Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

After reading this book I almost feel like taking up running myself. This is an amazing true story of one man's search for the best way to run without injury. As a writer for Runner's World he embarks on a journey to find the elusive Tarahumara tribe who live in the Copper Canyons of Mexico and are reputed to be some of the fastest runners in the world. In the course of telling his story, the author gives some history of long distance running, and of the development of running shoes. As it turns out, the more running shoes were used, the more injuries occurred. McDougall also tells some of the science of running in an easy to read and understand way.

McDougall was able to finally run without injury as he studied and adopted the style of running learned from some of the best runners and coaches in the world. The whole idea is that people are designed to run. We don't need the shoes with the extra support. They actually work against the foot's natural running ability. There's also a sort of mystical aspect to running in which the best runners are the ones who are the most unselfish and run for the pure joy of it.

This should be a must-read for anyone who runs, but also for anyone who enjoys a tale of a fascinating life.