The Race of the Century: The Battle to Break the Four-Minute Mile by Neal Bascomb - ADVISABLE

The Race of the Century: The Battle to Break the Four-Minute Mile by Neal Bascomb, 208 pages. NON-FICTION Scholastic Focus, 2022. $19

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS- ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW

In 1954, breaking the 4-minute mile barrier created stiff competition. The short list of men included: John Landy, Wes Santee, and Roger Bannister. These men trained vigorously with that goal in mind. Each man endeavored to remove obstacles to reach this goal such as: sickness, anger, media ribbing, politics, bad weather, etc. Roger Bannister trained to be a doctor at St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington at the same time he trained to break the 4-minute mile. He did not accomplish this on his own.  Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway were his pacemakers who pushed him to victory. On May 6, 1954, in Oxforshire, England, Bannister broke the barrier at 3:59:4.

While this well-researched book clarified the intensity of the race to beat the 4-minute barrier, it did so blandly. I felt no desire for anyone to win as the book plodded along in a pedantic fashion. Maybe an athlete who likes statistics would like this.

MOMMAC