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This is the first complete history of the Games' most storied race. From ancient Greece to Atlanta 1996, the book chronicles the race's development--the heroes, the controversies, and the stories that emerged from the ultimate Olympic challenge. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Stories and Easy Reading
This book is made up of 29 chapters, one for each Olympic Marathon race (through 1996).The chapters average 6 pages each, which makes this book very easy to read.Each chapter/race is a fascinating story.And the book is very well written.A great read. ... Read more

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Athletics has become Britain's most successful sport, and this work investigates the human cost of that success. It charts the trials and tribulations of the Olympic Games' principal sport which have included the achievements of Coe, Ovett, Thompson, Christie and Gunnell. ... Read more

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Throughout most of human history, running was necessary for survival. In present times, it has become an ever-popular way to promote physical fitness. This work takes a close look at the history of running from the era when running was a survival skill to the contemporary age, when people run for enjoyment. Questions such as why the Greeks considered swiftness of foot the most highly prized quality and why we run counterclockwise around a track are answered in this in-depth history that also includes anecdotes and legends about the history and lore of running. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Highly Recommend For any Sports Fan!!
Breaks running down into 7 time periods from I. Running by Pre-and Early Humans (5,000,000-200,000 BC) all the way to VII The Modern Superstars (1950-2000). Covers the history of running spicing in some great biographies within the stories. Learn about the famous 20th century stars like Carl Lewis, Emil Zatopek and Haile Gebresilasie as well as obscure 19th century runners like George Seward, Harry Hutchens and Amy Howard.
Details how running began, the ancient Olympics, running naked, improvements in time keeping, all sorts of things that most runners never even think of. Running Through the Ages has great illustrations and excellent writing style. Ed Sears has really done his research. Whether you are a runner or simply a sports fan, I highly recommend this book. Not just track fans but all "serious" sports fans should pick up a copy of this great work!

An Inspiring and Exciting History of Running
Running Through the Ages is the most absorbing historical account of running and runners I have read. Its scope is wider than anything previously attempted, ranging from prehistory to the end of the twentieth century, and taking in professional running for men and women as well as the more familiar amateur era that dominated the last century. It is supported by hundreds of rare illustrations, most of which will be new, even to historians of the sport. There is a six-page bibliography and a comprehensive index. Edward Sears is a runner himself, and he wrotes with insight and enthusiasm as well as the skill of a storyteller. His section on George Seward, "The American Wonder", is a revelation. There are superb assessments of athletes as varied as Deerfoot, Arthur Duffey, Paavo Nurmi, Helen Stephens, Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph, Bill Rodgers, Buddy Edelen and Haile Gerbrselassie, for this author has the deep knowledge of the sport to give credit to great and lesser names. All the great races are vividly described and the dramas of the Olympic arena expertly chronicled. This is a fine, inspiring and articulate book. I don't merely recommend it to anyone interested in the sport; I urge you to read it. ... Read more

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Relive the high drama and rich details of the past century’s Olympic marathons!

Coauthor David Martin—the foremost authority on the history of the race and the performances of the athletes in it—presents a unique and multifaceted look at the Olympic marathon. He and Olympic marathon expert Roger Gynn have teamed up to provide a definitive resource that goes beyond statistics to offer readers a vivid chronicle of the athletes and their memorable marathon performances. For every Olympic marathon since 1896, you’ll find a detailed narrative of how the race was run, fascinating biographical details of the top finishers, the political climate surrounding the race, and a map with street descriptions of the actual race course.

