The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes. One Goal. And Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It

The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes. One Goal. And Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It by Neal Bascomb

Wes Santee, John Landy and Roger Bannister were all trying to be the first to run a sub-four-minute mile. As I only recognized one of the names, I had a strong idea how it would turn out. However, the story is still dramatic. Each of the runners had challenges. It is clear that a bit of good (or bad) fortune is involved in setting athletic records. It is interesting to see parallels with the modern mess of the NCAA as well as the attempts to complete the first female sub-four mile.

Of the three, Wes Santee had the worst luck. He was constantly stymied by the US athletics association. At one time, the prevented him from running the mile because he already qualified in another event. Later, they banned him because he received too much money in expenses. (The organization had authorized those expenses and made a financial killing on the events, but Santee wasn't able to see any of it.) After college, he was full time in the military and competed in running events there, but never got to run an official sub 4 mile.

John Landy was from Australia and had little support from his national sports federation. He also competed in one race against Bannister with an injured foot. He was the second person to break four minutes and held the mile record for three years.

Bannister was the first to officially break the record. He held onto the ideal of amerture individual competitor, only reluctantly getting outside coaching. He was also studying and later working as a doctor. The running was a sideline. He had pacers help out and came close to running a sub-four mile numerous times before he finally broke the barrier at Oxford. The weather was horrible that day and he thought about trying again another time. However, it cleared up close to race time and he was able to do it.

The audiobook has a small afterward where the author discusses his experiences meeting the runners and the very different personalities. 

John Adams

John Adams was the second president of United States. He also played a key role in the American revolution. His son would eventually become president. Yet, his accomplishments have been largely forgotten. Washington and Jefferson (the first and third presidents) both have memorials in Washington, D.C. Even Madison (#4) has a building. Adams does not.

He was more of an intellectual president than the others. He prized honesty and being true to his principles above political expediency. Sometimes, this would get him in trouble. He spent a long time arguing about titles, and is known for signing the "Alien and Sedition" act as part of the quasi-war with France. His behind-the-scenes accomplishments do not tend to get as much attention. He helped for the measured advocacy of the American revolution. He was for equality of opportunity for all men and did not own slaves. He served as a representative with France and the Netherlands helping to gain international support for the nascent state. He would later broker a peace with France (that helped enable to Louisiana Purchase.)

Adams left behind a huge volume of personal correspondence. He wrote regularly to his wife and to many friends. He sought to repair his relationship with Jefferson and they ended life on good terms (with both dying on the Fourth of July.) 

The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914

The French were feeling invincible after completing the Suez Canal. They thought they could complete the same success in Panama. Little did they know that the jungle is very different from the desert. The leader of the effort was strongly opinionated and forced the matter of a Panama canal regardless of the potential merits of Nicaragua. There was a strong desire by the general public to invest in the canal and the initial team probably sold themselves short in paying to drum up business and not taking in enough capital.

The French effort eventually failed. Yellow Fever and Malaria killed off many workers. (Mosquitos were not fully understood to be the carriers.) The terrain was much more difficult than anticipated. Progress was slow. The shenanigans to get funding also came back to light. The effort eventually went belly up.

The United States had initially been strongly in favor of a Nicaragua. After the French fiasco, there was little desire to restart work on a canal. Teddy Roosevelt changed that. This time Panama actually won on merit.  However, there was a (false) sense that Columbia was trying to extort the US. There had been a fomenting Panama secession movement. The US felt no problem supporting this (even as they and Columbia were allies.) The United States ended up with a fairly one-sided treaty with Panama. Columbia lost valuable territory. And Panama had its independence and a nice source of income.

The US picked up the French assets and resumed canal construction. Effort were made to eradicate disease carrying mosquitoes in order to preserve the health of workers. Workers, black and white were brought in from all over, with the type of jobs restricted. Health care was excellent for the times, though black workers died at a much higher rate than white ones. 

Construction included lots of digging. Locks were essentially horizontal skyscrapers. The Chagres River was dammed to create artificial lakes. It rains a lot in Panama and the ground was not always the most stable. Eventually the canal was finished and opened to traffic. The United States kept ownership of the canal zone for decades before finally transferring it Panama.