All Summer in a Day: An Outdoors and Ultrarunning-Inspired Reading List

Read The Pedestrian (Bradbury) now.

With the passing of the prolific Ray Bradbury coinciding with the transit of Venus across the sun, it's another reminder to pick up some books for some summer reading.

I've had this disorganized list of suggested reading for awhile. I'll post it now, and revisit with short summaries and author information. Roughly, this list corresponds to themes which I think are of common interest to ultramarathon running and training. It is mostly non-fiction, is more western-U.S. biased, and is very incomplete -- I've limited it only to books I've actually read (or listened). There are gaping holes, in fact, with great western writers such as Stegner, Harrison, Proulx, and Mclean, whose essays I've read but not their more substantial works. This list isn't prioritized, and while all of these books were sufficiently enjoyable, some (depending on the subject) really stand out as memorable. Lastly, this is far from a prescribed reading list, because of the arbitrary categorical limitations. Strictly running and reading only about running makes us even more dull in social settings -- by all means, let's not forget classic literature!

Please let me know your suggestions along these lines, and if you loved/hated any of these in particular. Happy summer reading!

Short Stories (Print/Download and Read Outside)

The Pedestrian (Bradbury)

All Summer in a Day (Bradbury)

How Much Land does a Man Need? (Tolstoy)

The Lottery (Jackson)

The Swimmer (Cheever)

She Wasn't Soft (T.C. Boyle)

The Most Dangerous Game (Connell)

Africa (The Continent, not the country or Darcy)Into Africa (Dugard) -- Dr. Livingstone, I presume?

Alaska and Alaskan MountainsInto the Wild (Krakauer)
The Last of His Kind -- Bradford Washburn biography (one of several), with some great pics in the hardcover version. Sadly, I still haven't made it to the Mountaineering museum in Golden!

Forever on the Mountain -- Dissecting a famous Denali tragedy.
The Call of the Wild -- Classic to be read by the fire.

The Cruelest Miles -- Dogsled team racing to deliver diphtheria vaccine.

The Floor of Heaven: A True Tale of the Last Frontier and the Yukon Gold Rush (Blum) -- In an interesting tale of the last major North American gold rush, Blum weaves together the stories of 3 men whose paths cross in significant ways.  The book is heavily-sourced on biographical information, but takes artistic liberties to move the story in a realistic way.  This makes it more enjoyable, but it remains informative regarding the factual aspects of mining history and culture, the founding of boomtowns and the characters that comprised them.  As a source of Colorado pride and interest, we get to trace the dealings of legendary gangster "Soapy" Smith from Denver to Creede and eventually the Alaskan frontier.


Central/South American Adventure
River of Doubt -- TR is my favourite President; Candido Rondon is a hero as well.
The Old Patagonian Express (Theroux) -- An infamously crusty and cynical traveler, Theroux still nails some spot-on social insights as he passes through America -- all of it -- on trains.

Everest and Himalayas
Into Thin Air (Krakauer) -- Everest Tragedy.
The Climb (Boukreev) -- Ibid, but worth reading both of these.

Colorado
14ers (Roach) -- Guidebook, but smattering of important and humorous prose and references.
A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains (Bird) -- Isabella Bird is tough-as-nails.
Centennial (Michener) -- Required Colorado reading. More meaningful than a "Native" bumper sticker.

Other Climbing Accidents / Critical Analysis
Touching the Void (Simpson) -- Raw and honest tale of survival.

Where the Mountain Casts Its Shadow -- A different perspective from the climbing widows' perspective.

14er Disasters -- Not comprehensive, but brings out important lessons on familiar mountains.

The Ledge: An Adventure Story of Friendship and Survival on Mount Rainier (Davidson, Vaughan) -- Another crevasse escape story, this time on Mt. Rainier. Sometimes uneven and cliched, but also raw and honest. Has great references to local Colorado (training) climbs as well.

10th Mountain Division

The Last Ridge -- Riva Ridge, soldiers on skis, Camp Hale, Colorado ski history and WWII intertwined.

Surfing
In Search of Captain Zero -- Somehow, impossibly, almost better than the movie "Point Break" ...and almost true.
Crazy for the Storm -- A surfing and ski memoir of a boy's father and a troubled childhood. Quite reflective and honest, for as young as he was during much of it.

