Books about Strides from Amazon.com

Acclaimed novelist Benjamin Cheever--author of The Plagiarist, Famous After Death, and The Good Nanny--brings his buoyant literary style to this impassioned memoir about the sport that changed his life. From Pheidippides, who rant the first marathon in 490 BC--bringing news to Athens of the Greek victory on the plains of Marathon--to our own soldiers in Iraq today, running is an integral part of human culture and legend. In Strides, heralded author Benjamin Cheever explores the role of running in human history while interspersing this account with revelations of his own decades-long devotion to the sport. Cheever has traveled the world writing features for Runner's World magazine, and he draws from this rich experience on every page. His adventures have taken him to Kenya in search of the secrets of the world's fastest long-distance runners and to a 10-K race with American soldeirs in Baghdad. Cheever celebrates the quotidian personal satisfaction of a morning run and the more exotic pleasures of the Medoc Marathon in Bordeaux, where fine wines are served at water stations and the first prize is the winner's weight in grand crus. He shares vivid moments from the New York Marathon and waxes rhapsodic about the granddaddy of American distance events--the Boston Marathon. But what truly distignuishes Strides as a memorable read is the unique lens through which this sparkling writer explores our deep bond to running, an experience he likens to that of being able to fly.

The tryouts for the equestrian riding team are over, and Malory earned her spot as the second-ranked rider for Chestnut Hill. Still, she doubts whether she belongs at the elite school despite receiving a top scholarship. Then the pony she’s training gets hurt, and Malory wants to ride Tybalt in the next show. But Tybalt is wary and defensive. Her instinct tells her they share a special bond, but she doesn't know how to reach him. Malory has always trusted her gut when it comes to horses, and she's willing to bet her future at Chestnut Hill that Tybalt has what it takes to win.

Model engineers have been making models of internal combustion engines since the invention of the real thing, but it has always been surrounded by a mystique, and a perceived difficulty that has put many people off.