Natural Born Heroes: Mastering the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance

This book came to me at a perfect time: I was overtraining and I needed to take a breather (to be more specific, my body had forced me to do so). I get all up in this book's face in 2 different ways: (1) The nutritional "diet"/ training it speaks about, and (2) the backstory that blankets the entire book. (1) I know little to nothing about nutrition, and shouldn't be trusted very much in regards to advice in that arena, but the book has steered me in a right direction in terms of changing the foods that make up my daily diet---what to limit, what to increase---and that (among other recommendations from actual trainers) has drastically improved not only my athletic performances, but I just simply feel healthier. Like McDougall suggests we all do, I'm just trying to get to a state of holistic health to where I can function like, well, a kid in a playground. To that end, his writings are incredibly thought-provoking and damn-near mindblowing. (2) The unbelievable story of a bunch of rag-tag nobodies kidnapping a Nazi high-ranking officer already has my attention (and I'm sure McDougall is keenly aware of how cool this story is), and tale itself from beginning to end is as captivating as you might imagine. Great job of teasing it out. Toward the latter parts of the book, I thought that some of the time-jumping (you switch between his present-day adventures, WWII, and sometimes somewhere in between) got confusing, and it made me do some re-reading in case I glossed over some important points. Not a deal-breaker for me, but thought you should know. In the end, I think that this book has a TON of information about eating/fueling/exercising in a notably different way than I'm used to, but it is also bursting at the seams with little asides for subjects that could have their own book of this size or even greater (Crossfit movement, why humans were so successful at hunting, heart rate training, performing athletically under said proper heart rate, extracting essential foods from your local surroundings, etc.). I would heartily suggest that you read this and use it as a springboard to other subjects within that interest you. McDougall's book has set me on a course of heart rate training that I had been postponing for years, and I can say without question that I'm an improved athlete and a healthier person due to his research and experiences. Is this for everyone? Why, of course not. Each athlete has their own set of eccentricities and particular things that their body responds positively to, and I would humbly ask that you take that into account if you execute anything within here. Remember: even if you hate exercise, it's got one hell of a WWII story, so there's that.

I think someone said that the farther we get away from historical events the better we understand them. World War II is almost beyond living memory now and yet stories keep emerging about till now unsung but consequential contributions to the Allied effort – the effort that kept the world from coming under the thumb of Hitler and his Third Reich. One such story is the battle for Crete. And that story, fantastic as it is, serves as the backbone of Christopher McDougall’s latest book, Natural Born Heroes. McDougal came to fame as an author with the success of his first book, Born To Run, which told the story of an obscure, hidden indigenous tribe somewhere in the wilds of Mexico that produces men who are able to run unbelievable distances at unbelievable speeds – without shoes. Like that book, Natural Born Heroes is also concerned with local, untrained men who are able to accomplish almost unbelievable physical feats. I would describe this book as layered. It’s not strictly chronological. It weaves back and forth between the main story – the capture of a German General during the occupation of Crete during World War II – and stories about Greek culture and the daily lives of the type of men who carried off this breathtaking capture and escape. The book is filled with stories about the various kinds of physical and dietary regimens being discovered and practiced today that mimic or approximate the native lifestyle of the hardy Cretan. He writes about Parkour, primal eating and various kinds of self-defense systems. I read a lot of books, but it has been a long time since I enjoyed a book so thoroughly. I found myself making time in my days to get back to it and looking forward to the hours set aside for it. The story of the battle of Crete is enough, in and of itself, to rivet one’s attention. As the book tells us, when Hitler’s Chief of Staff was being tried for war crimes, he blamed the loss of the war not on the resolve of the British or the entry of the Americans intro the European theater but on the dogged resistance of the Cretan citizenry whose efforts stymied the German plan for immediate subjugation. Hitler had planned to move his armies to the Russian front in the spring and defeat the Russians in battle there before the terrible winter set in and his troops be caught in ice and snow. But the Greeks gave him more trouble than he ever imagined. In fact, it took longer for Germany to establish its command on the tiny island of Crete than it did for them to conquer France. Because of the resistance of the Cretans, Hitler was not able to move his armies to the Russian front in a timely way and because of that they did get mired in the awful Russian winter and because of that they lost on the Russian front and, according at least to Hitler’s number one man, because of that , they lost the war. That is saying a mouthful: that the freedom that the world has enjoyed for the last seventy years or so is due in large part to the pranks and hardheadedness of a local citizenry that prevailed against incredible odds. But the other stuff is great, too. The forays back into the ancient history of Greece and Crete. The stories of King Minas and the Minotaur. The stories of Aristotle and Plato. The stories of Troy and Sparta; of Odysseus and Achilles and Ajax. McDougal has been criticized elsewhere for filling the book up with stories that are unrelated to each other. I disagree with that criticism. Even if the ancient myths and the character of the men who participated in the resistance in 20th century Crete are separated by millennia, it all makes sense to me. The past does matter and it does affect the character of a place and its inhabitants. The stories of modern day exercise and diet, even if not precisely the same as that of the Cretans, is nonetheless dramatic and informative. We ought to be stronger and more healthy than we are and this book is a kind of expose for why we aren’t and what we might do to improve our lot.

What a journey, reading this book! I went to many unexpected places and met many new people. I know a book is good when I have to put it down for a bit, to pursue a particular twist in the narrative. My goodness! This is one of the very few books that I have read that will necessitate a second, slower, read. I have the Kindle version, and you should see all the highlights and notes! I love multi-disciplinary stories, and this book delivered, big time. The mainline of the story is the kidnapping of a German general during WWII (an amazing story, all by itself). From that baseline, we wind up visiting experts in nutrition, fitness, heroics (I know... "Heroics?" You'll understand when you read the book), physiology, psychology, etc. As a non-fiction author myself, I know what it is to exhaustively research something, and I was extraordinarily impressed with the range and depth of research for this book. This book has given me many things to do, things that will affect my life tremendously (already has!). Thoroughly recommended!

I've enjoyed all the books by this author even though he has a tendency to "wander" down other paths. This book had a great story to tell about the resistance on the island of Crete during World War II. About half way through I was skipping the pages with the Odyssey references. The first ones where ok but after that I felt like it was so far off from the story I didn't want to read anymore. The other "wanderings" where interesting, but towards the end of the book I just wanted to know, what happened to the resistance group on Crete????

