Customer Reviews

Duel in the Sun: The Story of Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, and America's Greatest Marathon

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Some readers have obviously struggled with the book's structure, but I actually think it adds greatly to the story. If the Author used a linear timeline, the book would fail in its ultimate goal: to demonstrate how the '82 Boston marathon ultimately was so much more than just a race to Beardsley and Salazar: in effect, that race (what it stood for and the ramifications of the race itself) serves to define these two guys.

As I said, Duel in the Sun is two stories in one: it's the story of two men's lives. Of itself, this is interesting enough, because both Salazar and Beardsley make for great character studies. Their lives have contained more ups and downs than the Boston Marathon course itself, so as human interest, it works.

But it's also the story of a race; a wonderful race that everyone who's ever competed in an endurance event can relate to. The narrative of the race itself is written with clear understanding of the runner. This guys gets it. He understands the marathon; he understands what it really means. And it shows.

I think anyone seeking a greater understanding of not only the marathon, but of the human condition, will enjoy this book. It's written with a great deal of empathy and more than a little genuine insight. If I ever wanted to truly explain to someone the real meaning of endurance, I think I'd just loan them this book. Because John Brant captures it perfectly.

I enjoyed this book but at times it seemed very reptitive. It does not take long to see the roles of Beardsley and Salazar and understand their personalities. Beardsley (Farm Boy, addicted to Pain killers) & Salazaar (Golden Boy Favorite, religous, depressed, and relentless in his running) However this is continually harped upon throughout the book and eventually becomes tedious. As a veteran marathoner I sometimes find running books are too often written for the masses and are not technical enough. However, this book would appeal to veteran runners and non-runners alike. It was technical enough for my taste and all in all I did enjoy this book. Very interesting take on arguably the most important marathon ever. I would recommend it although it didn't really compare to some of my other running favorites (Once a Runner, Running with the Buffaloes, etc...)

I enjoyed the book, despite jumping among 4 stories (past and race from each runner's perspective). I would have preferred a more traditional approach; i.e., a little history of each, the race, and the aftermath. But the author chooses. The unique approach somewhat detracted, but I'm glad I got the full story.

Point: The greatest marathon that has ever been run on American soil by Americans was the 1982 Boston Marathon where Salazar and Beardsley ran each other into the ground to finish in 2:08:51 and 2:08:53.

Path: The author tells a captivating story by dividing the chapters into 2 minutes of the marathon followed by 2 years of background. Working through twenty chapters and the lives of two amazing runners, the story moves quickly. Intertwined with the story of the marathon is Beardsley's addiction to pain killers and Salazar's continuing depression.

Sources: The author has done his research with personal interviews, televised events, books, articles, and press releases.

Agreement: The story was captivating and inspiring. These are truly some of the greatest runners who have ever run. After finishing the book I thought, I could run a sub 5 minute mile!

Disagreement: Although the race was the highlight and capstone of both running careers, the life stories were quite discouraging. Both their depression and drug abuse were presented as hereditary problems. Both looked to drugs for escape. Salazar committed his life to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Beardsley committed his life to an ever recovering addict and his 12 step group. Neither realized the peace which could only be given through Christ.

Personal App: I was challenged by their drive to run. The internal fortitude to continue amidst the pain was impressive. But, I don't run for the same reasons.

I would recommend this book to runners if Beardsley's coach never spoke a word.

I have no idea why there are several reviews complaining about the story jumping around. The book is written very well and does so in a way that allows the reader to get a wonderful perspective of the lives of these two men and not just the duel. Excellent book and so much deeper than a simple book on running. I read the entire thing on one cross-continental plane ride. I was hooked from the beginning.

I could'nt put the book down, after I started reading it. I don't think a novel could be written any better. As a runner, it was very inspiring to me. I will definitely share the book with my running buddies.

This is a pretty exciting book on the greatest race in Boston Marathon history between two of America's (Salazar was a born in Cuba but has American citizenship)greatest distance runners of that time coming as the career of the great Bill Rodgers was just past peak but stil competetive. As the race did to the top finishers in the 83 Boston, the race was so competetive and intense, both competitors were never quite the same again physically as they were then. It's as if they each damaged part of their physiology that day made worse by the ever pleasing Beardsly's racing schedule. The style of the book is a bit challenging as alternate chapters flash between the race as flasback sections on the careers of both men, family life and even post race experiences flashing forward. I agree with many of the reviewers that the book would have been better served by starting with a bio on the runners up to the race date, providing the race story followed by the post race bios on both runners that sadly includes devastating injuries and health issues, particularly in Beardsly's case. I had already read Beardsly's personal bio on his life that includes the race and in "Duel in the Sun", Beardsly's historical segements are almost verbatim from his book. Thus, you wil enjoy the book better if you read Beardsly's book afterwards or skim through Beardsly's bio parts as presented in Duel if you already read Beardsly's book. The information on Salazar's unique physical issues were very revealing and provide a greater and appreciative pictures of the struggles he went through that finnaly obtained some relief capped by his famous 50 mile untra victoria in Africa. I had also hoped that there would be more pictures of the race and with more commentary from the competitors that stayed wiuth them longest, particularly, the very game Rodgers who was the last to let go on a very hot day. Well worth reading but I think it could have been better but hats off to Beardsly and Salazar for running one of the most competetive races of all time, gutting it all the way.

This book does a good job showing two runners in their prime: one who drank water during the heat of the race and the other who did not and thus suffered greatly. What we have in the book is an account of one of the greatest marathons ever run--a race so competive, neither runner would gave an inch to the other, and neither runner was capable of breaking away from the other, so instead they pushed each other further into unimaginable exhaustion. The result is that both runners exerted themselves to near-death. The tragedy is that neither runner would ever return to that peak level of performance. They all but destoyed their bodies, especially Olympic gold medal hopeful Alberto Salazar.

I will own up front that the timeline in this book can be confusing. It is important to pay attention to dates as you read the story. But if you can get past that and avoid timeline confusion, the tale is great. I was given this book as a gift by my running club when I qualified to run the Boston Marathon. They all signed it and then I was also able to get Dick Beardsley to sign it as well at the Boston Marathon Race Expo. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was quite a page-turner, and my husband read it and enjoyed it as well. Amazing to see what these great runners have had to struggle with in their lives.

An interesting and fast read about the race between Dick Beardsley & Alberto Salazar in the 1982 Boston Marathon. It goes into detail about the background of each runner and what led them to Boston that year as well as detailing how it dramatically affected the lives of both runners long after the race had ended.

The book is narrated in a highly non-linear fashion jumping back and forth between descriptions of the race, the runners' background, and the aftermath. It requires that you pay a fair amount of attention so that you don't get confused as to when the action being described happened.

While I enjoyed the book, I got the impression it was being written almost as a TV documentary for the Biography Channel, it could certainly have benefited from some additional editorial work.

That being said it was enjoyable to read and certainly worth the cover price.