Four-Minute Mile

"Bannister writes in much the same fashion as he runs-with rippling smoothness, eye-catching grace, and spectacular effectiveness." -The New York Times

"It is strange that the intrinsically simple and unimportant act of placing one foot after another for 1,760 yards, as fast as possible, should become such an important sporting achievement. I think the appeal lies in its simplicity-it needs no money, no equipment, no particular physique, no knowledge, no education-and in a world of incre…