Kings of the Road

A "e;lively, informative history"e; of distance running's 1970s heyday-including the famous Falmouth Road Race-written "e;with a true fan's contagious enthusiasm"e; (Newsweek). It was 1978. Jimmy Carter was president; gas prices were soaring; and Americans were hunkering down to weather the economic crisis. But Jim Fixx's The Complete Book of Running was a bestseller. Frank Shorter's gold medal in the 1972 Olympic marathon had put distance running on the minds of many Americans. The odd activity of "e;jogging"e; became "e;running,"e; and America was in love. That summer, a junior from the University of Oregon named Alberto Salazar went up against Shorter and Boston Marathon champion Bill Rodgers at the Falmouth Road Race. Though he lost to Rodgers's record-setting 32:21, the competition set the stage for an epic rivalry among the three greats. Each pushed the others to succeed and, in turn, inspired a nation of couch potatoes to put down the remote and lace up their sneakers. "e;[A] lively, informative history."e; Newsweek/The Daily Beast "e;Essential reading for runners both competitive and casual."e; Kirkus Reviews "e;Kings of the Road is about marathon legends. It's about running Fast. It's about Will. It's about the Real. It's about drama of the finest kind."e; Bernd Heinrich, author of Why We Run and Racing the Antelope "e;A rollicking, informed account of . . . how distance running helped define a generation."e; John Brant, author of Duel in the Sun and coauthor with Alberto Salazar of 14 Minutes