Customer Reviews
An enthralling read - By: P. Angell, 06 Sep 2008 
Bought this book on holiday to Greece & couldn't put it down. The book provided insights into these two great characters that were otherwise not public knowledge, e.g. Ovett's dominant mother, Andy Norman's views on Cliff Temple, Ovett's change of views from racing to record-breaking, Coe's aid to Ovett after Ovett had collapsed in the LA Olympics. This book was much more than an account of the Coe v Ovett saga, it was a history lesson, documentary, mini-biographies, & fast-paced thriller alll rolled into one. The chapter on the historical mile rivalries of Walter George v Willie Cummings & Arne Anderssen v Gunter Hagg is superb. I cannot speak highly enough of this book. The phrase "unputdownable" is not lost on Pat Butcher's excellent work.
The perfect rivalry - By: J. C. Birchley, 16 Mar 2008 
Pat Butcher's book is a fine read - accurate, entertaining, informative, & including a generous helping of human drama. His assessments are fair & even-handed, something not always easy to achieve even after more than 20 years. His accounts of past achievements & rivalries, his revealing of the person behing the athlete, & the transition from (sh)amateurism to professionalism are excellent. I particularly like some of the little details which spoke to much (.... & Coleman said, "Ovett, those blue eyes, like chips of ice.")
In fact I might have given 5 stars but I found the journalistic dialect - the extensive use of stereotypes, the exaggerated black & white - was a little grating (only a real Ovett opponent would accept that for years he made Coe's athletic career a misery). Of course, it is hard to escape the reality that these were two exceptional athletes, & it certainly was the rivalry between them that captured the imagination of track enthusiasts & the general public alike. But the dominant theme of the book was "rivalry" rather than the athletic event itself. I would have preferred the book to bring out just is so special, so "perfect" about the mile (British or metric), because it IS a special distance, posing special challlenges to the athlete & lending itself to the type of sporting confrontation that generates these special rivalries.
Riveting read - By: A. Cooney, 22 Aug 2007 This is a great read for anyone interested in athletics. Unsurprisingly it's mostly about Coe & Ovett & their intense battle for supreamacy but, riveting as that main plot is, Butcher intersperses sections on many of the other leading runners of the time, the change from amateurism to professionalism, the history of the mile.. etc which help flesh out the story.
The opening sentence captures the imagination & makes putting the book down difficult! I would have liked a bit more on the LA campaign which closes the book however.
I've read biographies by several olympic athletes & one thing they have in common is not conveying what it's actuallly like to be at the games. Something I would give my right arm for. Paula's is the most recent example, where there is little more detail than you would expect describing a trip to Sainsbury's. The Perfect Distance did go some way to capture the atmosphere & brought back vivid memories of watching Coe, Cram & Ovett competing at the time, on the edge of my seat, shouting at the tv.
Highly recommended.
A brilliant tale of two shining stars. - By: Andrew J. Parker, 14 Jan 2007 Although too young to vividly remember the full extent of their rivalry, I took up running as an 8 year-old after watching Coe's magnificent victory in LA, & have been at it ever since.
Butcher's masterly account captures alll the magic of the two great runners, presenting them as multi-faceted personalities each driven to glory in his own unique way. He also skilfully presents the differences between them & the essence of this keenest of rivalries, while bringing out a warmth & mutual respect that has clearly developed over time & with the benefit of hindsight.
What sets the novel apart from the majority of sporting literature is the narrative skill & literary flair he uses to do justice to a great story & piece of history, & a first line that made the hairs stand up on my neck.
Unlike most sports books, which are purely of interest to the hardcore enthusiast, this is to be recommended for anyone with a passing interest in sport.
For track fans it is an absolute must-have.
UK golden athletics - By: Michael Watson, 27 Aug 2006 I thought this book depicted Ovett, Coe & the UK Golden era of athletics superbly. It gave me an insight into alll of their races, results, their characters, careers & a full background of what I had witnessed on TV as a child. Fabulous!!!
