PDF Natural Born Heroes: Mastering the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance by Christopher McDougall in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. He reset my concept of ehat 'hero' means and changed my perspective on general fitness disciplines like parcour (spBy J. GentryChris has done it again. Weaving multiple stories into a cohesive tapestry is his forte. It took me a chapter or so to get into it; but after thst I was hooked. As with BtR his research has led me into more reading and a deeper understanding. Thanks to his work I have gained a much greater appreciation of the human body and of my own fitness and health. He reset my concept of ehat 'hero' means and changed my perspective on general fitness disciplines like parcour (sp?) and cross fit. I'm finding his logic reflected in other research and am glad he is using his voice to educating and entertaining5 of 6 people found the following review helpful. but as McDougall displayed in another favorite book of mineBy Stephen N. GreenleafWhat do the following have in common?· LeBron James· Brazil· Arthur Evans· Patrick Leigh Fermor· Tom Myers· Fairbairn Sykes· Shanghai· Pankration (Greek)· George Hebert· Norina Bentzel· Xan Fielding· The Minotaur· Wing Chun· Steve Maxwell· The Arizona desert· John Pendleberry· a glass eye· Fritz Schubert; a/k/a “the Turk”· Erwan Le Corre· Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller· Dr. Phil Maffetone· Dwight Howard· William Banting· Hitler· Churchill· CreteIf you had a difficult time discerning connections; don’t feel badly about it (although the last three items provide a strong indication of one topic). These topics—among dozens of other possible examples—are tied together in the two books written by Chris McDougall as one book: Natural Born Heroes: How a Daring Band of Misfits Mastered the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance (2015). In this book; McDougall examines the German invasion and subsequent resistance movement on Crete during WWII. British Special Operations Executive (SOE) agents aided the Cretans during the occupation. These tales provide the central core of the book. Around this central core—fascinating and cinematic in its own right--McDougall constructs a second book about human performance from ancient Minoan culture to contemporary Parkour. In lesser hands this could have resulted in a mess; but as McDougall displayed in another favorite book of mine; Born to Run; he can weave and integrate stories as a master. The end result is a delightfully fun and entertaining book.The story of the invasion of Crete and the Cretan resistance probably isn’t well known among Americans; but it includes some incredible tales. Certainly the most astonishing feat—anywhere—involved successfully kidnapping of a German general. The heist was conducted by British agents; led by Patrick Leigh Fermor; and Cretan resistance-fighters (and a largely sympathetic populace). Some may recognize Fermor as among the best English prose stylists of the 20th century. His books include an account of his walk across Europe starting in 1933 (as a teenager) as well as accounts of Greece; monastic life; and the Caribbean. But one topic that he did not write at length about (other than in official reports) was his part in successfully kidnapping the German general and getting the general off the island of Crete on to Egypt. (If you think that this begs for a movie; it spawned one long ago: “Ill Met ByMoonlight” (or “Night Ambush”); starring Dirk Bogarde as Fermor. Bogarde; by the way; was a dashing British film star of his era. Billy Moss; one of Fermor’s accomplices in the exploit; wrote the book.) But McDougall wanted to write a book about human performance; also. And so in recounting this tale of adventure—with lots of James Bond-like suave from the Brits—he also dives into the issue of how these men; Cretans and Britons; could have mastered such as harsh terrain while alluding capture by the forces of “The Butcher”; the other German general on the island. This tale of extraordinary human performance allows McDougall to tell about Brits learning to survive in the harsh Shanghai underworld of the early 20th century; about how the Frenchman George Hebert developed and trained people to survive and thrive using nature as a training ground; about how Erwan Le Corre resurrected Hebert’s genius and brought it into the 21st century; about how Tom Myers revealed that the fascia (connective tissue) provides the architecture and elastic energy that powers the human body; and about how Parkour demonstrates practical application of Myers’s insights about the elastic energy of the fascia. McDougall also hunted down the reclusive Phil Maffetone to learn about how he revolutionized diet and training techniques for distance runners like Stu Mittleman along lines that Paleo/Primal adherents will recognize as kindred thinking. And McDougall relates how distance running guru Dr. Timothy Noakes; the high priest of high-carb for distance runners; underwent a conversion of Pauline-like intensity to embrace a low-carb; high-fat “Banting” diet. (“I was quite wrong. Sorry; everyone.”)I could go on at great length about this book because it contains so many different angles; so many intriguing side-stories. But I will stop here to and sum it all up by saying that I found the book great fun. It provided well-told stories about fascinating stuff (WWII history and human performance are among my favorite topics); but even if you don’t’ share my predilections; I believe that most readers would enjoy this book.Side note: Because I didn’t read Born to Run but listened to it twice; I decide to listen to Natural Born Heroes. Alas; the