I wanted to like this book and this author, as it was starting off great with interesting correlations of mythological Greek heroism to real life scenarios, fascinating abilities of the human mind, and unbelievable physiological feats of the human body, and so on. But the at the beginning of Chapter 6, pages 32-33, he writes about a rather vague WW2 possibility, or theory, in which Germany would conquer Russia via Hitler's Operation Barbarossa plan and become unstoppable, stating "...no power on earth could defy him.", and furthermore writing "...the Third Reich would have the biggest, fastest, best-equipped fighting force the world had ever seen." Those statements can be assumed possible but none the less are bold statements without presenting any numbers or hard facts, let alone the lack of considering other consequential factors(I explain below) that would have been equally safe to assume and possibly debunked those statements. But what ticked me off a tad and makes me wonder about his loyalism to the USA is when he goes further by writing these words immediately after, "Ponder that, America", with "that" in italics. I'm sorry? Isn't he American?!? That sentence sounds more like it's coming from someone who isn't American, or an American with a bit of resentment toward their home country. Regardless, those words, in my opinion, coming from a "Patriot", reflect a lack of loyalty and respect. For the sake of argument, let's "Ponder" his assumptive statements with some facts, figures, and consequential outcomes, something that he should have done when writing a book with such a bold claim... If the Operation Barbarossa theory was successful, I think it's just as safe to assume that at that moment the USA would have joined Britain, and other allies, in the war effort. McDougall goes on writing that the Japanese Navy and German U-boats would strangle American shipping. This theory fails to recognize the power of the Royal Navy in combination with US Navy. It also fails to mention the power of Royal and American Airforce and their influence on naval war at the time. Mind you the Royal Navy accounted for 1/3rd of the worlds Merchant Navy at the beginning of the war, and the USA's Navy became the largest in the world by the end of the war. Regardless of Japan's Naval size and the 1,000+ German U-boats(which were slow and couldn't stay under long), the power of Royal and American Navy and Airforce combined would have been at least an formidable opponent, if not overpowering. Let's be real though, this is all speculation, but McDougall fails to expose this as well. Let's not forget the US made the horrific decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan to ultimately end the war and most likely save many more thousands of lives. My heart goes out to all the innocent Japanese citizens killed during those two events, and equally to all other innocent people who lost their lives to the hands of Germans or any other army for that matter during the war. Let's also not forget the Holocaust, if it wasn't for the Americans making that cruel yet necessary decision to use atomic weapons who knows how many more Jewish captives would suffer or have been murdered. Yet McDougall states, "Ponder that, America". Well we just pondered that, and without America there's no telling how much worse the WW2 could have turned out, but I think it's safe to assume it could have been much, much worse. McDougall, if you read this, please explain what you mean with that statement. Please hear me in that I am not trying to be rude, or combative, or argumentative. I could be "reading" you wrong, I'm simply going with my intuition on what I have said in this review. To be honest I felt rather disturbed by that statement and somewhat responsible in voicing my opinion considering the unthinkable amount of sacrifice made by America and all people around the world during that terrible time.

I loved to read Christopher McDougall's Born to Run and I love reading Natural Born Heroes. Like in Born to Run, Christopher combines a fascinating story with superb advice for your body and health. I knew that Crete played a significant role in the fight against the Nazis, but I didn't know about these superhuman resistance fighters in the mountains. A few years ago, I hiked in the White Mountains in Crete and it's a beautiful landscape with remarkable people but hiking there can be tough (rocky paths, steep gorges, extreme heat in the summer). The advice/information—wonderfully integrated into the stories—is again (like in Born to Run) outstanding. It was an inspiration to rethink my exercise and nutrition. In terms of nutrition, I also recommend

Many diverse ideas brought into a fascinating tale which cover from diet to how the people of Crete probably changed the outcome of WW2 making the German army's late leaving to invade Russia which led to their repeat of Napoleon's demise just short of Moscow as winter snows and freezing moved in. Their diet allowed them to be such fierce adversaries, for example, running double marathons through the mountains without eating. Junk scientific research misunderstood the Cretan diet which has now become the Mediterranean diet espoused by supposed diet experts. In fact In fact it was the rigid fasting regime of the Greek Orthodox Church and the high protein and high fat diet is what made them so metabolically strong. If interested in this aspect read Nina Teicholtz's book "Big Fat Surprise" which details how the misbegotten science came about creating the Mediterranean diet.

I've read both Born To Run, and Natural Born Heroes by Christopher McDougall. Both of thse books as some of the best I've read, and are also two of the most influential books in my life. There is a lot of fascinating history of Crete packed into this book, along with just enough leads into fitness and diet to get anyone started on the right path towards truly changing their health for the best. His casual mention of some current day heroes would have me putting the book down to run to the computer, looking up the mentioned youtube video, or the person's name behind the story, which makes the book even more entertaining, and provides new paths to learn and follow far after the last page has been read.

It's a strange mix of history and science/wellness, but for the most part, it works. If you enjoyed Born to Run and are curious about an underreported period of WWII history while wanting a bit more in the way of shocking stories of human performance this will scratch that itch.

This book feels like two stories being forced into one, leading to a book that feels inconsistent and without a good flow. If you loved “Born to run” you will find “Natural born heroes” very disappointing. Even with that, sometimes the stories grab your interest. Not enough to recommend reading it.

This book came to me at a perfect time: I was overtraining and I needed to take a breather (to be more specific, my body had forced me to do so). I get all up in this book's face in 2 different ways: (1) The nutritional "diet"/ training it speaks about, and (2) the backstory that blankets the entire book. (1) I know little to nothing about nutrition, and shouldn't be trusted very much in regards to advice in that arena, but the book has steered me in a right direction in terms of changing the foods that make up my daily diet---what to limit, what to increase---and that (among other recommendations from actual trainers) has drastically improved not only my athletic performances, but I just simply feel healthier. Like McDougall suggests we all do, I'm just trying to get to a state of holistic health to where I can function like, well, a kid in a playground. To that end, his writings are incredibly thought-provoking and damn-near mindblowing. (2) The unbelievable story of a bunch of rag-tag nobodies kidnapping a Nazi high-ranking officer already has my attention (and I'm sure McDougall is keenly aware of how cool this story is), and tale itself from beginning to end is as captivating as you might imagine. Great job of teasing it out. Toward the latter parts of the book, I thought that some of the time-jumping (you switch between his present-day adventures, WWII, and sometimes somewhere in between) got confusing, and it made me do some re-reading in case I glossed over some important points. Not a deal-breaker for me, but thought you should know. In the end, I think that this book has a TON of information about eating/fueling/exercising in a notably different way than I'm used to, but it is also bursting at the seams with little asides for subjects that could have their own book of this size or even greater (Crossfit movement, why humans were so successful at hunting, heart rate training, performing athletically under said proper heart rate, extracting essential foods from your local surroundings, etc.). I would heartily suggest that you read this and use it as a springboard to other subjects within that interest you. McDougall's book has set me on a course of heart rate training that I had been postponing for years, and I can say without question that I'm an improved athlete and a healthier person due to his research and experiences. Is this for everyone? Why, of course not. Each athlete has their own set of eccentricities and particular things that their body responds positively to, and I would humbly ask that you take that into account if you execute anything within here. Remember: even if you hate exercise, it's got one hell of a WWII story, so there's that.

