具體描述
編輯推薦
From Booklist
From the depths of Mexico’s Copper Canyon to the heights of theLeadville Trail 100 ultramarathon in Colorado, from thecenturies-old running techniques of Mexico’s Tarahumara tribe to aresearch lab at the University of Utah, author McDougallcelebrates, in this engaging and picaresque account, humankind’sinnate love of running. There are rogues aplenty here, such thedeadly narco-traffickers who roam Copper Canyon, but there are manymore who inspire, such as the Tarahumara runners, who show the restof the world the false limitations we place on human endurance.McDougall has served as an Associated Press war correspondent, is acontributing editor to Men’s Health, and runs at his home in ruralPennsylvania, and he brings all of these experiences to bear inthis slyly important, highly readable account.
內容簡介
An epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt?
Isolated by Mexico's deadly Copper Canyons, the blissful Tarahumara Indians have honed the ability to run hundreds of miles without rest or injury. In a riveting narrative, award-winning journalist and often-injured runner Christopher McDougall sets out to discover their secrets. In the process, he takes his readers from science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultra-runners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to a climactic race in the Copper Canyons that pits America’s best ultra-runners against the tribe. McDougall’s incredible story will not only engage your mind but inspire your body when you realize that you, indeed all of us, were born to run. 作者簡介
Christopher McDougall is a former war correspondent for the Associated Press and is now a contributing editor for Men’s Health. A three-time National Magazine Award finalist, he has written for Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, Outside, Men’s Journal, and New York. He does his own running among the Amish farms around his home in rural Pennsylvania. 精彩書評
"A journalist's adventures in a secluded Mexican community of the best endurance athletes in the world. On an unrelated assignment, Men's Health contributing editor McDougall (Girl Trouble: The True Saga of Superstar Gloria Trevi, Her Svengali, and the Secret Teenage Sex Cult that Stunned the World, 2004) uncovered the legend of the Tarahumara Indians, a tribe of astonishingly fit runners concealed deep within the Copper Canyons of Mexico. Determined to learn their secrets, McDougall braved uncharted territory and encounters with lethal drug-smugglers in search of Caballo Blanco, one of the only outsiders to befriend the bashful natives. The colorful Caballo recounts an enthralling story involving the arduous Leadville ultra marathon and Rick Fisher, a greedy, hotheaded opportunist who bribed the Tarahumara out of hiding to compete. The exploited tribesmen participated in the grueling event three times before they disappeared back to their villages for good. An inspired Caballo followed the Tarahumara back to Mexico, where he ran the local trails and lived peacefully in isolation. His dream was to draw the top American contenders to this remote locale to lock horns with the clan in the ultimate endurance exhibition, and he wanted McDougall's help to make it happen. The author returned to the Copper Canyons with a handful of prominent distance champions, including Scott Jurek and Jenn Shelton, and the story culminates in a final 50-mile showdown. McDougall's background as a magazine writer is readily apparent-his prose is light and airy, informative without being pretentious. Most passages are short and engaging with extra doses of drama and exclamatory phrases thrown in to great effect.McDougall wisely grounds the narrative in his own struggle to engage in the concluding race-he was frustrated with his tendency to get injured-and he offers insightful sidebars on a variety of topics, from the development of the modern running shoe to an evolutionary argument that humans are literally "born to run."A terrific ride, recommended for any athlete. First printing of 75,000. Author tour to Boston, Boulder, Colo., Denver, New York, Portland, Ore., Salt Lake City, San Francisco."
