Promotional Information

/ Lead title The inspirational story of three international runners attempting to achieve what no one had managed -- to break the four-minute mile barrier. It was the ultimate test of endurance, and the human drama that unfolded is told here for the first time. / A combination of the best historical non-fiction adventures and inspirational biographies -- think Laura Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit and Lance Armstrong's It's Not About A Bike. / Worldwide interest with separate US and ANZ editions. / The 2004 summer Olympics has raised interest and awareness of athletics. / The book was incredibly well reviewed in HB

About the Author

Neal Bascomb was born in St Louis, MO and is a graduate of Miami University. He began his writing career for Euromoney magazine in London before returning to the States to work as a book publisher for four years. He helped start the literary agency Carlisle & Company. He is passionate about athletics and hockey.

Reviews

'Bascomb succeeds in seducing the reader into sympathising with them all and feeling involved in their individual stories' The Spectator 'The Perfect Mile is as inspiring as it is accurate and evocative' Athletics Weekly magazine 'Bascomb lets his wonderful story and its characters do the talking' Sunday Telegraph

The attempt by three men in the 1950s to become the first to run the mile in less than four minutes is a classic 20th-century sports story. Bascomb's excellent account captures all of the human drama and competitive excitement of this legendary racing event. It helps that the story and its characters are so engaging to begin with. The three rivals span the globe: England's Roger Bannister, who combines the rigors of athletic training with the "grueling life of a medical student"; Australia's John Landy, "driven by a demand to push himself to the limit"; and Wes Santee from the U.S., a brilliant strategic runner who became the "victim" of the "[h]ypocrisy and unchecked power" of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). Although Bannister broke the record before Landy, Landy soon broke Bannister's record, and the climax of the book is a long and superb account of the race between the two men at the Empire Games in Vancouver on August 7, 1954. Bascomb provides the essential details of this "Dream Race" which was heard over the radio by 100 million people while Santee, who may have been able to beat both of them, was forced by AAU restrictions to participate only as a broadcast announcer. Bascomb definitively shows how this perfect race not only was a "defining moment in the history of the mile and of sport as well," but also how it reveals "a sporting world in transition" from amateurism to professionalism. (Apr.) Forecast: With Bascomb's narrative skills, it's no surprise that movie rights have already been optioned and by the team behind the Seabiscuit film. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.