I think someone said that the farther we get away from historical events the better we understand them. World War II is almost beyond living memory now and yet stories keep emerging about till now unsung but consequential contributions to the Allied effort – the effort that kept the world from coming under the thumb of Hitler and his Third Reich. One such story is the battle for Crete. And that story, fantastic as it is, serves as the backbone of Christopher McDougall’s latest book, Natural Born Heroes. McDougal came to fame as an author with the success of his first book, Born To Run, which told the story of an obscure, hidden indigenous tribe somewhere in the wilds of Mexico that produces men who are able to run unbelievable distances at unbelievable speeds – without shoes. Like that book, Natural Born Heroes is also concerned with local, untrained men who are able to accomplish almost unbelievable physical feats. I would describe this book as layered. It’s not strictly chronological. It weaves back and forth between the main story – the capture of a German General during the occupation of Crete during World War II – and stories about Greek culture and the daily lives of the type of men who carried off this breathtaking capture and escape. The book is filled with stories about the various kinds of physical and dietary regimens being discovered and practiced today that mimic or approximate the native lifestyle of the hardy Cretan. He writes about Parkour, primal eating and various kinds of self-defense systems. I read a lot of books, but it has been a long time since I enjoyed a book so thoroughly. I found myself making time in my days to get back to it and looking forward to the hours set aside for it. The story of the battle of Crete is enough, in and of itself, to rivet one’s attention. As the book tells us, when Hitler’s Chief of Staff was being tried for war crimes, he blamed the loss of the war not on the resolve of the British or the entry of the Americans intro the European theater but on the dogged resistance of the Cretan citizenry whose efforts stymied the German plan for immediate subjugation. Hitler had planned to move his armies to the Russian front in the spring and defeat the Russians in battle there before the terrible winter set in and his troops be caught in ice and snow. But the Greeks gave him more trouble than he ever imagined. In fact, it took longer for Germany to establish its command on the tiny island of Crete than it did for them to conquer France. Because of the resistance of the Cretans, Hitler was not able to move his armies to the Russian front in a timely way and because of that they did get mired in the awful Russian winter and because of that they lost on the Russian front and, according at least to Hitler’s number one man, because of that , they lost the war. That is saying a mouthful: that the freedom that the world has enjoyed for the last seventy years or so is due in large part to the pranks and hardheadedness of a local citizenry that prevailed against incredible odds. But the other stuff is great, too. The forays back into the ancient history of Greece and Crete. The stories of King Minas and the Minotaur. The stories of Aristotle and Plato. The stories of Troy and Sparta; of Odysseus and Achilles and Ajax. McDougal has been criticized elsewhere for filling the book up with stories that are unrelated to each other. I disagree with that criticism. Even if the ancient myths and the character of the men who participated in the resistance in 20th century Crete are separated by millennia, it all makes sense to me. The past does matter and it does affect the character of a place and its inhabitants. The stories of modern day exercise and diet, even if not precisely the same as that of the Cretans, is nonetheless dramatic and informative. We ought to be stronger and more healthy than we are and this book is a kind of expose for why we aren’t and what we might do to improve our lot.

What a journey, reading this book! I went to many unexpected places and met many new people. I know a book is good when I have to put it down for a bit, to pursue a particular twist in the narrative. My goodness! This is one of the very few books that I have read that will necessitate a second, slower, read. I have the Kindle version, and you should see all the highlights and notes! I love multi-disciplinary stories, and this book delivered, big time. The mainline of the story is the kidnapping of a German general during WWII (an amazing story, all by itself). From that baseline, we wind up visiting experts in nutrition, fitness, heroics (I know... "Heroics?" You'll understand when you read the book), physiology, psychology, etc. As a non-fiction author myself, I know what it is to exhaustively research something, and I was extraordinarily impressed with the range and depth of research for this book. This book has given me many things to do, things that will affect my life tremendously (already has!). Thoroughly recommended!

I've enjoyed all the books by this author even though he has a tendency to "wander" down other paths. This book had a great story to tell about the resistance on the island of Crete during World War II. About half way through I was skipping the pages with the Odyssey references. The first ones where ok but after that I felt like it was so far off from the story I didn't want to read anymore. The other "wanderings" where interesting, but towards the end of the book I just wanted to know, what happened to the resistance group on Crete????

I wanted to like this book and this author, as it was starting off great with interesting correlations of mythological Greek heroism to real life scenarios, fascinating abilities of the human mind, and unbelievable physiological feats of the human body, and so on. But the at the beginning of Chapter 6, pages 32-33, he writes about a rather vague WW2 possibility, or theory, in which Germany would conquer Russia via Hitler's Operation Barbarossa plan and become unstoppable, stating "...no power on earth could defy him.", and furthermore writing "...the Third Reich would have the biggest, fastest, best-equipped fighting force the world had ever seen." Those statements can be assumed possible but none the less are bold statements without presenting any numbers or hard facts, let alone the lack of considering other consequential factors(I explain below) that would have been equally safe to assume and possibly debunked those statements. But what ticked me off a tad and makes me wonder about his loyalism to the USA is when he goes further by writing these words immediately after, "Ponder that, America", with "that" in italics. I'm sorry? Isn't he American?!? That sentence sounds more like it's coming from someone who isn't American, or an American with a bit of resentment toward their home country. Regardless, those words, in my opinion, coming from a "Patriot", reflect a lack of loyalty and respect. For the sake of argument, let's "Ponder" his assumptive statements with some facts, figures, and consequential outcomes, something that he should have done when writing a book with such a bold claim... If the Operation Barbarossa theory was successful, I think it's just as safe to assume that at that moment the USA would have joined Britain, and other allies, in the war effort. McDougall goes on writing that the Japanese Navy and German U-boats would strangle American shipping. This theory fails to recognize the power of the Royal Navy in combination with US Navy. It also fails to mention the power of Royal and American Airforce and their influence on naval war at the time. Mind you the Royal Navy accounted for 1/3rd of the worlds Merchant Navy at the beginning of the war, and the USA's Navy became the largest in the world by the end of the war. Regardless of Japan's Naval size and the 1,000+ German U-boats(which were slow and couldn't stay under long), the power of Royal and American Navy and Airforce combined would have been at least an formidable opponent, if not overpowering. Let's be real though, this is all speculation, but McDougall fails to expose this as well. Let's not forget the US made the horrific decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan to ultimately end the war and most likely save many more thousands of lives. My heart goes out to all the innocent Japanese citizens killed during those two events, and equally to all other innocent people who lost their lives to the hands of Germans or any other army for that matter during the war. Let's also not forget the Holocaust, if it wasn't for the Americans making that cruel yet necessary decision to use atomic weapons who knows how many more Jewish captives would suffer or have been murdered. Yet McDougall states, "Ponder that, America". Well we just pondered that, and without America there's no telling how much worse the WW2 could have turned out, but I think it's safe to assume it could have been much, much worse. McDougall, if you read this, please explain what you mean with that statement. Please hear me in that I am not trying to be rude, or combative, or argumentative. I could be "reading" you wrong, I'm simply going with my intuition on what I have said in this review. To be honest I felt rather disturbed by that statement and somewhat responsible in voicing my opinion considering the unthinkable amount of sacrifice made by America and all people around the world during that terrible time.

