Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewPraise for The Incomplete Book of Running "Sagal is a very good runner . . . and a very good writer. He is clever, warm, funny and engaging."
—The Washington Post “
The Incomplete Book of Running has been a loyal companion. It’s funny, well written . . . filled with humility and perpetually on the scan for moments of stray grace. . . . I would go for a run with Sagal anytime."
—Dwight Garner, The New York Times “Sagal is brilliant and accomplished, but he’s also self-deprecating and funny. . . . Full of irreverence . . . Sagal is not here to make you faster, but he’ll make you smile, reflect and perhaps take the holiest of actions: those first scary steps out the door.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune "Entertaining and poignant."
—Chicago Sun-Times “With exceptional wit and self-deprecating humor . . . Sagal is a compelling writer, and his story may well rouse some to get off the couch, lace up their sneakers, and get running.”
—Booklist "By turns beautiful and moving, and laced with plenty of Sagal’s signature wry humor."
—MyFitnessPal Blog "Full of rich observations."
—Chicago Magazine "Anyone who’s ever run for fitness, for fun (are there people who do that?), for recreation, or to be a better person will appreciate Peter Sagal’s
The Incomplete Book of Running. . . . In addition to taking the reader along on some races and training runs, and giving insight into the importance of a supportive running group and good nutrition, Sagal entertains with sprinklings of fascinating research. . . . The book is full of wonderful cultural references, and Sagal is creative in drawing from diverse sources to stitch together his running philosophy."
—Washington Independent Review of Books "Hilarious and poignant."
—BuzzFeed“Sagal has created a new genre—the five-minute-mile memoir. Combining commentary and reflection about running with a deeply felt personal story, this book is winning, smart, honest, and affecting. Whether you are a runner or not, it will move you.”
—Susan Orlean “This is a brilliant book about running, and it’s brilliant even if you never have—and never want to—move faster than a shuffle. Ostensibly, Peter’s subject is the physical activity itself. (
Feh, as far as I’m concerned.) In fact the book is a manifesto on the redemption of escape. And, even more so, a meditation on the direction of flight. Whatever you’re running from, you’re running to something else. What Peter runs toward is strength, understanding, endurance, acceptance, faith, hope, and charity.”
—P. J. O’Rourke “Peter Sagal is the funniest person on radio (quick reminder, I am on television). I enjoy listening to Peter on
Wait, Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me! on the weekend while chopping vegetables for soup. It will be nearly impossible to do that while reading this book, so if someone could bring me some carrots and onions in half-inch dice, that’d be great.”
—Stephen Colbert “Peter Sagal’s insightful and open-hearted book about running will make you wish he was your long run buddy. This book not only demonstrates the ways in which running shapes a life, but also how life, in all its beauty and pain, shapes the run. I loved it.”
—Lauren Fleshman “Look, everything Peter Sagal says he knows is written on an index card supplied to him by a member of his staff. If he, himself, wrote any kind of guide to running, it’d be incomplete.”
—Tom Hanks
