Barefoot Runner: The Life of Marathon Champion Abebe Bikila

i bought this for my husband. he liked it very much. my husband is a hard core runner. this is a book for someone who has run a marathon or two (or more). get into the nitty gritty. it is nice as many runners, run solo. as the sport fits into the high acheivers lifestyle of being time flexible. often they have noone to sound off to. this book and others like it allow a runner to connect with the feelings, both ups and downs, of running.

Amazing story. I have lived in Ethiopia for several years, thefore I can immagine the story more vividly. Very touching.

Wonderful story of a great runner.

Bought this for my son who runs Ultra marathons. He really liked it a lot and I will be the next to read it. He was inspired.

Really enjoyed this book. Very inspiring. However, I did think that the book was going to be more about the barefoot running than it turned out to be.

Good read.

I absolutely loved this book. Having read Born to Run I have been looking for other books on running or adventure that inspired me the same way. I found this book completely by accident and I could not put it down, reading it in 3 nights. The author writes extremely well creating a real page turner. It weaves together the story of a great Ethiopian champion most of us have not heard about, an incredible coach and the leaders of Ethiopia in the 1950s and 60s. It did exactly what a great book should do, make you hungrier to learn more. I now find myself interested to learn more about Ethiopia, Hailee Selassie, Abebe Bikila and Olympic running. Now that I am on Amazon I learn that the book is historical fiction. I had no idea while reading it. I was under the impression it was a heavily researched and accurate book. (I guess I should research that!) While I am slightly disappointed, don't let this deter you from reading it. Very entertaining, energizing and inspiring. Enjoy.

I must first admit that I was disappointed to find out that this was historical fiction after i read it, but Rambali does a fine job. Besides the fact that he does portray Bikila as a pawn rather than his own man shows the meekness behind one of athletics' greatest champions, and though it may shatter some misconceptions about Bikila, it is a true reflection of the times in which he ran. (I did think however that Rambali could have painted a stronger image of Bikila, to show some more courage instead of constant confusion.) When I first started reading it, I did not like how the book begins somewhat mysteriously, and it takes a few chapters before you figure out what Rambali's going on about and why he is doing so. I wanted Rambali just to focus on Bikila, but he actually wove together two stories: Bikila's and his coach Omni Niskanen's, all surrounded by the political and other turmoil of the time. I found this annoying at first because I wanted it to go straight to the running (which is a tall order, of course). But as I read on, I quickly realized the elegance behind this intertwining that results in their glorious meeting and friendship. The political goings-on that are included in the book help to give a reader a sense of wider context, which results in an even greater appreciation for this story and the achievements it documents. Rambali does do the story quite well, weaving in many elements that make a riveting story. He splits the story up into short chapters so that it's easy to pick up and put down without losing too much track of the story. One of my favorite details of the book was that Rambali managed to put the two marathons on chapter 26 and 42, something that you don't notice unless you initially notice that the first Olympic marathon is on Chapter 26. I agree with the other reviewer that there are definitely embellishments, and it's difficult to separate the true from false. But just like 'Girl with a Pearl Earring', the reader can accept the story as a logical interpretation of history, and in a time of a lack of great running literature, this book was quite a find.

One of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen.Lost my book and was so happy to be able to replace it.Many thanks for the memories of my friend Abebe. Gordon Cherry

Very good book .Worth money.