Michael Sandler (1)

What an uneven, poorly edited, poorly researched book... but still helpful. If you take it as ONE MAN'S RECOMMENDATIONS on barefoot running, it's good. If you take it as a well-grounded, well-researched book... not.

The first few chapters are new agey "connect with the magnetic fields of the earth" kind of hooey, but if you can wade through that (or skim fast), then the book gets pretty good. Its discussion of mechanics, exercises, how to build up your foot, injuries - all are good. The show more discussion of food and nutrition is very basic: eat organic, eat local; nothing different for a runner than for any other human need. The author makes goofy outlandish statements right and left that make a reader wonder if there's any truth to that phrase (hot peppers are a superfood! sugar is the only food that makes you want to eat more of it!) I stopped making notes for things I wanted to fact-check after a while - they all might be true, but the author doesn't support any of it, beyond a quasi-religious enthusiasm from his personal experience.

There's a decent little mini-chapter at the end about minimalist shoes, but you're better off visiting a barefoot/minimalist shoe store and asking for help. I'm very fortunate to have www.borntorun.com local to me in Seattle.

All in all... good resources, but take it as more of a memoir with some good details, rather than a well-researched resource. show less

The concept of walking barefoot should be natural to us, considering we have been walking barefoot or, almost so, for centuries. This book is, on the whole, packed with good advice. The diagrams are excellent and show how modern footwear deforms our feet, causing foot problems.

The advice to start slow and build up is sensible. Is it a panacea for all foot and leg related issues? this assertion is debatable.

The walking exercises and advice are excellent and worth trying. There is plenty of show more useful information and advice in the book. However, the authors could have shortened the book by one hundred pages if they had not filled it with fluff. show less

I speed read this from the library last year before buying it this year. Flaked out on making the conversion to barefoot, or minimal shoe walking last year but determined to do it this time around. The arguments make intuitive sense; since a very early age I doubted the idea that feet need support, since I was aware of many native peoples who seemed to do quite well without it, even in rough or rocky terrain.

Sort of convinced me that I'm on the right track with my minimalist shoes, but the idea of shifting to full on barefoot running is - as I suspected - a tad extreme, despite the benefits. Plenty of support from the authors for ditching standard running shoes to decrease injuries, improve form, and become a more effective and efficient runner. The authors include lots of strengthening exercises, as well as a practical approach to weaning oneself off of running in shoes to a minimalist or show more barefoot approach. They are cautious to include all the warnings and guidelines for running on various surfaces and climate conditions. Helpful, but not revelatory.

For now, I'll keep running in the goofy looking shoes, taking them off in controlled environments (parks, beach, smooth roads) and see where it leads me. Maybe this book will serve as a future reference guide. show less