I loved to read Christopher McDougall's Born to Run and I love reading Natural Born Heroes. Like in Born to Run, Christopher combines a fascinating story with superb advice for your body and health. I knew that Crete played a significant role in the fight against the Nazis, but I didn't know about these superhuman resistance fighters in the mountains. A few years ago, I hiked in the White Mountains in Crete and it's a beautiful landscape with remarkable people but hiking there can be tough (rocky paths, steep gorges, extreme heat in the summer). The advice/information—wonderfully integrated into the stories—is again (like in Born to Run) outstanding. It was an inspiration to rethink my exercise and nutrition. In terms of nutrition, I also recommend

Many diverse ideas brought into a fascinating tale which cover from diet to how the people of Crete probably changed the outcome of WW2 making the German army's late leaving to invade Russia which led to their repeat of Napoleon's demise just short of Moscow as winter snows and freezing moved in. Their diet allowed them to be such fierce adversaries, for example, running double marathons through the mountains without eating. Junk scientific research misunderstood the Cretan diet which has now become the Mediterranean diet espoused by supposed diet experts. In fact In fact it was the rigid fasting regime of the Greek Orthodox Church and the high protein and high fat diet is what made them so metabolically strong. If interested in this aspect read Nina Teicholtz's book "Big Fat Surprise" which details how the misbegotten science came about creating the Mediterranean diet.

I've read both Born To Run, and Natural Born Heroes by Christopher McDougall. Both of thse books as some of the best I've read, and are also two of the most influential books in my life. There is a lot of fascinating history of Crete packed into this book, along with just enough leads into fitness and diet to get anyone started on the right path towards truly changing their health for the best. His casual mention of some current day heroes would have me putting the book down to run to the computer, looking up the mentioned youtube video, or the person's name behind the story, which makes the book even more entertaining, and provides new paths to learn and follow far after the last page has been read.

It's a strange mix of history and science/wellness, but for the most part, it works. If you enjoyed Born to Run and are curious about an underreported period of WWII history while wanting a bit more in the way of shocking stories of human performance this will scratch that itch.

This book feels like two stories being forced into one, leading to a book that feels inconsistent and without a good flow. If you loved “Born to run” you will find “Natural born heroes” very disappointing. Even with that, sometimes the stories grab your interest. Not enough to recommend reading it.

Chris has done it again. Weaving multiple stories into a cohesive tapestry is his forte. It took me a chapter or so to get into it, but after thst I was hooked. As with BtR his research has led me into more reading and a deeper understanding. Thanks to his work I have gained a much greater appreciation of the human body and of my own fitness and health. He reset my concept of ehat 'hero' means and changed my perspective on general fitness disciplines like parcour (sp?) and cross fit. I'm finding his logic reflected in other research and am glad he is using his voice to educating and entertaining

This is probably the best book that I ever read. It includes a great deal of interesting history from world war two and ancient Greece, intertwined with information about fitness and diet. It was quite a page turner and I came away knowing new things. Highly recommended.

Could not put this book down. Mcdougall studies and breaks down the characteristics and habits that make heroes. This book functions as a collection of independent studies into human endurance and heroism. The unifying theme centers on the story of Crete and its role in revealing unexpected heroes during WWII. Mcdougall touches on many different subjects - Greek mythology, parkour, endurance racing, diet and exercise. The book is more disjointed than Born to Run but every bit as useful. Highly recommended for anyone who likes adventures stories or health information similar to the 4 Hour Body.

I bought the unabridged version of this book, and perhaps I would have enjoyed a condensed version a little more. I was planning to listen to this audio book while on a long drive, where I would have the time to engross myself in the story. The problem was I just didn't find the story all that interesting. I tried to push through it a couple of times, but I could not remain intrigued enough to stay focused. I was hoping for something more like his better known, and best-selling book, Born To Run. Hopefully you find this one more compelling than me.

A great book and a fast read, but I was left not knowing the real intent of the book. Was it it tell a great story or help people find their own inner capability? If it is just a story to honor some of the bravest people in WWII then it succeeds very well, but it doesn't really give the reader a sense of what they can do to cultivate the same abilities. That and his obvious bias toward endurance sports and against maximal strength kept this from being 5 stars, but overall it has some very good lessons and is well worth the read.

I finished reading Born to Run and quickly stepped into this book about the abduction of a General. What I got was written in a true ADD type of story telling. The narrative skipped around faster than my mind would allow. I felt like the written was hopped up on Mountain Dew or something. The stories were good but I had a hard time following.

I bought this book after reading Born To Run. Natural Born Heroes was, for me, well written and inspiring. I don't say i'm going to take up parcour this very day, but I sure would love to. your body is capable of far more than you will ever demand of it.

This is a good story about World War II trickery. A word of warning however; this is not Born to Run. The book does not dive deep into performance issues as the summary online proclaims. Instead, it glosses over a number of topics. This criticism appears to be universal but the book is an easy read. It flows well and is worth the time to read - just don't expect to come away wanting to change the way you eat or run.

This book is highly entertaining. Its will keep your attention all the way though. The book is a mash note on a variety of topics ranging from diet to parkour. All of these topics are tied into the main story , the battle of Crete during WW2. It tales of survival and endurance though the eyes of grrek resistance fighters. Overall great book!

This is a good read on the story of this general's kidnapping, the brutality of the Nazis, mixed with new understanding on physical conditioning and diet. All this stuff is interesting as I am a fitness buff. It partially explains the current explosion of obesity that came with the government's food pyramid, and the introduction of carbs as a main food source. As with much or most of government, it is wrong and we have been fed a lie. Sugar and other processed carbs are the cause of this health crisis gripping most western nations.

