The Perfect Mile - Neil Bascomb

Non-Fiction
Paperback from Amazon.com - $10.17


Buy it if: You loved 'Seabiscuit.'

Don’t buy it if: You’re hoping for a surprise ending. Roger Bannister is still the first man to run a mile in less than four minutes…

The crux of most true-life sports stories is their foregone conclusion. Midway through 'Faithful' you’re not going to discover the Red Sox actually lost the ’04 series, nor is there much doubt about Jim Braddock’s big fight in 'Cinderella Man.' No. The key with these types of sports stories is to portray the moments leading up to these compelling moments…well, compellingly. The Perfect Mile highlights the excitement and uncertainty that preceded Roger Bannister’s historic run remarkably.

Paced like a cinematic drama, building to the running of the world’s first sub-4:00 mile, somehow Bascomb imbues the writing the same sense of anticipation that track and field enthusiasts must have felt following these events contemporarily. He does it so well that I spent whole passages wondering if I’d gotten my history right. Bannister did do it, didn’t he? Maybe Wes Santee somehow defies his bad luck to pip the record in the nick of time. Perhaps John Landy set the mark first and I just didn’t know it?

Obviously Bannister did it. His is a name synonymous with the act decades later. And unfortunately the other two are mere footnotes unknown to most of the general public. But the story of these three men – divergent in continent, profession and education - and their shared goal is utterly fascinating. That a book with a known ending can keep a reader’s attention so rapt says volumes about both the inherent drama of the record chase and the author’s skill at portraying it.

Neil Bascomb is exceptionally good at setting the context… but it certainly doesn’t hurt that the subjects fit wonderful, story-character archetypes. Roger Bannister as the scholar-athlete, fitting his training around a med school schedule. John Landy as the brutal pro, dedicating all towards his goal. And Wes Santee, the Native American military man with a heart of gold. He’s like a real-life Rocky Balboa…but way faster.

For those not well-versed in running’s history you’ll be amazed that three men from three different corners of the world could all approach this ‘impossible’ barrier in such a similar time frame. Though track and field enthusiasts will undoubtedly be more aware of the facts and players, the drama as told here is unique. The only impossibility in these pages is not finding yourself completely caught up in this drive to 3:59.

History provided the men and the writer paints the scenes, with plenty of insight offered into the now-passed era of amateurism and what that meant to those who would compete at the highest level. These men didn’t get bonuses and endorsements, and they’re all the more compelling for it. Fortunately, Bascomb does an excellent job in conveying the personality of each man and makes you glad there’s such a well-written book on the subject. Surely there are many poorly told versions of this story…but this certainly isn’t one of them…