Yeah that’s the one 
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Armageddon by Leon Uris. Historical dramatization written in 1963 about end of WW2 and the Allied occupation of Germany up to the end of the Berlin airlift. Perfectly explains the Russian view of the West and events which have led to the current Ukraine crisis.
In another great parallel of today’s news, in 1964 in London Uris was the defendant in probably the first big media libel trial of modern times. He had written a book including a fictional account of a Polish doctor in a concentration camp who performed experiments on reproductive organs of camp inmates, but had based it on a ‘true’ story and used the actual name of the doctor involved. The doctor sued claiming some of the facts in the book were not true, such as he had only performed a few hundred such operations on unwilling victims, rather than the 17000+ stated in the book. Uris lost the case on the basis that he only managed to provide factual evidence of a few hundred procedures performed by the doctor, and had halfpence damages awarded against him, leaving the plaintiff liable for all court costs.
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I’m really enjoying this book. The author combines the story of the 1941 Vuelta, the Spanish Civil War and his own ride following the tour route into a very informative and well written read. I didn’t realise the civil war was as brutal as it is described here.
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I was recommended a book a few days ago called Atomic Habits. Has anyone read it?
I looked it up and couldn’t decide if it was happy clappy or something useful?
I havent read it, but I have read similar. To me it looks like a bunch of happy clappy tripe like the rest.
Aimed at Millenenials and Gen Z who cant get out of bed without saying 5 positive affirmations.
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Jumped straight into Solar by Ian Mckewan. It’s a blast. Bought it on the off chance at Tebay service station
… and topically @FatPom, ordered a copy of Kingsley Amis’s The Green Man. I’ve been wanting to read it for a while. Incidentally a great great uncle of mine or some such relative, ran a pub in Dunchurch, called… ‘The Green Man’
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I haven’t read that one, but I have read his books about riding the Tour route on a modern bike, a classic Giro route on an old bike and the length of the iron curtain on an old East German bike and they were all thoroughly good reads.
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His tour of the Monopoly board has a bunch of interesting stuff in it
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Cool. I’ll have a look at them. Just finished this one and it was very enjoyable.
Have listened to it (which might have been the downfall) but I didn’t get gripped, just thought it was OK.
And I do normally get value from those books - eg chimp paradox and 7 habits.
Its hugely recommended as one of the best in the field, but wasn’t for me.
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Shaun Benzie, The Lost Art Of Running , well worth a read. Lots on Elasticity and Fascia
Which led me to pick up one of the reading list from the BTF HPCP I hadnt got around to, Being A Supple Leopard. Not finished yet but very good also.
I e asked about his stuff on here before, can’t decide if enlightened or snake oil but he does seem to have some quality clients.
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whether the fascia stuff is snake oil or not, I think the things about elasticity are very true, you only have to watch the “effortless” running of the East Africans to see compared to the sedentary west. He does a study in Uganda, compares farm workers out of town to Rat Race in Kampala and notices the differences. Definitely gave me a lot to think about coaching wise with respect to technique and how posture affects it
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I thought it was a bit disappointing. Interesting about where he’s been but very light on how to actually apply his theories to your own running. Guess he doesn’t want to give all his secrets away!
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I suppose with my coaching background I can apply it a bit easier, certainly gave a few things for me to investigate and think about. I was surprised at the VO he said the Africans were getting though, upto15cm which sounds huge but made a lot of sense, how can you cycle the legs into the correct position if you dont give yourself enough air time.
Short little read:
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Interesting what he said about quality for the bike, I’ve found that harder Zwift races can be a substitute for constant long rides which leave me fatigued. Possibly not eating enough during long rides though.
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Just waiting for my copy of Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka to arrive. Speed read and then a trip to the cinema at the weekend.
Not reading yet but bought to take on holiday next week
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