The Four-Minute Mile [Paperback]

Roger Bannister (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1994

All sports have pivotal moments, single events that change perceptions forever after. For the sport of running such a moment passed on a blustery May afternoon in 1954, when Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile. This is the story of that epic run. Today, forty years later, lovers of sport - runners and non-runners alike - will be moved by this modest but impassioned story of one of sport's true heroes. (5 1/2 X 8 1/4, 264 pages, charts)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Forty-some years after the barrier was broken it's difficult to imagine how daunting a challenge the four-minute mile once was, but for a generation of world-class runners it represented the impossible dream. Roger Bannister, the British middle-distance runner who finally achieved the epic quest in 1954, wrote this stunning memoir of his life as a runner a year later; intelligent, analytical, dramatic, and graceful, it remains a sporting classic. Though two introductions have been added in years since, it's a shame that Bannister, a remarkable man who graduated from Oxford to a distinguished medical career, has never penned a more complete memoir. Still, his achievement as a young man remains one of the pivotal moments in 20th-century sports, and his account of that achievement is as good a glimpse into a runner's race toward greatness as has ever been written.

Review

"Bannister writes in much the same fashion as he runs-with rippling smoothness, eye-catching grace, and spectacular effectiveness." --The New York Times

"...makes for compelling reading..."-- New York Runner

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (March 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155821027X
• ISBN-13: 978-1558210271
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,308,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still a good book, November 25, 2007

By 

Zev Kaptowsky (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Four-Minute Mile, Fiftieth-Anniversary Edition (Paperback)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars True Perspective on Life & Running, January 24, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Four-Minute Mile (Paperback)

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.

25 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bannister was the epitome of a great man., September 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Four-Minute Mile (Paperback)

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.