"NATURAL BORN HEROES: How a Daring Band of Misfits Mastered the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance," by Christopher McDougall, Alfred A. Knopf, $26.95, 352 pages (nf)
Blame Percy Jackson.
When Christopher McDougall, author of the best-selling book “Born to Run,” was trying to decide between writing a book about a remarkable, real-life World War II tale of daring on the Greek island of Crete or a book about the benefits of the natural movement approach to physical fitness, a conversation with his daughter about Rick Riordan’s fictional demigod united the two concepts into a single idea, according to McDougall's author's note in the back of the book.
“Natural Born Heroes” is the result. McDougall wrote that he realized “the two concepts were the same thing: the art of the hero is the art of natural movement.”
“Natural Born Heroes: How a Daring Band of Misfits Mastered the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance” is a high-energy and fast-paced read that leaves readers catching their breath on almost every page.
McDougall weaves back and forth between past and present, using the fantastic-but-true story of an unlikely band of war rejects on Crete and the native Cretans’ attempt to kidnap a German general, among others, as he tries to understand how they were physically able to do superhuman stunts without the modern ways of achieving personal fitness.
“Natural Born Heroes” is every bit as engaging as “Born to Run,” which was published in 2009, still shows up on the New York Times best-seller lists and is being made into a movie starring Matthew McConaughey, according to press materials.
McDougall sets out to prove that his story's “heroes” — which include the Cretans during World War II, a Pennsylvania school principal who fought off an intruder with a machete in 2001 and a London high school dropout who started making the city her gym in 2005 — achieved their remarkable physical capacity because true fitness is the result of developing abilities that are inherent and available to everyone.
The narrative draws on both ancient and modern examples to support this central idea, including stories about the origins of parkour — running, jumping and climbing through urban areas — the remarkable capacities of the human fascia or connective tissue, and many more subjects. Because the book has a broad range of characters, readers may have to scramble at times to keep abreast of who’s who, but the writing is strong and the story is compelling.
Some mild profanities and general descriptions of fighting are scattered throughout the book, but there is no sexual content.
“Natural Born Heroes” is a victory lap for McDougall.
If you go ...
What: Fun run and Christopher McDougall book signing
When: Thursday, May 7; fun run participants meet at 5:15 p.m. at King's English Bookshop, and the book event is at 7 p.m.
Where: the location for both the fun and book event has been changed to the King's English Bookshop, 1511 S. 1500 East, Salt Lake City
Web: kingsenglish.com, chrismcdougall.com
Note: Tickets required; those who purchase "Natural Born Heroes" from The King's English will receive two tickets to the event.
Also ...
When: Friday, May 8, fun run at 5:30 p.m., author presentation at 7 p.m.
Where: For the fun run, meet at the North Orem Bonneville Shoreline Trailhead (shooting range); the author event is at Runner's Corner, 835 S. 700 East, Orem
Web: facebook.com/events/100706553597373, runnerscorner.com
Scott Livingston blogs at sleye1stories.com and sleye1.blogspot.com. His Tumblr can be found at sleye1stories.tumblr.com.