Long Distance

At 37, the celebrated writer and environmentalist Bill McKibben took a break from the life of the mind to put himself to the ultimate test: devoting a year to train as a competitive cross-country skier. Consulting with personal trainers, coaches, and doctors at the US Olympic Center, he followed the rigorous training regimen of a world-class athlete. Along the way, he learned to cope with his physical limitations and, when his father was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumor, had a revelation about the true meaning of endurance. Told with his trademark intelligence, humor, and honesty, this updated edition of Long Distance is an insightful examination of the culture and mind-set of endurance athletes.

 

 

Praise

"Told with exquisite sensitivity and insight."—The New York Times Book Review

 

"Quietly and deeply engrossing."—The Washington Post

 

"Poignant . . . some of McKibben's most elegant writing ever. He artfully weaves the narratives into one, centered on his realization of what endurance in life really means."—The Boston Globe

 

"Eloquent and engaging."—USA Today

 

"Entertaining and illuminating."—The San Diego Union-Tribune

 

"An extended meditation on athleticism, but also a wonderful paean to winter, and dying with dignity, and—perhaps above all—leading the examined life."—Jon Krakauer, author of Into Thin Air

"Whether sloshing through a snow melt, or panting toward his V02 Max, or manning the winch to hoist his dying father, McKibben makes you thirst for the adrenaline of wisdom that is the reward of living fully in the here and now."—Bill Moyers, author of Healing and the Mind

 

"An inspired and inspiring memoir of one man's conquest of wimpiness."—Kirkus Reviews

 

About the Author(s)

Bill McKibben

Bill McKibben, author of the best-selling The End of Nature, has for decades been one of America’s most-admired environmental writers. He lives in Ripton, VT.

photo: Nancie Battaglia

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