Here are 74 books that Why We Run fans have personally recommended if you like
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When I was a journalist, writing about health and fitness for women’s magazines and national newspapers, I had a strong sense that much of the advice being doled out by personal trainers and other ‘experts’ was dubious, to say the least. I decided to see for myself, embarking on an Exercise and Sport Science degree and training as a running coach. Two decades on, with a handful of running books and a 13-year-strong column in Runner’s World to my name, I still like to delve into the science underpinning physical activity to see if it really stands up, and if so, for who, and under what circumstances?
This must be one of the most widely read running books. For good reason – it’s a great read – exciting story, quirky characters – by an excellent journalist.
But at the heart of it lies one question: ‘Why does my foot hurt?’ McDougall’s quest to find out, his deep dive into the evidence underpinning many accepted aspects of the ‘science’ of running, is what influenced me as a runner, and as a coach.
Why do runners wear built-up shoes? Why do runners only move their bodies in one plane of motion and expect to have all-round fitness? Why do so many people lose the joy in running? Why don’t we eat salad for breakfast? If you read this book, and change nothing about your running, I’ll be surprised.
At the heart of Born to Run lies a mysterious tribe of Mexican Indians, the Tarahumara, who live quietly in canyons and are reputed to be the best distance runners in the world; in 1993, one of them, aged 57, came first in a prestigious 100-mile race wearing a toga and sandals. A small group of the world's top ultra-runners (and the awe-inspiring author) make the treacherous journey into the canyons to try to learn the tribe's secrets and then take them on over a course 50 miles long.
With incredible energy and smart observation, McDougall tells this story while…
When I was a journalist, writing about health and fitness for women’s magazines and national newspapers, I had a strong sense that much of the advice being doled out by personal trainers and other ‘experts’ was dubious, to say the least. I decided to see for myself, embarking on an Exercise and Sport Science degree and training as a running coach. Two decades on, with a handful of running books and a 13-year-strong column in Runner’s World to my name, I still like to delve into the science underpinning physical activity to see if it really stands up, and if so, for who, and under what circumstances?
The title of this biography about the Australian maverick running coach (one Cerutty had originally planned for a book he never wrote) speaks volumes.
After decades of ill health, Cerutty defied medical expectations by transforming himself into a remarkable physical specimen in his mid-40s through diet and exercise. He applied his unorthodox ideas about running (heavy weights, galloping, sand dune running, spear-carrying, and a mainly vegetarian wholegrain diet) to those he coached – leading Herb Elliot to Olympic gold in the 1960 1500 metres.
Cerutty was a colourful, controversial character and Sims’ book is a gripping read. But what I really took from it was the importance of questioning accepted wisdom, of being playful and curious with your training. Of asking ‘what if?’
This is the definitive biography of Australia's most enigmatic, pioneering and controversial athletics coach - best remembered as coach of John Landy in his quest to break the four-minute mile, and of Herb Elliot in preparation for the 1960 Rome Olympics.
When I was a journalist, writing about health and fitness for women’s magazines and national newspapers, I had a strong sense that much of the advice being doled out by personal trainers and other ‘experts’ was dubious, to say the least. I decided to see for myself, embarking on an Exercise and Sport Science degree and training as a running coach. Two decades on, with a handful of running books and a 13-year-strong column in Runner’s World to my name, I still like to delve into the science underpinning physical activity to see if it really stands up, and if so, for who, and under what circumstances?
As an Alexander Technique teacher, Balk’s approach to movement is one of enquiry. What happens if I do X? How does it feel when I visualise Y? “Without awareness,” he says, “things cannot be changed.”
But don’t be fooled into thinking that this is an airy-fairy guide for people who don’t care about speed or performance. An accomplished masters athlete himself, Balk has applied the principles of AT to running with great results. I followed his advice and many of his words of wisdom remain firmly ingrained in my brain, two decades later. “Don’t run into the ground, run over it.”
Although running is becoming one of the most popular sports, learning to run properly can take time, energy and consistency.
You need to do it regularly to become good at it and until you have achieved a certain level of competence, it is unlikely that you will enjoy it very much, or for very long. For many runners physical and mental barriers can stop progress.
This book's ultimate aim is to help you enjoy to run - to enjoy the feeling of movement, to overcome inertia, to renew yourself and to boost energy as a result. Master the Art of…
When I was a journalist, writing about health and fitness for women’s magazines and national newspapers, I had a strong sense that much of the advice being doled out by personal trainers and other ‘experts’ was dubious, to say the least. I decided to see for myself, embarking on an Exercise and Sport Science degree and training as a running coach. Two decades on, with a handful of running books and a 13-year-strong column in Runner’s World to my name, I still like to delve into the science underpinning physical activity to see if it really stands up, and if so, for who, and under what circumstances?