listening experience was not as good. Mostly because the reader attempted—rather poorly—too many accents: British; Greek; American; French; and so on. He mastered none. Perhaps you’d have to get Meryl Streep or resurrect Olivier to do it right. In addition; because there was so much information; so much learning; I bought the book for my Kindle for my second and later readings.114 of 125 people found the following review helpful. The amazing story of Patrick Leigh Fermor; Nazi resistance in occupied Crete; and idiosyncratic reflections on sport scienceBy JojolebNatural Born Heroes; by Christopher McDougall; is a book with a dual purpose. First and foremost; McDougall retells the improbable; World War II tale of Patrick `Paddy' Leigh Fermor and his rag-tag band of irregulars; who masterfully and audaciously abducted General Heinrich Kriepe from a heavily guarded section of Axis occupied Crete and took the general on a 19-day trek across the island. Fromer and the team had to hide Kriep in plan site; dodge Nazi patrols; and survive harsh terrain in order to bring Kreipe to a British boat that would take the captured general to Allied occupied Egypt. McDougall uses Leigh Fermor's cloak-and-dagger tale as a frame story to highlight his personal research on `the lost secrets of strength and endurance.' The book is a page turner and is quite successful in recounting Leigh Fermor's story; but is somewhat more idiosyncratic--yet still amazingly interesting and readable--when discussing the secrets of strength and endurance of its subtitle.In any book that shifts back from one story line to another; there is always the danger that an author might lose the reader. This is especially true when the second topic is more esoteric and technical in nature; as it is here. Nevertheless; McDougall kept me hooked from start to finish. The Leigh Fermor story is one of those true-life stories that is so outrageous that it reads like fiction. McDougall's enthusiasm for the secrets of strength and endurance is so infectious that I was swept away by that part too. Two other aspects of the writing also help: 1) McDougall is able to hit on both story lines when he relates his own trip to Crete where he retraces Leigh Fermor's journey under the guidance of amateur historian Chris White; and 2) McDougall avoids being overly technical when discussing training methods; focusing as much on the personal histories and personalities of the sport experts that he interviews as he does on the science.McDougall excels in telling the story of Paddy Leigh Fermor and his merry band of outlaws. We get gripping drama combined with fascinating profiles of the major figures both British and Greek. The characters of this story are truly larger than life and the mettle of the people of Crete in the face of Nazi occupation is truly astounding. The story is a winner and McDougall's retelling of it is artful; gripping; and incredibly readable.That said; this is not exactly a how-to book for the budding martial artist or endurance athlete. Nor is it a truly objective guide to the science of sport. McDougall takes a distinctly Gladwellian approach to sport science: he amasses a great deal of information; comes to his own conclusions; and then only selects anecdotes and data that support his conclusions. The conclusions are then presented facts. No matter how plausible or attractive; this sometimes leads to some real zingers.Here are a few examples:1) Modern martial arts and boxing are mere sport; Pankration is the best:McDougal decries modern martial arts and boxing as mere sport rather than actual combat and backs this up with historical anecdotes. He then goes on to discuss Wing Chun--to which he attributes Bruce Lee's success as a martial artist--as the ideal marital art; only to burst the Wing Chun bubble; declaring--via a speculative but plausible theory--that Wing Chun is actually a descendent of the superior; Greek martial art Pankration. This leads one to ask why Bruce Lee went on to develop his own hybrid martial art; Jeet Kune Do; rather than become a Pankration devotee.So; what exactly IS the most deadly martial art for street fighting? It's absolutely Muay Thai. Unless; of course you are on the Krav Maga website. Or are an expert in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Or a Systema devotee. Or into Keysi. Or whatever... My guess is that even run-of-the-mill; mixed-martial-art; mall-style Karate will give you the leg up in a scuffle if your attacker isn't all that savvy. But even if your attacker has some street fighting experience; some preparation is still better than no preparation at all. How well you do; though; may depend more on how ready/skilled you are in comparison to your opponent rather than your actual style of combat. Declarations of which is the best-ever martial art style for street fighting is a testosterone laden shouting match that I really don't want to contribute to.2) Size/Muscle mass doesn't matter:Do size and muscle mass matter in a fight? You bet they do. Longer reach in any fight is a major advantage. Can you make up for reach with skill? Sure; but unless you really outclass your opponent in the skill department; reach counts big time. Strength/muscle mass also help. Not the kind of muscle mass that is so grotesquely huge that it limits practical muscle movement; but real; usable strength. You can't escape Newton's second law of motion which clearly states that mass x acceleration=force. The more mass you have and the faster you can accelerate it (so long as you can do this accurately); the more force you will have. And deadly force=damage. It goes without saying that the fighter that absorbs the greater amount of damage generally