Customer Reviews

The Four-Minute Mile, Fiftieth-Anniversary Edition

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3 star:		(1)
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As a cross-country runner in high school this book by Roger Bannister was a great inspiration to me. His description of the assault on the 4 minute mile barrier is fascinating but also memorable are his recollections of the Helsinki Olympics (where Bannister failed to achieve a medal), and his success at the Commonwealth Games where the only two sub-4 minute milers met face to face for the first time.

It's now about 40 years since I first read the book and I was very pleased it was republished in a commemorative edition.

Reading the book again was a joy. The book went very quickly and had most of the excitement of when I first read it. It was not surprising tha the prose and impressions seemed less mature than when I first read them, but that was to be expected as Bannister wrote the book when he was in his twenties.

I was disappointed that the pictures were not the same as the original edition, with perhaps too many pictures of Bannister in later years. The original pictures of the Helsinki Olympics and other competitions were an integral part of the book and it's a shame that they were missing.

Bannisters achievement in breaking the Four Minute Mile was a milestone (pardon the pun), as was the fact that he did it as an amateur and while he was in the middle of his medical studies. In my opinion his book is also a great achievement and is certainly worth the read.

Roger Bannister sets about telling the story of his historic record 4 minute mile but in the process he reveals that there is more to life than just running. This book is quite unlike most running books I have read in that Bannister strives to keep things in perspective amid spectacular and historic events. It could just be his British demeanor, but I found narrative rather enjoying.

Bannister not only was the greatest runner of his time, he also was a incredibly thinking and balanced man. He was an amatuer because he understood running was only a means to a better life.

This is a very interesting bk but maybe he should talk more about the running (after all it is the 4 min mile) and introduce his characters before he starts to talk about them.

I love a history lesson but to read these pages which were written over 50 years ago about the event itself was amazing. Bannister writes very well and I am happy to say that I too am a runner...I could only imagine the struggle he went through to break that barrier.

Every distance runner should read this book for motivation.

A must read for any athletics enthusiast. Deep and meaningful analysis of training for a true champion of his day.

It is amazing how vivid it all came back to me, since I was about 8 years old and the name Bannister became passed around. What is exceptional about this account, is how chosen pivotal athletes seem to be in their respective sports, so that when we read their stories there is much to be mined. After reading this offhand, medical student's on-the-run account of those heady days, I am even more convinced how special he was to the sport and the discipline of life. Like Ray Berry, Johnny Unitas's wide receiver on the Baltimore Colts in the late fifties, Bannister possessed an incredible self-awareness and keen analytical skills that pre-date the modern athlete. Outsiders only see the athlete, but inside is the scientific mind at work, attempting the impossible feat of cheating nature and man's limitations. It was apparent to this reader early on, that Roger Bannister was about to make larger contributions in the medical field as well. It was also gleaned how foolhardy Steve Prefontaine was in his training habits by letting his heart run free; Bannister explains how the body had to be trained for higher performance, not just willed. Bannister's philosophy about running appears clinical, serving notice to all, that the pathway to a widened life is unrestricted if one leads an examined life.

May 6, 1954: 3,000 spectators, a number of competitors, one runner with a historic goal.

On that afternoon, Sir Roger Bannister broke through a mythical barrier, running one mile under four minutes. It was accomplished during a meet between British AAA and Oxford University at Iffley Road Track in Oxford.

This 1955 autobiography is more than a chronicle of his chase for immortality; it is an exploration into disappointment on the international stage - he did not medal in the 1500m in the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games - self-sacrifice and the balancing of a number of goals on a variety of tracks in life.

While runners will never tire of the story of this challenge within the mind and body, those who have never laced up a pair of racing spikes can appreciate a spirit of motivation that can be applied in all facets of the daily grind.

"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win," says Bannister. And those words resonate on the drive to any finish line.

Short read, perfect for the summer vacation on the beach. A really talented man, amazing what he accomplished considering some of his training ( smoking and hung over collegiate). The book is very literate, and illustrates a personal side of an accomplished doctor.

A great story about a great runner! You keep reading only wishing that he had put more about his career. It reads really slow and much of the book could be skipped over. I recommend the book if you are looking for a background of Bannister starting from birth. I was looking for something about his running.