Sports to the Extreme

Welcome to the exciting, dynamic world of parkour! This acrobatic and athletic discipline that makes ordinary—though highly coordinated and graceful—people appear to be superheroes has caused a sensation online, as videos of practitioners running up walls, vaulting over obstacles, leaping across the roofs of buildings, and generally treating urban areas as their own personal obstacle courses went viral. Readers will learn about parkour’s roots in France, as well as how the sport developed and spread worldwide. Safety is always emphasized in the text, as are “do not try this at home” cautions to the reader.