--Kirkus Reviews
荒野低語:一窺人類遷徙的史詩與自然之聲 書名: 荒野低語:一窺人類遷徙的史詩與自然之聲 (暫定名) 作者: 阿瑞安娜·維拉 (化名) 頁數: 約 550 頁 齣版社: 遠方行者齣版社 --- 內容簡介: 《荒野低語》並非一本關於極限運動的指南,也不是一部聚焦於當代跑步文化的論著。它是一部深入人類文明根源的史詩性探索,追溯的是我們祖先在地球上留下的、最原始的“移動”方式——行走、奔跑、遷徙,以及這些行為如何塑造瞭我們的生理結構、社會形態乃至精神內核。 本書的作者阿瑞安娜·維拉,一位經驗豐富的文化人類學傢兼野外生存專傢,花費瞭近二十年的時間,足跡遍布五大洲的偏遠角落。她深入考察瞭那些仍舊依賴雙足力量完成長途跋涉的古老部落,記錄瞭他們世代相傳的路綫、知識體係以及與環境之間近乎神諭般的聯係。 第一部:迴響在骨骼中的節奏——生理學的原點 本書的開篇,維拉將讀者的思緒拉迴到數百萬年前,探討人類從四足行走轉嚮兩足直立的革命性意義。這不是簡單的姿勢改變,而是一場生態適應的全麵升級。作者結閤最新的古人類學發現和生物力學分析,細緻描繪瞭人類足弓的形成、跟腱的進化以及呼吸係統的優化過程——所有這些,都是為瞭一個目的:耐力。 維拉強調,我們的身體並非為爆發性的衝刺而設計,而是為瞭持續不斷的、高效的長距離移動。她詳細分析瞭人類獨特的“散熱係統”——汗腺的廣泛分布,使得我們在赤道烈日下能夠比任何其他哺乳動物跑得更久而不至於過熱。這種對“熱力學效率”的追求,是人類得以走齣非洲、占領全球的關鍵。 書中穿插瞭對當代人類足部健康、姿勢力學等議題的批判性審視,質疑瞭現代鞋類對我們固有移動能力的束縛,並邀請讀者重新感受赤腳與大地接觸時,神經末梢傳來的、被現代文明過濾掉的豐富信息流。 第二部:大地上的地圖——遷徙的文化密碼 人類的曆史,就是一部遷徙的曆史。《荒野低語》的第二部分,將目光投嚮瞭那些被曆史書遺忘的“移動者”——遊牧民族、狩獵采集者,以及那些為瞭生存而不得不跨越山脈、穿越沙漠的族群。 維拉將她對撒哈拉沙漠圖阿雷格人、西伯利亞凍土帶的涅涅茨人、以及南美洲安第斯山脈古老印加信使(Chasqui)係統的田野調查成果進行瞭詳盡的呈現。她發現,在這些文化中,“奔跑”或“行走”絕不僅僅是到達目的地的手段,它們本身就是一種語言,一種信仰的錶達,一種社會契約的維護方式。 例如,書中詳盡描述瞭如何通過觀察天空、植被的細微變化、甚至是動物的糞便氣味來構建“活地圖”——這種知識的傳遞,完全依賴於身體的親身參與和經驗的纍積,無法被簡單的書麵記錄所替代。她探討瞭“路途的意義”:在許多古老文化中,對某條路綫的掌握,等同於對傢族曆史和生存資源的絕對控製權。 第三部:聲音與寂靜——與自然環境的對話 本書的精華在於對人類與環境關係的深刻反思。在現代社會中,我們習慣於用機械的噪音來屏蔽周遭的世界,但維拉帶領我們重返寂靜之地,去傾聽“荒野低語”。 她描述瞭長時間、持續性移動如何改變人類的感知閾值:風穿過耳廓的聲音、沙礫滾動的細微摩擦聲、甚至遙遠動物的心跳聲,都可能成為至關重要的生存信息。這種對環境細節的極度敏感性,是現代人普遍缺失的“感官帶寬”。 維拉引入瞭“共振行走”(Resonant Pacing)的概念,這是一種古老的、與自然節奏同步的移動狀態。在這種狀態下,個體的疲勞感被環境的宏大節奏所稀釋,身心達到瞭罕見的和諧統一。她認為,正是這種與自然界能量流動的同步能力,賦予瞭早期人類超越蠻力的生存智慧。 第四部:迴歸原初的召喚 在全書的最後部分,作者提齣瞭一個尖銳的當代命題:在擁有瞭汽車、飛機和數字導航的時代,我們是否失去瞭作為“移動的生物”的本能,從而導緻瞭精神上的漂泊不定? 《荒野低語》並非號召所有人都放棄現代交通工具,而是倡導一種“意識上的迴歸”。它鼓勵現代人重新審視自己的日常移動模式——從辦公室到傢、從超市到健身房。通過有意識地放慢速度,去感受雙腳與地麵每一次短暫而真實的接觸,去重新連接被鋼筋水泥隔絕的生態係統。 這本書是一封寫給那些渴望發現自身潛能、尋找更深層生活意義的讀者的情書。它探討的不是“跑得多快”,而是“如何與大地同行”——這是一場關於人類本質、關於生存智慧、關於重拾與世界建立原始連接的深刻旅程。 本書適閤讀者: 對人類起源、文化人類學和生物進化史感興趣的讀者。 戶外探險傢、野外生存愛好者,以及任何希望加深對自然環境理解的人。 尋求突破日常思維定勢、渴望探索個體與環境和諧共存之道的思考者。 --- (注:本書的語言風格旨在模仿嚴肅的人文地理學著作與野外考察報告的結閤體,力求文筆沉穩、論證詳實,充滿對原始知識的敬畏。)