Western and Mormon Migration
Roughing It -- Mark Twain's semi-autobiography of Western living. Classic, informative, hilariously insightful.

Undaunted Courage -- Lewis and Clark.

Under the Banner of Heaven -- A specific criticism of a very small Fundamentalist LDS group, although readers will draw their own conclusion as to whether to extend some criticisms to broader religious critique.

Devil's Gate: Brigham Young and the Great Mormon Handcart Tragedy -- Critical, via use of original source documents, but also with a great deal of respect and admiration.

SAR and Survival

Deep Survival - Physiology and psychology of survival

Mountain Rescue Doctor: Wilderness Medicine in the Extremes of Nature -- Not fully edited in the version I read, but still great SAR stories from the Mt. Hood region.

Lost in the Wild: Danger and Survival in the North Woods

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Stranded: I've Come from a Plane... -- Way more than just the cannibalism aspect: survival in general against tough odds, and a vivid portrayal of the long walk out through the Andes.

Through-Hiking
A Walk in the Woods -- Bryson's humourous bumbling on the Appalachian Trail.
Wild -- Lone, "lost" female on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Earthly and Spiritual Purpose
Mountains of the Mind -- Deeper thinking in and about the mountains.
Mountains Beyond Mountains -- Dr. Paul Farmer is my favourite Dr. and darn near favourite person that I haven't met.

Snow Leopard -- Seeking in the Himalayas.

Ultramarathon
Born to Run -- Leadville Trail 100, Tarahumara, barefoot running -- a great read about long-distance running.

Ultramarathon Man -- Not embarrassed to say that Dean Karnazes got me interested in the possibility of even thinking about long distances. Ultramarathons couldn't be an insular clique of weirdos forever....could it? Hey, he wrote down his stories and was an engaging and encouraging person to meet.

(contrast to Pam Reed's "The Extra Mile," which does not have the same fun and inspiration that Dean has. Reed may be interesting to those interested in disordered eating and the female athlete triad, but I can't shake a sense of obsessiveness continuing to come through).

Long Distance: Testing the Limits of Body and Spirit in a Year of Living Strenuously -- An interesting look into x-country ski racing and a year of training. Taken as a whole with other parts of McKibben's writing, there are aspects of hypocrisy that knock him down, in my mind, as an unimpeachable didact. But, still a well-written story with unfortunate tragedy with his father.

Eat and Run (Jurek): Scott Jurek's memoir of a running, cooking, and eating career (still in progress). With great candor and honesty, Scott presents details of his rise into ultramarathon running and some great adventures, while noting some honest flaws in himself and the process. I appreciated Scott's nature as a "seeker" as he clearly explores different ideas and thoughts, and he links together his own thoughts to the larger whole with occasional mentions of books and even research studies. The vegan recipes and food ideas (I believe, as does he, the idea of food exploration is a better process than rote following of recipe) are great, although the links between running and food are somewhat forced at times. The final chapters leave us more with melancholic musings than any sort of closure; then again, that's closer to the honest truth.

Ultramarathon readers should take these lessons to heart and examine not just the "runner's high" and thrill of victory, but also some of the heavy costs in the Religion of Ultrarunning.

Running

Running with the Buffaloes -- CU Buff x-country, Wetmore and Goucher: a Colorado classic.

The Perfect Mile -- (Audio) 3 legitimate challengers to the "impossible" 4:00 mile come together in history.

Duel in the Sun: Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, and America's Greatest Marathon - Bounces back-and-forth between the classic 1982 Boston Marathon duel, and the subsequent paths of Salazar and Beardsley, which both seemed to take a turn for the worse after this career peak. Between both stories, we see examples of both addiction and depression which seem to be treated (if not masked) by intense running.

Physiology/Psychology

Running and Being (Sheehan) -- Pre-eminent running physician, thinker, and Runner's World icon.

Psychology and Running (Sachs) -- I found a dusty copy of this at the CSU library, and found it to be an accessible and interesting collection roughly around the "runner's high"

(Bern Heindrich's writing) -- Brilliant thinker, but I've had a hard time with his writing.

WWII Survival

Lost in Shangri-La -- A plane crash and (near) first-contact in a remote area of New Guinea.

Unbroken -- Olympic running and a WWII tale of escape and survival. Amazing.