What do the following have in common? · LeBron James · Brazil · Arthur Evans · Patrick Leigh Fermor · Tom Myers · Fairbairn & Sykes · Shanghai · Pankration (Greek) · George Hebert · Norina Bentzel · Xan Fielding · The Minotaur · Wing Chun · Steve Maxwell · The Arizona desert · John Pendleberry · a glass eye · Fritz Schubert, a/k/a “the Turk” · Erwan Le Corre · Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller · Dr. Phil Maffetone · Dwight Howard · William Banting · Hitler · Churchill · Crete If you had a difficult time discerning connections, don’t feel badly about it (although the last three items provide a strong indication of one topic). These topics—among dozens of other possible examples—are tied together in the two books written by Chris McDougall as one book: Natural Born Heroes: How a Daring Band of Misfits Mastered the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance (2015). In this book, McDougall examines the German invasion and subsequent resistance movement on Crete during WWII. British Special Operations Executive (SOE) agents aided the Cretans during the occupation. These tales provide the central core of the book. Around this central core—fascinating and cinematic in its own right--McDougall constructs a second book about human performance from ancient Minoan culture to contemporary Parkour. In lesser hands this could have resulted in a mess, but as McDougall displayed in another favorite book of mine, Born to Run, he can weave and integrate stories as a master. The end result is a delightfully fun and entertaining book. The story of the invasion of Crete and the Cretan resistance probably isn’t well known among Americans, but it includes some incredible tales. Certainly the most astonishing feat—anywhere—involved successfully kidnapping of a German general. The heist was conducted by British agents, led by Patrick Leigh Fermor, and Cretan resistance-fighters (and a largely sympathetic populace). Some may recognize Fermor as among the best English prose stylists of the 20th century. His books include an account of his walk across Europe starting in 1933 (as a teenager) as well as accounts of Greece, monastic life, and the Caribbean. But one topic that he did not write at length about (other than in official reports) was his part in successfully kidnapping the German general and getting the general off the island of Crete on to Egypt. (If you think that this begs for a movie, it spawned one long ago: “Ill Met ByMoonlight” (or “Night Ambush”), starring Dirk Bogarde as Fermor. Bogarde, by the way, was a dashing British film star of his era. Billy Moss, one of Fermor’s accomplices in the exploit, wrote the book.) But McDougall wanted to write a book about human performance, also. And so in recounting this tale of adventure—with lots of James Bond-like suave from the Brits—he also dives into the issue of how these men, Cretans and Britons, could have mastered such as harsh terrain while alluding capture by the forces of “The Butcher”, the other German general on the island. This tale of extraordinary human performance allows McDougall to tell about Brits learning to survive in the harsh Shanghai underworld of the early 20th century; about how the Frenchman George Hebert developed and trained people to survive and thrive using nature as a training ground; about how Erwan Le Corre resurrected Hebert’s genius and brought it into the 21st century; about how Tom Myers revealed that the fascia (connective tissue) provides the architecture and elastic energy that powers the human body; and about how Parkour demonstrates practical application of Myers’s insights about the elastic energy of the fascia. McDougall also hunted down the reclusive Phil Maffetone to learn about how he revolutionized diet and training techniques for distance runners like Stu Mittleman along lines that Paleo/Primal adherents will recognize as kindred thinking. And McDougall relates how distance running guru Dr. Timothy Noakes, the high priest of high-carb for distance runners, underwent a conversion of Pauline-like intensity to embrace a low-carb, high-fat “Banting” diet. (“I was quite wrong. Sorry, everyone.”) I could go on at great length about this book because it contains so many different angles, so many intriguing side-stories. But I will stop here to and sum it all up by saying that I found the book great fun. It provided well-told stories about fascinating stuff (WWII history and human performance are among my favorite topics), but even if you don’t’ share my predilections; I believe that most readers would enjoy this book. Side note: Because I didn’t read Born to Run but listened to it twice, I decide to listen to Natural Born Heroes. Alas, the listening experience was not as good. Mostly because the reader attempted—rather poorly—too many accents: British, Greek, American, French, and so on. He mastered none. Perhaps you’d have to get Meryl Streep or resurrect Olivier to do it right. In addition, because there was so much information, so much learning, I bought the book for my Kindle for my second and later readings.

An interesting but only mostly successful attempt to marry a real-life historical narrative - the daring kidnapping of a Nazi officer by an eccentric team of Allied soldiers on the Greek island of Crete - with commentary on a wide range of fitness trends and theories. A lot of it is fascinating stuff and the book is consistently well written, but some of the actual connections between the Cretan narrative and the modern fitness material are seriously (and quite obviously) tenuous.

In Natural Born Heroes McDougall skillfully addresses two book ideas: a wartime adventurer on Crete and the exercise philosophy called Natural Movement. Surprisingly, the author gives less credit to what, in my opinion, is his best book idea: “The Art of the Hero.” My SF’s friends will enjoy both the yarn of the daring band of Oxford Dons kidnapping a German General and the lost secrets of strength and endurance. In my view, both the war story and the study of endurance are best understood by McDougall’s treatise on heroism. The foundation to the “Art of the Hero” is laid in the early chapters when McDougall raises the question: Is heroism is skill or a virtue? The author answers heroism is a skill by describing the natural born character traits of the heroes that resisted the Nazi’s on Crete as well as many of the leaders in the natural health movement. A partial listing of these heroic traits include many obvious to the reader, such as: nerve, endurance, self-reliance, stamina, grit, gallantry and courage. Heroic character traits not so obvious but are revealed not only in the story of the resistance fighter but also passed down from their ancestors are: unbending will, wits, savvy, life long learning, altruism, problem solving, inventiveness, compassion and cunning. The stories themes are connected by McDougall’s statement… “the math at the foundation of every heroic tale from the Odyssey to the Old Testament to Xena: Warrior Princess is: Health=heroism and heroism=health.” Reading Natural Born Heroes raised important questions for me as well as readers of The Character Building Project to investigate, namely: What is the heroic ideal in today’s culture? How might the heroic ideal, once again take hold in America? Might studying the classics and Greek mythology make the heroic ideal teachable? What does it mean for our culture if heroes can be trained, honed and guided? In a word, what is a true hero? Is there a heroic code? What stories are told about today’s heroes? I hope others will be as entertained, informed and inspired as much as I was in reading Natural Born Heroes.

I loved Born to Run and was interested to read this one. However the story and the health concept send forced together. Either would make an interesting book, but I found myself rushing thru the story and wishing that the concept were better fleshed out

A very odd book, yet I did like it. From the transformation to WW II Crete to the author learning to traverse the Cretan topography you have to pay attention to where the author is going. He does a really good job of taking you back to the resistance fight for Crete. Enlightening.

I couldn’t put the book down. McDougall is such a wonderful story-teller, weaving a fascinating narrative of the Nazi occupation of Crete and the extraordinary efforts of the Cretan resistance and mixing it all together with very enlightening information about ultra-endurance athletes and nutrition, I can’t recommend this book any more emphatically!

Really interesting book. The history is facinating and the concepts will challenge you to look at your own health and fitness differently. The story meanders a little, especially by the time you get around 2/3rds of the way through, but if you go in expecting things to jump around a little bit. Also, be aware that this is not a 'how to' book. The author really never goes there.

McDougall's wonderful "Born to Run" did a masterful job of linking the cultural and anthropological story of the Tarahumara and primitive runners to modern trail running and technology - so well that it has worked a massive change in the offerings of the running shoe industry and inspired thousands to run. Natural Born Heroes attempts to link a wonderful and amazing WWII story - that of the Cretan resistance fighters and British special operators working with them - to a dog's breakfast of fitness trends, some old (the Maffetone method of low heart rate endurance training), some newer or renovations of old ideas (Method Naturelle, now "Natural Movement," parkour, and the so-called "Paleo diet"). Even Crossfit gets an approving tip of the hat, which is utterly inconsistent with the main fitness arguments, since it heavily involves barbell training and "workouts" that are purely contrived for the "sport" of Crossfit itself. At times, the "evidence" offered in support of the main argument - that all of us, boys and girls, young and old, have the stuff of Greek heroes in us, if only we'd tap into it and train it correctly - gets just silly. Assertions about "fascia" being more responsible for strength than muscle, and Bruce Lee's "one inch punch" that could supposedly "send a man flying across a room" are particular eye-rollers. If you like Chris McDougall's writing style - and I certainly do - the WWII story will entertain, and there are a couple of instances where Chris starts to do the kind of convincing disassembly of "conventional wisdom" here that he did for overbuilt running shoes in "Born to Run" - the case against obsessive "hydration" being one, and the cases against bodybuilding/fitness-club style training and yoga as having next to nothing to offer in terms of useful fitness. But he dibs and dabs at so many different topics, he never quite rings the bell on any of them, much less demonstrates that the protagonists of the WWII story - a small band of young British officers and Cretan guerillas - accomplished what they did (kidnapping and forced-marching a captive German general over an 8000m ridge in rough terrain over a couple of weeks) because they possessed, much less trained, 90% of the "heroically useful" fitness skills and capacities he advocates - basically, they were tough and determined hikers, not doing anything resembling parkour, MovNat stuff, or throwing any "one inch punches." It comes off as a litany of trendy or contrarian fitness theories plastered onto a cool war story that does not much fit any of them.

