Unbound

Reviews / Votes

If you've ever felt the endorphins kick in after an hour or two of running or biking, if you've ever bonked after three or four hours of cross-country skiing or, um, pogo sticking, or if you've ever sat in the couch and wondered why on earth people do things like that-this is the book for you. It's a beautiful exploration of the quirky transcendence that endurance provides! -- Bill McKibben, climate activist and author of Long Distance: A Year of Living Strenuously A good travel writer draws you into the tastes, sounds, and soul of places around the world and around the corner. A good sportswriter shows the grit, craft, and ardor that the true athlete-be they a Boston Marathon champion or a child in the slums of India-brings to their calling. A good fiction writer delivers both the outward thrill of a journey and the inward exploration that makes the trip worth the telling. Bill Donahue, an exceptional writer, combines all three elements in each luminous piece in Unbound. -- John Brant, author of The Boy Who Runs and Duel in the Sun: Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, and America's Greatest Marathon Every time Bill Donahue writes about acts of endurance-running, cycling, even climbing stairs or pogo sticking-and the people who discover themselves in such extreme activities, he finds the familiar, the human spirit we share with one another. It's fitting that in this collection of his most memorable works his words once again create the most enduring memories of all. Unbound is a joy. -- Glenn Stout, founding editor of The Year's Best Sports Writing and author of Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World This fascinating compendium of endurance, which ranges widely, asks deep questions and doesn't shy away from the darker side of our attempts to push our limits. -- Michael Crawley, author of Out of Thin Air: Running Wisdom and Magic from Above the Clouds in Ethiopia The beauty of the endurance world is the near-infinite diversity of its amazing athletes. But most books follow just one Olympian or record setter. Happily, in Unbound, Bill Donahue reaches far wider and takes us far deeper into the seemingly impossible achievements of those who refuse to quit. -- Amby Burfoot, 1968 Boston Marathon winner, author of Run Forever Each story in Unbound has an empowering message that will be a treat for all adventurers. -- Sarah Marquis, National Geographic Explorer Donahue's lively dispatches are as addictive as endurance itself. I raced through this collection like a competitive ultra runner on a high dose of caffeine (which I am). Readers who, in Donahue's words, have the "sick, ingrown tendency" to push farther and faster, will find his deftly-told stories rife with inspiration and insights into our own nature. Everyone else, prepare to be awed. Written with wit, compassion, and curiosity, Unbound offers deeply human stories guaranteed to stay with you long after you turn the last page. -- Katie Arnold, author of Brief Flashings in the Phenomenal World and Running Home The collection includes some of Donahue's best reporting on people testing the limits of the human body. With thrilling dispatches from five continents, Unbound illustrates what it takes to conquer the world's hardest runs, hikes, and climbs. * Outside * This one's a slam dunk for any endurance person. If you've read Donahue's writing, either here in Outside or elsewhere, you know that his stories are never quite what you expect-not just a superficial athlete profile or simple retelling of some event. He's always probing a little deeper, looking for twists and trying to understand the whys. The results are also, in many cases, hilarious. This collection ranges from a 1989 account of his own childhood attempt to set a pogo-stick world record to last year's prescient profile of Evans Chebet, which was published the day before Chebet upset Eliud Kipchoge to win a second consecutive Boston Marathon. There are sections on running, cycling, skiing, exploration, and other more obscure byways of endurance * Outside *