Forests and Forest Service
The Last Season -- Disappearance of a park ranger, bringing out a bit of the dark and lonely side of the profession.
Nature Noir -- A darker look into what goes on in our parks and forests.

The Wild Trees -- Hidden in plain sight: how a radical group of scientists and enthusiasts discovered, explored, and protected the tallest trees in the country. And sometimes made love in the canopy.

Novels / Novellas
The Long Walk (King) -- Epitome of ultra. 4 miles per hour, or else...you're killed.
The Stand (King) -- After Armageddon, the Bad Guys live in Las Vegas, and the Good Guys live in Boulder. I could totally see that! Best read as a teenager or young adult probably, but a great story. You wouldn't believe how exciting it was for me and some geeky friends when that came out as a week-long miniseries/movie in the 90s...
The Running Man (King) -- King plus Schwarzenegger = Awesome as a movie, but also a quick read as a book.

The Road (McCarthy) -- I didn't love it and wasn't as satisfied by the ending, but it's mostly about mood and atmosphere (book and movie).

Ecology

Sand County Almanac (Leopold) -- Wisconsin Prairie
The Singing Wilderness (Olsen) -- Minnesota North Shore.

Encounters with the Archdruid -- Western ecology

"[It's] the sort of place that gave mining a bad name. This has been happening in the West for the past hundred years, but it doesn’t have to happen. Poor housekeeping is poor housekeeping wherever you find it. I don’t care if it’s a mine or a kitchen. Traditionally, when mining companies finished in a place they just walked off. Responsible groups are not going to do that anymore."

This quote was made in regard to improving quality control of mining companies. Have extractive companies been sufficiently responsible since then?

The book, and quote, date from 1971.

Road Trip
Travels with Charley -- Steinbeck, as a cranky old man, travels the country with his little d0g.
On the Road
Blue Highways

Abbey

Monkey Wrench Gang
Desert Solitaire

Business
Let My People Go Surfing

Cult classics, because the cult is small and competition is thin

Once a Runner (Parker, Jr.)

Again to Carthage (Parker, Jr.)

-- Great details in the training and heat of competition -- and how cool would it be to train from a cabin in the woods for months? -- but plot is lacking outside of the running bits.

Read a Damn Book!

I've been wanting to do an early 2012 post (fail) on reading in general, so I'll do a future post on interesting books that are least somewhat related to distance running. I've seen some fellow runners with goals of reading a book (or more) per month, etc., which is great. As people who value regular fitness and health, and the examples it might provide for others, I think reading is similarly important for intellectual health.

But a direct threat to both running and reading, with a Colorado angle as well, is this controversy from the South, in which the appropriateness of the famous CU cross-country biography, "Running with the Buffaloes," is questioned because of swear words.. Now I can entertain arguments about which books might be best for a Middle School library, given finite resources and space. But the argument offered by the student and the mother wasn't just that they were personally offended, but that they hoped no other students would be able to read it, either.
"I think they should ban every book that has words like that in it," dictated the 8th-grader.

Where to begin? The book is a detailed look into a talented group of runners. The swears come in handy with the reality of injuries, hard work, and (mini spoiler alert) a horrible tragedy that hits the team. In this way, the swearing is a raw reflection of the reality of these runners, meaning that any reality-based biography (also sometimes called "history") is not appropriate for middle schoolers.

While this mother focuses on the swear words, why is there no similar focus on the positive messages of inspiration and dedication to pursuing excellence and physical fitness? I'm dancing around stronger words, but watch the video: Dropping swear words doesn't save lives the way that dropping severely excess weight does.

And that's one of the main functions of the written word: anybody, including the most backward parts of the Union, can have equal access to messages and information that aren't provided at home, escaping prejudices and biases and ignorance that might have been in-bred for generations.

So I don't know if the books necessarily has to be in the library, but by God, it is appropriate for some 8th graders to be allowed to read it. I recall middle school as the time to move up into the "big books," when I started reading Stephen King and Dean Koontz, no worse for the wear...and I remember discussing favorites with my 8th grade English teacher. I remember that as a turning point of being able to walk in the library or used book store (we had a good one in town!) and feeling like any book was fair game. To that, I owe my parents, as well as the local librarians, booksellers, and English teachers alike a big thank you.

While I haven't read horror books like that in ages, I am absolutely terrified at the state of reading in this country. That's scary enough.