attempts to get closer to the magic mark, before Bannister wrote himself into legend first on a windy day at the Oxford University track".[1]

References

  1. Horspool, David (May 2, 2004). "Breaking Away". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-02-15.


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