It took me awhile to finish. The last third of the book I thought was where it got good.

So well written. Another winner just like Born to Run. Such a joy to read. More though is the knowledge gained. The author takes “three years of facts” and weaves them into a story that is as compelling as inspiring. He passes on tools, concepts and an outlook that allows each of us to embark on our own hero’s journey.

Nobody else can tell an exciting story that has you on the edge of your seat while teaching you so much at the same time. "Born to Run" changed my life. I didn't expect that Christopher McDougall to do it twice. Kudos!

A great book by a great writer. Excellently pairs history from WWII to today. Highly recommend reading Born to Run by the same author.

I heard about this author because of Running WIth Sherman (in the local paper and then on NPR). Looked into him and decided to order this one first. What a great read! Mixing, history, myth, nutrition, anthropology, war, and more with real to life characters. I recommend it. gm

Fascinating book, tells lots of interesting and exciting stories. I would have given it a 5 I like it so much, but it jumps around so much. It introduces some characters and even concepts completely out of the blue, the timeline is really hard to follow. I might have to read it again to completely understand.

This is one of those books that is so terrific and potentially life changing that it should be required in schools If you are of Greek heritage your chest will almost burst with pride I started my changed diet and new exercise program 2 hours ago. Pardon the pun, but gotta run...

There's a lot I like about the book, but quite a few things I found annoying and they are listed here in other reviews. The story of the island of Crete and the soldiers and islanders fighting the Nazi's, is very good. In between those chapters he goes back and forth and skips around between expert knife throwers, parkour folks, natural movement gurus, to a chiropractor who thinks he knows more about the human body and fitness than the entire medical world. There's many interesting facts but not sure how it weaves itself into the story. Perhaps this should have been 2 books. I cannot put the fat diet, knife throwing, parkour , into the ww2 Crete story. Both are interesting, the WW2 story more so, but it was annoying going back and forth. There seemed to be some buildup to the ending but there was no suprise or anything, just a good ending which you figured had to end well anyway . I liked Born to Run. out of that book we were supposed to eat chia seeds and eat lots of beans for endurance runs. In this book you learn - from a chiropractor - to not eat sugar, processed foods or beans and just eat fat and protein rich foods and vegetables. Which does make some sense to a degree, but not sure a chiropractor is qualified to be a resource for that in the book. And I think the link to the story is weak at best .

It’s an interesting read but it struggles to follow a clear path. The author will introduce another individual and spend considerable time giving you their back story just to jump back to his original topic. It gets a little frustrating towards the end. Overall an interesting perspective and enjoyable story.

This may be one of the best books I've read in a long time. Very inspirational and motivating to be better than you thought you could be. The author did a great job bringing you through the hills and mountains of Crete on a wild adventure.

Fan of the author after reading, born to run. His books always appear to me at the right time, first while on deployment; while recovering from a running injury. This time I saw the title , saw the book and bought it. Best comment about author I heard,"This man does'nt even know how to write a boring email", something like that.

I like his base thesis and the whole story of Crete and the citizens who defended it is fantastic. That said, one of the things you may come away with from reading this book is the idea that a Wing Chun man beats a boxer, like ever. If you believe that, you're completely insane.

Really enjoyed this book. It's always great for a good positive push.

Not what I expected. But the book was in good condition.

Well researched and inspiring book. Enjoy the way McDougall mixes history and how we can apply the lessons learned to ourselves and the way we live...from diet to exercise. Maybe Greece should read the book for a few lessons they've forgotten on self-reliance and initiative.

Excellent Book! McDougall has some great insights thanks to his willingness to learn from history.

Amazing follow up to Born to Run. Entertaining, informative, inspiring....need I say more?

Although I thoroughly enjoyed Born to Run and his other works, this book proved challenging due to the duality of the major topics. I love the message and separately the history but because the World War II references were so in depth and complex and required so much background knowledge (or in this case explaining) I think that each topic (Natural movement vs the story of Crete) may have been better served without interruptions. I understand the attempt to draw connections but often found myself wishing there was more depth to the natural movement theme as the book jumped back into historical facts and reference about the war. I believe Born to run matched the story and message in a more coherent and impactful way.

I am excited to read this book

If you like adventure, if you didn't know you liked adventure, you will love this book. The characters are real but they also come to life through McDougalls brilliant writing. Looking forward to his next book. 3rd time reading this gem... there will be a 4th and just bought the audio book.

One of my favorite books I read in 2017. I am recommending to friends and family members.

Great stories of human survival in a time when do much info can confuse the masses a true hero comes from within

My wife loved this book!

Can not say enough wonderful things about this book. If you’ve read “Born to Run”, this is a great follow up book. Christopher McDougall is an excellent story teller. I found this book to be fascinating as well as extremely educational.

Sometimes hard to follow but could not put down. The information on endurance and diet were very good. Just finished and thinking about the characters I have spent the last few weeks with, I wish I could meet them. Really enjoyed the book.

This book was recommended to me by a doctor after I explained to her some "new" workouts I was trying. Turns out there was nothing new about them. Great read!

Liked overall message - sending copies to my Grandsons

Lessons in lifestyle, evolution of our species and all told entertainingl around a true and fascinating story.

This book tells the extraordinary tale of the Cretan resistance—and covers tough muddier, cross-fit and the paleo diet in between. Quite a far reaching effort. My compliments to the chef.

I read his other book about running so bought this book. Overall, I enjoyed it. At the end, he says that it is two books in one - about the kidnap of the German general and functional fitness. As a result, it jumps around between the two and the book felt a bit disjointed at parts. Initially, I enjoyed the story of the kidnap but learnt more from his explanation of funtional fitness

Looked the book- condition from seller was new, excellent.

As soon as I finished reading it, I started learning parkour. And I bought another copy for friend. Going to order another copy FROM AMAZON OF COURSE! for my dad. Cause you never know when you're gonna have to leap from a rooftop or run breakneck speed down a mountain trail. "Be fit to be useful."

Great read, enjoyed the combination of history, nutrition and the make up of a hero. Kept me engaged throughout. Great read!

Born to Run was easier to read but I liked this book because of the history and the concepts about physical fitness and the enduring strength of human nature to prevail in the face of dire circumstances.

I like the way the author discusses the relevance of Greek mythology throughout the tale of British agents and local citizenry resisting the Nazi takeover of Crete. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I found it quite difficult at times to follow the thread of the book, it seemed to move between characters and scenes in at times a confusing manner. Also the concepts could have been fleshed out a little. Did enjoy picking up some new tid-bits on training methodologies.

A good read!

