Natural Born Heroes
Summary:
The best-selling author of “Born to Run” now travels to the Mediterranean, where he discovers that the secrets of ancient Greek heroes are still alive and well on the island of Crete, and ready to be unleashed in the muscles and minds of casual athletes and aspiring heroes everywhere.
After running an ultramarathon through the Copper Canyons of Mexico, Christopher McDougall finds his next great adventure on the razor-sharp mountains of Crete, where a band of Resistance fighters in World War II plotted the daring abduction of a German general from the heart of the Nazi occupation. How did a penniless artist, a young shepherd, and a playboy poet believe they could carry out such a remarkable feat of strength and endurance, smuggling the general past thousands of Nazi pursuers, with little more than their own wits and courage to guide them?
McDougall makes his way to the island to find the answer and retrace their steps, experiencing firsthand the extreme physical challenges the Resistance fighters and their local allies faced. On Crete, the birthplace of the classical Greek heroism that spawned the likes of Herakles and Odysseus, McDougall discovers the tools of the hero—natural movement, extraordinary endurance, and efficient nutrition. All of these skills, McDougall learns, are still practiced in far-flung pockets throughout the world today.
More than a mystery of remarkable people and cunning schemes, Natural Born Heroes is a fascinating investigation into the lost art of the hero, taking us from the streets of London at midnight to the beaches of Brazil at dawn, from the mountains of Colorado to McDougall’s own backyard in Pennsylvania, all places where modern-day athletes are honing ancient skills so they’re ready for anything.
Just as “Born to Run” inspired readers to get off the treadmill, out of their shoes, and into the natural world, “Natural Born Heroes” will inspire them to leave the gym and take their fitness routine to nature—to climb, swim, skip, throw, and jump their way to their own heroic feats. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Review:
This was a recommended read to me and I’m glad as it wasn’t on my radar at all, but I will say that I’m a little late to the party on it. I say late because much of the science in the back-half of the read around fat burning has been fully, or partially, debunked (particularly when it comes to women in training). I will be the first to admit that there will always be individuals for which a specific approach will work better than others. Setting that caveat aside, I found the discrete topics woven together interesting although the storyline about the WWII freedom fighters is the star of the show. This was an element of the Resistance fighters that I had passing knowledge of, but as McDougall does well, he brings it to life such that I felt like I knew Paddy myself!
In addition to the WWII narrative(s), we have fitness gurus (past and present), nutrition proposals, and using natural fitness methods. Now, this is a lot, and I’m not convinced the book flowed as well as it could have if it were two separate narratives, but it was still nonetheless entertaining. I think for anyone who enjoys historical reads -and- sports reads, it’ll hit the mark. Otherwise, that combination is going to feel very forced and there may be moments of drudgery to get through it.
Rating: 4 stars!
Who should read it? Anyone interested in lesser-known WWII stories or the capabilities of human endurance.