Generously illustrated, often with rare and never-before-published photos, a pictorial glimpse is provided into the contemporary atmosphere and dynamics of each race. From the first marathon winner, Spiridon Louis, to legends like Emil Zátopek, Frank Shorter, and Joan Benoit Samuelson, you'll find insights and race details you can't find anywhere else. If you're a fan of running or the Olympics, this is the one book you will enjoy again and again for many Olympic years to come. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Excellent Description of The Olympic Marthons through 2000, Men and Women
Well done decent capsules on the Olympic Marathons up through the year 2000. The book contains very good descriptions of the contenders and the races as they unfold. Also contains a great collection of pictures such as Ron Clarke, who ran the 5K and 10K (medaled), leading the Tokyo marathon, finishing 9th. Beside the descriptions of the runners, the author includes the top finishers splits so you can see how they parried over the miles, includes a list of the top 10 finishers and the post race career of the gold medalist. The women of course join in 1984 when their first Olympic marathon comes into play. The stories, list of splits and finishers is just a great reference and the race descriptions are pleasant to read. One picture is so fitting and reminiscent of the seemingly bronze place finisher at the 2008 Olympics slipping to fourth in total helplessness on the last lap; there is an early picture of the leader of a race on the track running in the second lane on a curve while being passed on the inside by one and then a second runner, relegating the leader to bronze on that last lap and he appears, like the Ethiopian in 2008, to be defenseless.

David and Roger -
I have known David and Roger since the 70's and have other books by them.They love running foot races and it shows. You can count that this will be the best researched and well written book. I was not disappointed.I dug in and read the book over a couple of weeks.If it is not in this book then it is an unproved rumor.

Great Book for Runners
If you are a runner (especially a marathoner) you have to get this book.It goes through every marathon in Olympic history, giving each race history, events, course, statistics, etc.It is very thorough, while pacing itself to get in all the Olympic marathons into a single volume.And, it was written in an interesting and readable manner.

The competition and sport of the races themselves give a great basis for an exciting read.

If you are doing a research project (like I was) this was the only book I would recommend - or, at least the first book.I could not find a book anywhere that showed the 1960 Rome Olympic course.Martin and Gynn had it.In fact, their race course map was better than the map a friend obtained for me from the Italian Olympic Library (Federazione Italiana Di Ateletica Leggera).

Fantastic, encyclopedic, and detailed historical review.
The authors, Martin and Gynn, have put together an unbelieveably detailed review of every Olympic Marathon in the modern era.The detail provided brings the excitement of each successive Marathon alive.The Olympic Marathon is, perhaps, the most grueling Olympic event, and the comprehensive coverage of each race makes the reader feel as if it's taking place before their very eyes.Read this book and you'll get a sense of the drama of the event, the personal history of the runners, and the historical setting of each race.The authors have even reconstructed old Olympic documents to trace the paths each Olympic Marathon took.The information in this book is truly encyclopedic, and the authors have given us with a wonderful sense of what this race is about.This book is a gem. ... Read more

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A chance encounter in Spain in 1959 brought young Irish reporter Valerie Danby-Smith face-to-face with Ernest Hemingway. The interview was awkward and brief, but before it ended something had clicked into place. For the next two years, Valerie devoted her life to Hemingway and his wife, Mary, traveling with them through beloved old haunts in Spain and France and living with them during the tumultuous final months in Cuba. In name a personal secretary, but in reality a confidante and sharer of the great man’s secrets and sorrows, Valerie literally came of age in the company of one of the greatest literary lions of the twentieth century.

Five years after his death, Valerie became a Hemingway herself when she married the writer’s estranged son Gregory. Now, at last, she tells the story of the incredible years she spent with this extravagantly talented and tragically doomed family.

In prose of brilliant clarity and stinging candor, Valerie evokes the magic and the pathos of Papa Hemingway’s last years. Swept up in the wild revelry that always exploded around Hemingway, Valerie found herself dancing in the streets of Pamplona, cheering bullfighters at Valencia, careening around hairpin turns in Provence, and savoring the panorama of Paris from her attic room in the Ritz. But it was only when Hemingway threatened to commit suicide if she left that she realized how troubled the aging writer was – and how dependent he had become on her.