loses the fight...Sure; at 5'6" and 145 lb; Jet Li could easily kick my butt. But if Jet Li fought a 6'5 and 198 lb; similarly- proportioned version of himself; he would come up a little short. (Sorry; couldn't help it.)3) Fascia is more powerful than muscle:McDougall states that fascia is a greater source power than muscle; which reads really well but doesn't make any sense the way McDougall describes it. Comparing fascia to muscle this way is a non-sequitor. It's kind of like saying that the reinforced concrete that holds up a building can withstand more force than the elevator in that same building can lift. The statement is true; but I still can't use the foundation to get to the 11th floor.Fascia could easily transmit and possibly concentrate muscular strength but it isn't the source of that strength. Fascia can also resist pulling. That said; the power source of Bruce Lee's one-inch punch likely came from the muscles in his hips down to his toes. Fascia may be a part of the transmission of the power; but was not the source of the power. And don't forget; there are other body structures (e.g. bones and muscles etc.) that also contribute to the transmission of the power. Mythbusters did a great episode on this; showing that a conventional punch delivered 325 pounds of force whereas a one-inch punch delivered only 153 pounds of force. This shows that the one-inch punch is awesome; still; but in terms of raw power; you get more than twice as much bang for the buck using a conventional punch. It also makes sense when you look at YouTube footage of Lee delivering a one-inch punch and then a six-inch punch to a person sitting in a chair. The one-inch punch seems impossibly powerful; but six-inch punch still delivers more force; pushing Lee's 'victim' who is sitting in a chair back much farther. I think it's also plausible that fascia may contribute to the `bounce' that is exhibited in Parkour; but there is a major component of bounce from other body structures (muscle; bones; joints; etc) that also needs to be taken into account. (For those who are interested; there's a nice rundown on the science behind the one-inch punch on the Popular Mechanics website written in May 2014. Quick heads up: nothing about fascia; lots about complex muscle coordination and concentration...)4) Slow heart training/aerobic metabolism is superior to fast heart training/anaerobic metabolism:McDougall does a similar treatment of slow-heart-rate training. Granted; in endurance training this is almost certainly the way to go and McDougall's writing keeps this fascinating. And slow-heart training should probably be a component of training for most athletes. But sprinters; for example; not only need to run at their max; they end up maxing their heart rate as well. The idea that aerobic metabolism is good but anaerobic metabolism is bad is oversimplified. Then McDougall plays the ancient-ancestor card... Sure; if Glunga wants to chase down a heard of antelope to bag one for dinner; he needs endurance. But when running away from a fast predator; ancient man did not strap on his heart rate monitor to make sure that his heart rate stayed below 180-age; he needed to go all out or die.5) Modern health recommendations are the cause of increased obesity and heart disease/the paleo diet is #1:And then there's the paleo diet. I agree with McDougall's expert Tim Noakes that `paleo' is a misnomer. Scientists like Ainara Sistiaga; Marlene Zuk; and Christina Warinner have actually looked at what ancient man might have eaten; by studying things like fossilized dental plaques and feces; and have found evidence of grain and legume consumption in Paleolithic humans and Neanderthals (that is; before the invention of agriculture). Of course; we don't know the exact proportions of the diet; but it clearly varied with location and our ancient ancestors were distinctly omnivorous. Warinner has an interesting TED talk on this; actually.The idea that modern public health recommendations have contributed to increased obesity and atherosclerosis is possible. But given that very few people actually adhere to any specific diet--let alone the one prescribed by their doctor or the government--makes this less plausible. I don't know that K-rations; blanket recommendations; and cardiologists urging us to eliminate saturated fats are as much to blame as is the industrialization of our food supply; supersizing; and the post-WWII; sheer availability of cheap; poor food choices.Sugar in small quantities may not be so evil and the jury is still out as to whether high fructose corn syrup is really worse than conventional refined sugar; but the fact that the average US citizen consumes 150-170 pounds of sugar per year (about 1/2 pound of the stuff per day and that's only the average) is likely more of a problem than the type of sugar consumed. In a similar vein; I'm less concerned about the kind of fat in a food product than the sheer amount of fat consumed period in otherwise nutritionally bereft; mass-produced products. For the record; government recommendations--imperfect as they may be--still frown on eating mass quantities of Twinkies and sugared sodas. But that doesn't mean that we actually listen.None of this; of course; means that the paleo diet is wrong or unsuccessful. I happen to use a variation of it and it's worked well for me. But that doesn't mean that all of us will be successful with the paleo diet or that other diets are inherently inferior.CONCLUSION:But man; can this guy write. He kept me interested and glued to the book from start to finish and the book was a blast to read. Take the science with an ounce of skepticism; but enjoy the book for the ripping tale that it is. Recommended.