Fire on the Track

Roseanne Montillo has written a book near and dear to my family's heart--women in athletics, specifically running.  Fire on the Track details the story of Betty Robinson breaking into the world of competitive running.  Betty's races were sprints and she happened to get a high school coach who knew how to bring the best out of her.  He looked for talent and then worked to bring the talent out to its best possible presentation.  Roseanne doesn't just talk about Betty, but also Babe Didrickson, Helen Filkey, and other early notable women. 

Roseanne's style is a cross between biography and novel--something like Irving Stone's writings without the fictionalization that Irving adds to his novels.  Roseanne captures the history and the conditions of the world at large as well the individual histories of the women themselves.  She also delves into the development of track shoes and the improvements they brought to the sport; as well as the science behind head winds, tail winds, and physiology of the human body. 

This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a new pair of track cleats.