Iron War

Iron War was one of Joe Friel’s three favorite endurance sports books of 2011, according to a blog posted in January.

“Iron War by Matt Fitzgerald. This is the best endurance-sport book I’ve read since Born to Run and Duel in the Sun. Fitzgerald takes you through the details of what happened on October 14, 1989 in Kailua-Kona. I was there as a spectator that day and was unaware of all that was going on (I looked for myself in the book’s pictures—but not there). Now I’ve found out some of the details of that day some 22 years later. He also offers insight into two of the best endurance athletes of the 20^th century—Dave Scott and Mark Allen. Research for the book was incredible.”

Read about Joe’s other favorite books of 2011 on his blog here.

“Iron War has had such a huge impact on me, that I intend to explore some of the main themes in the book in more detail in upcoming posts, so I won’t write too much here. But I will say that the incisive discussions in the chapters that surround the narration of the incredible race that Allen and Scott took part in at the 13th Ironman race in Hawaii in 1989, cut to the core of many of the theories that I have been thinking and reading about recently relating to the power of the mind in endurance sport.”

Read the full book review at Simon Freeman’s website.

The Independent, a leading newspaper in the UK, selected Iron War as its Book of the Week, reviewing it in this article.

“[Fitzgerald's] account of how and why these two men were driven to push themselves through pain unimaginable to most of us remains absorbing.”

“I found Iron War by Matt Fitzgerald to be just incredible and not only because of the storytelling of the greatest Ironman race ever but because of the scientific information that came with it.  I have read Chris McCormack’s book I’m Here To Win as well as the book  You Are An Ironman and Iron War is better than both.”

Read the full review (and active commentary by site readers) at CookTrainEatRace.com.