Someone asked me a while back what books I had read recently that I particularly liked. I read a few in 2011. Some were sport-related and the others were just for fun. Here are the three from the sport category that stood out for me and which I’d highly recommend.
Iron War by Matt Fitzgerald. This is the best endurance-sport book I’ve read since Born to Run and Duel in the Sun. Fitzgerald takes you through the details of what happened on October 14, 1989 in Kailua-Kona. I was there as a spectator that day and was unaware of all that was going on (I looked for myself in the book’s pictures—but not there). Now I’ve found out some of the details of that day some 22 years later. He also offers insight into two of the best endurance athletes of the 20th century—Dave Scott and Mark Allen. Research for the book was incredible.
Tapering and Peaking for Optimal Performance by Inigo Mujika. Although this book has been out since 2009 I didn’t get around to it until 2011. Mujika has done considerable research on tapering and peaking and is considered one of the leading authorities on the topic. I use several of his concepts in the way I peak athletes for competition.
The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf. It’s no secret that I’m an advocate of eating a modified Paleo diet, which is based on the biological concept of evolution. “Modified,” in this case, means adjusted for the unique challenges of high-workload endurance training (see The Paleo Diet for Athletes). Wolf takes a complex concept and makes it not only easily understood, but also funny. I chuckled my way through it rather quickly.
I'll certainly try to check one or two of those out.
My favourite sports related book of recent years was 'From last to first' by Charlie Spedding.
Posted by: Bryan | 01/07/2012 at 12:35 PM
fyi: Dave Scott and Mark Allen are apparently *very* unhappy with Fitzgerals and his "Iron War" book and they do not endorse it in any way. I read somewhere that they are working on publishing their own. Here is a link to an open letter from Scott and Allen about the book: http://lavamagazine.com/news/an-open-letter-from-dave-scott-and-mark-allen/#axzz1ZHeYcgDU
Posted by: JJP | 01/08/2012 at 03:14 AM
Hi Joe, what do you think of Dave & Mark's apparent unhappiness with Matt Fitzgerald's book? The internet allows for bogus reports, and I'm not sure what to believe about this.
Posted by: Bruce | 01/09/2012 at 08:11 AM
Bruce--I don't have any thoughts on this other than it's too bad for all parties involved.
Posted by: Joe Friel | 01/09/2012 at 09:21 AM
Joe - with respect - in recommending a book about which the subjects have actively voiced their disapproval, I think it would be important to disclose your relationship with Velopress, the publisher.
Posted by: Chris | 01/12/2012 at 01:33 AM
Chris--Some of my books are published by VP. But that has nothing to do with my opinion on what books I like, however.
Posted by: Joe Friel | 01/12/2012 at 01:24 PM
We'll definitely have to check out Iron War. Sounds like an exciting account of one of the greatest Iron Man races ever.
Posted by: CS | 01/14/2012 at 12:19 PM