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The Four-Minute Mile | 
 enlarge | Author: Roger Bannister
Publisher: The Lyons Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $2.00
You Save: $12.95 (87%)
New (1) Used (20) from $0.04
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 300661
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 264
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6
ISBN: 155821027X
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.426
EAN: 9781558210271
ASIN: 155821027X
Publication Date: March 1, 1994
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Ships immediately! Perfect & New. Has publishers remainder mark. 1st Edition. 1994 Paperback.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
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.
Book Description
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)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 A Chosen One August 4, 2008
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.
Breaking Through An Incredible Barrier June 13, 2008
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.
Great runner, accomplished human, literate read December 16, 2007
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.
Still a good book November 25, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
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.
 Four-Minute mile...slow? April 18, 2002
5 out of 10 found this review helpful
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.
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