In Cuba, Valerie spent idyllic days and nights typing the final draft of A Movable Feast, even as Castro’s revolution closed in. After Hemingway shot himself, Valerie returned to Cuba with his widow, Mary, to sort through thousands of manuscript pages and smuggle out priceless works of art. It was at Ernest’s funeral that Valerie, then a researcher for Newsweek, met Hemingway’s son Gregory – and again a chance encounter drastically altered the course of her life. Their twenty-one-year marriage finally unraveled as Valerie helplessly watched her husband succumb to the demons that had plagued him since childhood.

Valerie Hemingway played an intimate, indispensable role in the lives of two generations of Hemingways. This memoir, by turns luminous, enthralling, and devastating, is the account of what she enjoyed, and what she endured, during her astonishing years of living as a Hemingway. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Loved it!
Item just as described, exactly what I was looking for.Great seller, item arrived in a timely manner.Thank you!

Running of the Bulls in Pamplona
Valerie Hemingway is the wife of one of Ernest Hemingway's sons- and she gives a unique perspective on life in and around the Hemingway family in "Running With the Bulls". Although many books in the "I knew Hemingway" category have come out in recent years, this one manages to give us some insights into the depth of the man, his weaknesses and strengths, his frailties, passions, rough edges and all. Being with Ernest Hemingway during the running of the bulls in Pamplona- which just took place about ten days ago and occurs every year on the Festival of San Fermin- must have been an exciting time, something most Hemingway fans would cherish. We see it on T.V. and grimace at the scenes of people barely escaping the bulls' horns- or worse- those who get gored, ending up in the hospital.Yet Ernest Hemingway lived it and relished it- and actually ran at least once himself- although the book focuses on his later years, when he was content to sit at cafes, drink the local "Riojo" (red wine) and enjoy the tasty Spanish tapas and other delicacies.

"Running With the Bulls" gives us a glimpse into the mind, the heart and soul of this great writer in the final years of his life, when things weren't going so well, when health problems and the cumulative effect of three divorces weighed heavily on him. We still see his strength, his passion and sense of exhilaration at the wondrous things in life- simple, yet spectacular scenes of bulls running through the streets...

-Gene Pisasale
Author, "Lafayette's Gold- The Lost Brandywine Treasure" and
"Vineyard Days"

A Different Piece of the Puzzle
If you are interested in a different side to the Hemingway story then this is a good book to read.Obviously the book focuses on her time with the various Hemingways; initially mostly on Papa Hemingways last two years, especially the last full summer he spent in Spain following the top matadors, and later on about her life married to Greg Hemingway and her continued association with Mary Hemingway after Papa Hemingway's death.I enjoyed hearing her take on the many different adventures in Spain, Cuba, NYC, and Idaho and also hearing more about what happened in the years after Hemingway's death.For a semi-orphaned, young irish girl from no-where, she had a hell of an adventure and met some amazing people. The prevalence of mental illness and denial of it throughout the book is amazing.It was an good and easy read and I would recommend it.

Truth does not Suffer
A balanced and sympathetic description of events from someone who was really there but whose ego does not lead to embellishment of the facts.

Don't miss it
Valeries serious and lovingly book about her life as married to one of Hem's sons is also very well written. For all of us still reading about the astonishing life of Hem (there are several 100 around)this one is a must. Don't miss her sound opinions from a life within the family. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from American Decades: Primary Sources, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 1894 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.American Decades Primary Sources provides fresh insight into the decade's most important events, people, and issues. Entries representing a diversity of views that provide insight into the seminal issues, themes, movements and events from the decade. Also included are concise contextual information, notes about the author and further resources. American Decades Primary Sources includes chapters on the arts, medicine and health, media, education, world events, religion, government and politics, lifestyles and social trends, law and justice, religion, business and the economy, and sports. Included to provide unique perspectives and a wealth of understanding are first hand accounts that include oral histories, songs, speeches, advertisements, TV, play and movie scripts, letters, laws, legal decisions, newspaper articles, cartoonsand recipes. ... Read more