Author: Neal Bascomb
The Perfect Mile is a well written book that captured the feel of the time, the feel of the competition, and the uniqueness of what drove each man toward this historical event.
One of the really fun things about this story is that even if you know who ran the first 4 minute mile and maybe even if you know who the three characters were that were competing to do it (doubtful), Neal Bascomb makes this drama come to life by helping us get to know these guys and making it feel like we have a front row seat on their lives. A couple of years ago I read a book titled "Three Roads to the Alamo". This book could have been titled Three Roads to History or Three Roads to the 4 Minute Mile.
I had no idea that the chase for the 4 minute mile captured the imagination of millions of people and much of the developed world. It truly embodied the idea and the dream of the amateur athlete. The United States was represented by the farm boy from Kansas, Wes Santee. Wes was a scholarship athlete at the University of Kansas who learned painfully that the AAU was not what it should have been. Australia was represented by the well bread John Landy. Landy was indeed a training freak who was nothing if not single minded. He was the true, fast as lightning, front runner. And Great Britain was represented by the medical student, Roger Bannister. Bannister had a cast of characters around him that pushed and prodded and helped him along in his quest for the 4 minute mile.
This book captured me and my competitive spirit. I found myself cheering on each of these guys at one time or another. Neal Bascom did a very nice job developing the characters and re-creating the excitement felt across the globe as history drew a bead on the 4 minute mile.
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