Interesting stories, but the author tries to weave in the "fat burning for optimal endurance" hypothesis, without ever establishing that the characters in the book followed this idea. During the stories, the author states several times that the endurance characters pretty much ate whatever they could find. Hard muffins, snails, plants etc. I felt that the runners were more or less border line starving during their travels. Toward the end of the book, the author fast forwards to the '70's and talks about people who ate a high fat diet and ran a long way. That is interesting, but we don't know if the runners on Crete ever followed this diet plan. Also, the author talks a lot about utilizing the body's fascia, but never really says how the runners did it. He would talk about how they would bounce and bound from rock to rock, but how is that different from anyone else running in rough terrain? It seems like the author had 3 ideas for a book and tried to push them all into 1 book. Each subject is interesting, but the only thing concrete after all is said and done is the fact that Germany lost the war.

In a bouncy hard to read book, I still found valuable information. But it is no where close to the quality of "Born to Run." It feels choppy and pieced together with fragments of information.

Loved the story. I got a bit lost here and there but I probably wasn't paying close attention. I would have loved even more information and study about the Natural movement and more Dr. Maffetone stuff.

This book changed my life.

An amazing story that is well told by McDougal. I was a big fan of Born to Run but have to say that I think that this one is his best work yet. As with Born to Run McDougal does a masterful job of delivering valuable information on health and physical training while weaving another mesmerizing tale.

Didn't think this book would have so much historical information. Would have given it 5 stars it it had more info on techniques to improve strength and endurance. Overall great read.

MacDougall used a very cool WWII story to try to illustrate his point but it was highly confusing and messy.

Where Born to Run left off, Natural Born Heroes Extended, Deepened and Delivered a compelling story illuminated by Important Knowledge Needed

An excellent blend of personal accounts, actionable nutrition and exercise methods and accounts of the war you probably never heard of. A superbly written book.

One of the better books I have ever read. Tells in detail of several "heroes" and how they earned the title. Would highly recommend it for all readers interested in history.

Very interesting and real story used to frame a lot of insights about physical fitness, nutrition and food industry. Delightfully written, solid research behind scientific principles.

I switched to minimalist running three years back for the same reason McDougall did - my knees had given out and I was having back problems. The switch was challenging (two broken toes and one stress-fractured metatarsal), but now I can run again! "Born to Run" gave me a different mental perspective on running that enabled me to switch form and develop my feet, and I think "Natural Born Heroes" will do the same thing regarding exercise, eating, and hydration for the rest of my body. I didn't give it 5 stars because the book is a little more challenging to read than "Born to Run". The first half is a little disjointed - like a free-running approach to writing. The second half pulls it back together so I encourage you to stick with it. McDougall (along with many in natural movements) focuses a lot on evolutionary explanations, which are not as useful. He does admit to seeking "what our bodies were originally designed to do", which I find more logical than the conflicting evolutionary explanations. He does makes a good tie between physical health and mental sharpness. Even though he references many miraculous events, the book has no spiritual emphasis. The reason I mention this is that the story of the book (Cretan resistance in WWII) deals a lot with confronting evil. However, not addressing the spiritual aspects of life leaves a gap - Hébert's being "fit to be useful" I think carries a notion of being fit in mind, body, and spirit. The book encourages a daring and wild approach to life that prepares for any situation - similar to Eldredge's "Wild at Heart", but without the moral compass. So the book is not an end all approach to life, but can definitely give you a common-sense approach to fitness and health.

Eye opening to me as it was to the author. Tried it in yoga and found it to work. If I had only known this 60 years ago.

Great main story; interesting history and side stories. But sometimes it seems like the author is trying too hard to prove the latter through the former, without really connecting the dots.

really enjoyed this book. some amazing history on the Island of Crete....

I really enjoyed the story about a little known part of WWII. The discovery of how some very impressive feats were accomplished, and the benefits to humanity in general have me wholly considering a lifestyle change. Great read, and the idea of mixing history and health to make a very readable book is a novel approach. I highly recommend this book.

I have just begun reading this book and so far it is everything I had hoped it would be and more

Christopher writes light and easy... This book brings a really interesting piece of history mixed with really good info about health and how we humans used to be good at stuff in the past. Pick this one up, you will read it fast and you will like it.

A very disjointed book. Tries to combine far too many topics in one book -- heroism, physical fitness, Crete during World War II. It doesn't work. It's a jumble of anecdotes that never really connect.

The pro's: interesting stories and content and well written. The cons: not as coherent as Born to Run. The Creta story in itself is pretty complex, but with all the different sidesteps to for instance parcours, nutrition, the natural method, etc etc, it's a bit too "copy paste" I think.

Loved the history, insight into the Crete culture, and endurance. A little much relative to physiology and prescribing diets. I really enjoyed the book. Well done.

This breathtaking account of the abduction of general Kreipe by Paddy Leigh Fermor and Billy Moss also delves deeply into fitness and the best ways to become super humanly agile

McDougall tries to tell several interesting stories at once. There's the WWII story, natural motion story, the diet story, the scholar stories and a few others for good measure. Any one of these could be interesting on their own, but rather than progressing the story arc you are instead introduced to a new character and need to learn their background every few pages. British spies, Nazi generals, Greek freedom fighters, Historians, academics, French athletic instructors, Brazilian athletic instructors, world class triathletes. It quickly spirals out of control. No skirt straightening and braid pulling, but there's so many people you can't keep it all straight. Some of it was page turning and much of it was informative so I'll give it 3 stars. I don't regret reading it but it certainly didn't live up to Born to Run standards.

good

This was really an interesting book. I love how the author interwove the capabilities of the human body, diet and extreme endurance with the tale of the WWII resistance fighters on Crete. This booked was recommended by a friend and I have since recommended it to several others. It has sparked further research in all of us.

I expected more about running: technique, training plans, researches etc. But the book is more about history, eating habits, less known practices and storytelling. However at the end all lines come together to send the main message.

really well written account of wartime stories embedded with references to endurance running/hiking. For sure a book that you cannot put away until you have read every last page of it. Lots of information must have been researched and verified to come up with this book, quite amazing with lots of references for all of us endurance athletes to start more research and find answers in a lot of new never discovered directions.

The story weaves its way through the past and current times to bring us the why and the how some people enjoy excellent health. Featuring Crete during the wars years made this book a fascinating read. It will lead you to looking for the complete health and fitness question which can mostly be found through the Maffetone Method and Noakes diet.

I'm already changing some of my training routines after finishing this tremendous book. A great read both because of the history it covers and because it give real meaning to what fitness should be about and how it should be pursued!

A fine writer twists a story within a story within a story. The implied advice about achieving a bit of Crete athleticism doesn't arrive.

I thoroughly enjoyed this extremely well researched and well crafted tale. I almost want to call it a novel, the true story is so exciting! I will be recommending it to people, more for my interest in helping them as a physician, than for the fascinating story. Bravo!

This is a n awesome book I'm almost done but I would love to keep learning about Crete and how to run and forage. Great book

This book is awesome. Read it and you and you will recommend to others.

A thrilling read. It's a shame the kindle edition is missing page 137, and I hope that's the only one missing- it's frustrating to be unable to read it!

Loved this book! A very clever weaving of incredible WWII story of resistance fighters of Crete and many other topics -- nature of heroism, athletics, diet-- all written in a highly entertaining way. Every bit as engrossing as Born to Run -- McDougall has done it again.

