Running: A Global History (Hardback)

From starting-gun to finishing tape may be a clean ten seconds, but behind that moment swirl a few thousand years of human joy and despair and endeavour - this seems to be the argument of Gotaas's rich and engrossing book. The Spectator As well as being vital to our early survival, running is a universal form of play, as this fascinating study shows ... Gotaas's research ranges as freely across the globe as it does through time. He pays as much attention to modern African champions as he does to European greats, carefully and colourfully describing the lives of overlooked luminaries such as Abebe Bikila, the barefoot Ethiopian who won the 1960 Olympic marathon in Rome, and Henry Rono (Kenya's "Mr Comeback"). The Observer an admirable attempt to cover the running phenomenon, not merely in its cultural and historical sweep but also in its philosophy. Gotaas starts by giving us some of the fascinating history of running, showing that it has been part and parcel of human life since our earliest days and has featured prominently in cultures ranging from that of the Incas ... to Sumeria ... It is the attempts by Gotaas to get beneath the surface of running that provide the book's most revelatory moments. -- Matthew Syed The Times fulfils its brief brilliantly The Independent An effortless run through history. Thor Gotaas takes us with him on a well-gauged tour through the amazing and many-sided world history of running, elegantly told without for a moment being monotonous. Gotaas carries through his race entirely without effort, but at a good pace, with movement and rhythm. -- Per Haddal Aftenposten, Norway