Pre

Customer Reviews

• i am only 15 and once i started reading, i couldn't stop  Nov 8, 1999 (12 of 13 found this helpful)

  I loved this book and it is very easy to read. This book up to today is still my favorite

• No matter how many times I read this book, I feel inspired!  Oct 23, 1999 (10 of 10 found this helpful)

  Next to my Mother who raised me Steve Prefontaine is my only hero. For the last 23 years I've been a distance runner and there's been plenty of days when it hasn't been easy. But everytime I pick up this book and read a few pages I'm out the door before I know it. This book isn't just about the greatest distance runner that the US ever produced. It's about believing in yourself and giving all you have no matter what you do in life. I have an old copy that sits on my desk and no matter how many times I read it I'm still inspired. Steve Prefontaine lives on through this book. It tells the story of not only his triumphs on the track but off it as well. His legacy are the people who he touched and embrace what he stood for, courage.

• The Art Of The Run  Oct 9, 1997 (10 of 11 found this helpful)

  "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift"--Steve Prefontaine. In his work 'Pre: The Story of America's Greatest Running Legend", author Tom Jordan skillfully weaves this nexus quote, along with numerous other anecdotes and observations from Pre's contemporaries, to form a rich and informative tapestry in words of the life of Steve Prefontaine. Jordan's narrative is a balanced blend of objective race results and the subjective, and at times highly emotional, recollections of the people who knew Pre the best; his friends, family, and, perhaps most importantly, his competitors.

  From his humble origins in Coos Bay, Oregon to his untimely death in a 1975 car-crash, the book follows Pre through his workouts and training, his glory days at the University of Oregon, his 4th place finish at the 1972 Munich Olympics, his battle against "shamateurism" and the Amateur Athletic Union, to his work for the then fledgling Nike. In the end, the reader is left with the images of both Steve Prefontaine the runner---spirited, fiery, and driving---and Steve Prefontaine the man---caring, dedicated, energetic, and independent.

  This book will be enjoyed by both runners and non-runners alike. As Pre said: "Some people create with words, or with music, or with brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run...it's style...it's being creative." Tom Jordan's work not only captures the essence of the revolutionary Steve Prefontaine but also ultimately measures up to his lofty paradigm.

• a nice recap of Pre's career  Jan 20, 2003 (7 of 8 found this helpful)

  This is a rather slim biography of American distance runner Steve Prefontaine. He died when he was only 24, but he held every American record between 2000 meters and 10,000 meters. He had not yet hit his prime. Even 25 years after his death, he still inspires runners today.

  This volume is not so much a biography of his life as it is a recap of his running career. This book was published before either Prefontaine or Without Limits had hit theaters. While examining the career of Pre, we see a much clearer picture of who he was and we see facets of Pre that the films did not show (as well as things that the films got wrong). While he did have problems with the AAU (somewhat glossed over in the book), he did get to race against some of the top international competition that the movies claim he never raced against (except for the 1972 Olympics). In fact, he did race against Viren and other top athletes over in Europe.

  This is a short book, less than 200 pages, and I'm not sure it would be interesting to anyone not interested in running already. But for me, a former collegiate cross country runner....i really enjoyed this book.

• Steve Prefontaine - the greatest runner ever  Feb 22, 2000 (5 of 6 found this helpful)

  I was amazed to find and watch the movie on the runner legend Steve Prefontaine whom I didn't formerly know (are there two movies on him? ; this one had Billy Crudup as Steve); it was a great characterization of the fiercy and passionate personality of Steve and his too short life. However, the book on "Pre" while worth reading too doesn't reach the expressive and experiental peak of the movie; in order to achieve such an intensivity and emotional drive the author shoulod have been a master of the first order (maybe Don DeLillo would have managed); but as it stands the book does well its job - and provides detailed information on the runner hero, his competitions and private life. I am myself from Finland which also had once great long distance runner - like Lasse Viren - but the charm and passion of Pre (about whom I really didn't know almost anything before I happened to see the movie on video) were so awesome that I became immeaditely a dedicated Pre fan and cried while seeing Pre to finish as fourth in Munchen while Viren took it all; and so I cried even more bitterly to see him die tragically in that car accident. There is no other runner to match with Pre - and so I am now establihsing a jogging club which carries his golden name and honors his golden memory: "Steve Prefontaine jogging club" - and the book on Pre is the official code and bible of the philosophy and values of the club.