Running in Literature: A Guide for Scholars, Readers, Runners, Joggers and Dreamers [Hardcover]

Roger Robinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

A very readable, extremely erudite -account of runners in literature, from the Bible to Greece and Rome to nineteenth century English literature, to the modern novel. A treasure trove of literary gems on the sport, this book includes hundreds of items too brief for inclusion in The Runner’s Literary Companion.

Roger Robinson is a professor of -English at Victoria University in New Zealand and is a world-class runner. He is the editor of The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A tour-de-force of scholarship and creative writing. -- Bernd Heinrich, author of Why We Run

Every page of RUNNING IN LITERATURE is a treasure trove. -- Amby Burfoot, executive editor, Runner’s World, and winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon

I am entranced by Roger Robinson’s wonderful, easy, conversational erudition. -- John J. Kelley, winner of the 1957 Boston Marathon, English teacher and author

RUNNING IN LITERATURE is the book for every serious reading runner and every devoted running reader. -- Frank Deford, NPR commentator and author of An American Summer and Heart of a Champion

Robinson’s wit and intelligence crackle through this masterful guide to running’s place in literature. -- Julia Emmons, Ph.D., Director, Peachtree Road Race

About the Author

Roger Robinson is a professor of English at Victoria University in New Zealand, an international running writer, and a world-class runner. He is the author of Heroes and Sparrows and Robert Louis Stevenson: His Best Pacific Writings, and editor of The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature. He lives in New York City and Wellington, New Zealand.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Breakaway Books (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891369415
• ISBN-13: 978-1891369414
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #384,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Runners' literary treasure, November 4, 2004

By 

Paul Carleton (Pontiac, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Running in Literature: A Guide for Scholars, Readers, Runners, Joggers and Dreamers (Hardcover)

I discovered "Running in Literature" among samples of books Sheridan Books had designed and printed. I was there early this year overseeing the design and printing of my book, "Concepts: A ProtoTheist Quest for Science-Minded Skeptics." They gave me a copy of Robinson's book which I read and then gave to a friend (who's run more than thirty marathons) to read and pass on to others in our running group (tho' she still has it). Then I found myself wanting to refer to it so I purchased another copy for myself from Amazon.

I particularly like Robinson's explanation and rendition of Robert Browning's poem "Pheidippides." It inspired the inclusion of the marathon in the first modern Olympics which led to marathon races thru-out the world ever since. I also like Robinson's description of Alan Sillitoe's "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner." And many, many others. If you've done some long-distance running and have a taste for literature, you'll treasure this collection that Robinson's put-together.