OK, so this dense tome about the science of running is not for the fainthearted.
Magness formerly worked with the Nike Oregon Project and spoke out about his suspicions regarding the methods of Alberto Salazar (who was later found guilty of doping allegations). The depth and breadth of his knowledge is immense and although his writing style isn’t perfect, there is so much to be learned within these pages.
My copy is littered with notes and underlines, and my coaching methods have undoubtedly been influenced by his training philosophy.
Reviews of The Science of Running:"The Science of Running sets the new standard for training theory and physiological data. Every veteran and beginner distance coach needs to have this on their book shelf."-Alan WebbAmerican Record Holder-Mile 3:46.91 "For anyone serious about running, The Science of Running offers the latest information and research for optimizing not only your understanding of training but also your performance. If you want to delve deeper into the world of running and training, this book is for you. You will never look at running the same."-Jackie Areson, 15th at the 2013 World Championships in the 5k.…
I’ve spent the past ten years reporting and writing true crime narratives about teenagers and hate, first in The 57 Bus and now in Accountable. My research has led me into some fascinating places and has left me convinced that we cannot prevent what we don’t understand. In both books I found that the young people who harmed others weren’t the stereotypical grimacing loners I’d always associated with hate and extremism. Instead, they were imitating behaviors that we see all around us. Being young, with brains that aren’t fully developed in important ways, and lacking the life experience that teaches us a more nuanced understanding of the world, they are ripe for radicalization.
When researching the online radicalization that drew in one of the teenagers I write about in my book, I understood how easy it would be to fall victim to fake science about race if you weren’t armed with the real science.
Rutherford’s pocket-sized book refutes common lies and misconceptions about human difference in a manner that is easy to understand without glossing over the complexity of genetics.
This authoritative debunking of racist claims that masquerade as “genetics” is a timely weapon against the misuse of science to justify bigotry—now in paperback
Race is not a biological reality. Racism thrives on our not knowing this.
In fact, racist pseudoscience has become so commonplace that it can be hard to spot. But its toxic effects on society are plain to see: rising nationalism, simmering hatred, lost lives, and divisive discourse. Since cutting-edge genetics are difficult to grasp—and all too easy to distort—even well-intentioned people repeat stereotypes based on “science.” But the real science tells a different story: The more…
I am a scientist with a love for fiction, and I’m very intrigued by and like to explore the intersections of science with the rest of the world— art, fiction, race, religion, life, and death. I bring these intersections into my teaching and writing. Over the past 30 years, I’ve taught Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns, undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, physicians and professors at Emory University, cadets at the Air Force Academy, and the general public. Why does science matter? Why is it beautiful? Dangerous? It’s the novelists who tell us best.
I guess this book is officially qualified as ‘science fiction’ but I think of it instead as great fiction that appreciates and then grabs the very edges of our current knowledge and extends them like a wild rubber band in ways that captivate. Bear takes some of the guesses and hints about what lies within the 95% of our DNA that at first seems to have no clear ‘purpose’ and imagines it is part of a sensor that is able to catalyze the creation of new versions of life in response to the kinds of dramatic stressors— climate change, etc— that humans have made for ourselves.
Ancient diseases encoded in the DNA of humans wait like sleeping dragons to wake and infect again--or so molecular biologist Kaye Lang believes. And now it looks as if her controversial theory is in fact chilling reality. For Christopher Dicken, a "virus hunter" at the Epidemic Intelligence Service, has pursued an elusive flu-like disease that strikes down expectant mothers and their offspring. Then a major discovery high in the Alps --the preserved bodies of a prehistoric family--reveals a shocking link: something that has slept in our genes for millions of years is waking up.
Telmo Pievani is Full Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Padua, where he covers the first Italian chair of Philosophy of Biological Sciences. A leading science communicator and columnist for Il corriere della sera, he is the author of The Unexpected Life, Creation without God, Serendipity, and other books.
I find crucial the main message of this book: Human evolution is unity in diversity.
I love the story of how the wonderful diversity of the world's cultures and languages, many of which are now extinct or threatened, radiated from a handful of African pioneers. In Homo sapiens, races do not exist. And for me, that's good.
