The race of the century: the battle to break the four-minute mile (scholastic focus) - Neal Bascomb

Highly acclaimed author Neal Bascomb brings his peerless research and fast-paced narrative style to a young adult adaptation of one of his most successful adult books of all time, The Perfect Mile , an inspiring and moving story of three men racing to achieve the impossible -- the perfect four-minute mile.

There was a time when running the mile in four minutes was believed to be beyond the limits of human foot speed.

In 1952, after suffering defeat at the Helsinki Olympics, three world-class runners each set out to break this barrier: Roger Bannister was a young English medical student who epitomized the ideal of the amateur; John Landy the privileged son of a genteel Australian family; and Wes Santee the swaggering American, a Kansas farm boy and natural athlete.

Spanning three continents and defying the odds, these athletes' collective quest captivated the world.

Neal Bascomb's bestselling adult account adapted for young readers delivers a breathtaking story of unlikely heroes and leaves us with a lasting portrait of the twilight years of the golden age of sport.