Lovelock and Co story available again
The story on one of the greatest races in Olympic Games history
After being out of print I'm pleased to advise Conquerors of Time is now available again, as an ebook at amazon.com.
The story of the 1936 Olympic Games 1500m, and the build-up of the competitors in the race which still ranks as one of the finest 1500m of all time, was warmly received when published.
Long-time athletics historian Roberto Quercetani told the author 1932 1500m gold medal winner Luigi Beccali had been his hero and one of the reasons he developed a lifetime devotion to track and field statistics and history, yet upon reading the book, there were things he had been unaware of in Beccali's life.
Other reactions to Conquerors of Time were:
Roger Robinson (New Zealand Books) said: "An experienced New Zealand sports journalist and author and historian, McConnell brings both skills to the job of looking beyond [Jack] Lovelock, to the whole era from 1932 to 1936, when an unparalleled generation of one-mile runners transformed the public perception of sport, its media presentation, and its place in Depression-era culture…He tells better than it has ever been told how Glenn Cunningham came to suffer horrific burns as a seven-year-old…McConnell adds the strange detail that the other top Americans also suffered childhood injuries, [Bill] Bonthron electrocuted when he fell out of a tree on to wires, and Gene Venzke shot by a teenage friend while out hunting. He carried 31 pieces of buckshot in his legs as he, too, chased Lovelock in Berlin."
Dylan Cleaver (NZ Herald): "This is meticulously researched, by the time you have finished there is nothing you will not know about the build-up to the great race. If you like athletics, you will love this. If you enjoy character studies into the men who became the first middle-distance track legends, there is plenty for you too."
Olympic Review: "This book revisits the sporting careers and competitiveness of these athletes and takes a look at what they went on to do following their retirement from sport. More than just a simple history of a sporting discipline in its heyday, this work pays homage to extraordinary personalities who competed not just for the glory of their respective countries, but also for a pure and simple love of running."
Mel Whatman (Athletics International): "Races at these distances are superbly reconstructed by Lynn McConnell, an award-winning writer and editor from New Zealand who provides particularly acute insights into the career and personality of his compatriot thanks to reference to Lovelock's diaries. The other towering figures of that period are also well-drawn and there is much for the enthusiast to savour in this 244-page paperback. It's a terrific, nostalgic story of the fascinating characters who contributed to an enchanting era in miling history."
John Cobley (Racingpast.ca): "It took me a while to get hold of this book, but I'm glad that I persevered. It's now in my must-have collection…Brilliantly conceived, thoroughly researched and elegantly written, this is one of the best running books I have read. In my view, it is the seminal book on middle-distance running in the 1930s. Very highly recommended."