Historians relying on written records can tell us nothing about the 99.9% of human evolution which preceded the invention of writing. It is the study of genetic variation, backed up by language and archaeology, which provides concrete evidence aboutthe spread of farming, the movements of peoples across the globe, the precise links between races - and the sheer unscientific absurdity of racism. Genes, Peoples and Languages offers an astonishing investigation into the past 100,000 years of human history and a rare, firsthand account of some of the most significant and gripping scientific work of recent years. Cavalli-Sforza is one of…
As a child, I was fascinated with astronomy but discouraged from investigating the UFO phenomenon due to religious reasons. Not until I was in my forties, did I begin to see the strange Biblical hints of what ended up in my writing my book UFOs In The Bible. Along the way, my research led me to diverse related topics including Sumerian mythology and astrobiology which have resulted in a few more books (and more to come). I see logic as a fundamental tool for this line of investigation, and so, I embrace books that engage with the evidence logically. I firmly believe we must all make room for experiencers to tell their stories without recrimination.
This book is not about UFOs. It is not even clear if Cremo believes in UFOs or not. However, one of the tenets of the ancient alien hypothesis is that not only are UFOs a real phenomenon now, they (and we) have been here for thousands upon thousands of years. To this end, it is tangentially interesting to dig into suppressed archaeology and out-of-place artifacts. Forbidden Archaeology is the go-to for those topics, with over 900 pages of painstakingly researched and presented evidence from the geological record that mainstream archaeologists deny, ignore, or rely on handwaving to dismiss. A must-have for any ancient aliens fan.
Over the centuries, researchers have found bones and artifacts proving that humans like us have existed for millions of years. Mainstream science, however, has suppressed these facts. Prejudices based on current scientific theory act as a 'knowledge filter', giving us a picture of prehistory that is largely incorrect.
Scientific Establishment Found Guilty of Witholding Evidence
The evolutionists’ “knowledge filter” at work over the last 200 years has left us with a radically altered view of our human origins and antiquity. Since 1993, when the controversial book, Forbidden Archeology, was first published it has shocked the scientific world with its extensive…
Telmo Pievani is Full Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Padua, where he covers the first Italian chair of Philosophy of Biological Sciences. A leading science communicator and columnist for Il corriere della sera, he is the author of The Unexpected Life, Creation without God, Serendipity, and other books.
I like this book so much because it tells us that we are the last twig in a bush of human species.
Until a few tens of millennia ago, five different human species lived on our planet, that’s amazing! Only recently, thanks to the surge of symbolic intelligence, have we become a marvel of creativity and invasiveness, an ambivalent species.
Human life, and how we came to be, is one of the greatest scientific and philosophical questions of our time. This compact and accessible book presents a modern view of human evolution. Written by a leading authority, it lucidly and engagingly explains not only the evolutionary process, but the technologies currently used to unravel the evolutionary past and emergence of Homo sapiens. By separating the history of palaeoanthropology from current interpretation of the human fossil record, it lays numerous misconceptions to rest, and demonstrates that human evolution has been far from the linear struggle from primitiveness to perfection that we've…
I have spent my career studying the evolution of female biology. My PhD thesis was on the evolution of pregnancy and menstruation. I am currently a researcher at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging studying the evolution of menopause. I also inhabit a female body and have a personal interest in understanding how and why my own body works the way it does. As a lifelong teacher who has taught high school, college, and graduate students, I am passionate about sharing what I know with other women. I hope you enjoy these fascinating books about the female body and its amazing evolutionary history.
The Evolution of Beauty is a passionately written manifesto about the role of female choice in driving the diversity of beauty in the animal world.
Prum revisits Charles Darwin’s original ideas about mate choice and beauty that were looked down on by Darwin’s contemporaries and forgotten by his successors. Prum, an ornithologist, uses exquisite descriptions of bird ornamentation and behavior to argue that beautiful traits like the peacock’s tail arise simply because the beholders of these traits—usually female—find them pleasurable to look at.
While most of the book is about birds, he delves into how mate choice may have transformed the human species. Prum tackles a controversial topic with humor, beautiful prose, and descriptions of bird beauty and behavior that will astonish you.
A major reimagining of how evolutionary forces work, revealing how mating preferences—what Darwin termed "the taste for the beautiful"—create the extraordinary range of ornament in the animal world.
"A delicious read, both seductive and mutinous.... Minutely detailed, exquisitely observant, deeply informed, and often tenderly sensual."—New York Times Book Review
In the great halls of science, dogma holds that Darwin's theory of natural selection explains every branch on the tree of life: which species thrive, which wither away to extinction, and what features each evolves. But can adaptation by natural selection really account for everything we see in nature? Yale University…