Good read but jumps around too much

Amazing book from both a historical and literary perspective. Every human being must read this book at some point in their life.

Interesting- we now eat weeds from out yard

This will inspire you to do amazing things. Loved every page.

I could not put this book down! Both the history and the look into various forms of exercise were very interesting and informative. Get it. You won't regret it.

The story is excellent, the advise actionable, and the journey... incredible. Truly a work that I will re-read many times.

awesome book. totally changed my diet and workout routine after reading. i have since ordered and sent to three friends who are like minded. great history story as well

This book is okay. It's not really about heroism in the classical sense; "Natural Born Fitness" would have been a much better title. Even then, many of the methods used to become strong and resilient are hard to come by. Does your town or city have somewhere you can learn parkour? Are you willing or even able to live on vegetables and meat for the rest of your life? If the answer is yes, then I would recommend getting a book on those topics specifically. As for the other half of the book, on British special operatives in Crete? There are plenty of other, more readable books written on that. The author has a confusing tendency to refer something or someone before having introduced it. Some of the writing is downright confusing. If you do read this, there is little point in buying a copy to refer to it later, as the publisher decided not to invest in a table of contents.

just great!

This story is a great combination of history, fitness and nutrition. Written in a clear engaging style that will keep you up late at night curious about the next step in the story.

Original, exhilarating, and enlightening. Could be best ending of any book I've read in recent times. A book on fitness wrapped in a historical story rolled into a personal memoir.

Natural Born Heroes is a great read. The learning is woven into a daring tale of endurance and sacrifice. If you liked Born to Run you're going to love these tales.

Daughter loved the first book, "Born to Run". Asked for NBH, and loves it too

Great read. Would recommend it to everyone, from endurance athletes to history buffs. Lost 21lbs and dropped my marathon times by following the low sugar diet.

Love the book. I was a fan of Born to Run already and Chris just continues the journey of finding amazing stories and inspiration.

I had already read Christopher McDougall's Born to Run. Natural Born Heroes reads in a similar fashion, and was as engaging and informative as Born to Run. Christopher is a fantastic story teller, and really keeps you engaged through the whole book. I highly encourage you to read this, both for the insights into natural movement, as well as the cultural and historical aspects of Crete during and after World War II.

Born to Run is much better. This is pretty good but he has a tendency to run on so unless the story is exciting it isn't so readable - most of the book was very good though

Please enlighten yourself with this read! It is another classic from McDougall!

While Natural Born Heroes has some interesting anecdotes, the majority of the book (middle 2/3rds) is an overly drawn out historical account of various WWII war stories around the battle for Crete and barely relates to human performance. Most of this book is based around the story of kidnapping a German general not on the origins, maintenance, or development of our "lost secrets of strength and endurance," which is the subject matter I am most interested in. Buy this book if you're looking history and historical narratives. I loved Born to Run but am sad to say I had to force my way through reading most of this book.

Three story's in one, confusing

McDougall's book "Born To Run" is almost like my bible. I have notes scratched in the margins and I re-read the book every other year to keep me motivated. I was hoping Natural Born Heroes would be the same, but the side narratives that I was so fond of in "Born To Run" have become way too frequent and confusing in this book. Great story, I do like the authors writing style, but I had a difficult time keeping track of present day, flashbacks, origin stories, side stories and historical narratives.

Great book. McDougall finds heroes in many situations and uses them to inspire you to do more with yourself. Wonderful read.

This book has taught me how to toughen up and the toughness of Greek heroes!

I thouroughly en joyed this book with its switchbacks through time present, past and forgotten. The weaving of the tale is done masterfully and combines very interesting history about Crete in World War 2 with real life heroic healthy living strategies.

Two books in one. The history of Cretan resistance in WWII... with references to nutrition, fitness, and endurance training.

This book is really about the proper way to approach nutrition and exercise in order to accomplish what good nutrition and exercise are intended to accomplish--a strong body and mind capable of performing great feats of action. It is so readable because it is told against the backdrop of the fascinating story of the Cretan resistance and that movement's great feat--the capture of a German general. I highly recommend this book. It is inspirational. The reason I cannot give it 5 stars is that the author dismisses things that he has not looked into. An example of such would be Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Also, while he is right to trace the rise of high carb, junk diets to post WWII, he doesn't really examine why people started eating Carbohydrates in the first place. Obviously, a hero like Patrick Leigh Fermour would never turn down a bowl of rice or pasta if offered, as a lot of paleo fanatics probably would. Still the book is a great introduction to heroes and heroism, and makes a valid case that to become an everyday hero is not far from reach.

Well-written and researched. Truly inspirational story about the everyday heroes found on the small island of Crete. Like Chris' other book Born To Run, the story-telling is spellbinding and facts behind natural fitness are revealing. Another tour de force!

Best book I have read in last few years. Combines rollicking adventure of colorful characters with the science and plan to be as fit and able as they are.

Couldn't recommend anything else if you wanted to know what mental and physical health really mean.

I enjoyed this book. It felt very real. The individuals who were featured in the story were unbelieveable.

This is a very intriguing book, especially for those who have an interest in both history and physical fitness. Some of the critics here have noted that the reader can get confused because the story jumps from past to present: from a rather interesting event on Crete in World War II to Mcdougall's investigation of various cross fit training and dietary questions. When I first started reading the book, this bothered me to, but by the end I was completely won over. My first priority with any book is that it is well-written -- bad writing is bad for people; my second priority is information, and my third is I want the book to make me think, and this book does all of that.

I like his style of writing and really enjoyed the read. There is a lot in here to pursue and while this book doesn't get into a lot of detail on the things it covers there is more than enough resource to get you started. All wrapped around a great bit of history.

Simply outstanding. I never wanted his last book to end...this one, the same. Past, present...history & science; seamlessly woven together!

This book was recommended to me by an associate. I can't say I was impressed by its content. While the book presents itself as historical non-fiction, there are significant discrepancies in the author's treatment of S.O.E. history in particular. The sections covering the development and advancements of physical fitness during the 1970s,80s and 90s offer much opinion, hyperbole, innuendo and limited, one assumes edited for effect, fact. I will say that the author is enthusiastic about his subject. I will say that there is some good material in this book. I will say that there is real value in some of the training methods described - that much is evident by the remarkable fitness and abilities of "Cross-training" and "Ninja Fitness" athletes. That said, would I buy this book again? No, and I doubt I would recommend it to anyone.

Great book. Fun to read, very informative, keeps you interested and learning.

A jumble of ideas and methods relating to well rounded fitness. Fitness with a purpose.

Fun read, but not as movement focused as I was hoping. More of a WWII story than anything, but still very enjoyable!

Great read. Very informative. Interesting look at the bounds of human potential set against an amazing world war II abduction caper.

I picked this one up after reading and enjoying Born to Run, and enjoyed this one even more. It beautifully combines history and science, drawing connections and telling a fantastic story.

It is the best recounting of history that I have ever read. Get this book, you'll love it. Thank you.

Most highly recommended. My new favorite! I have read it twice and will likely visit it again and again. Christopher creates a great read while inspiring the ability to embrace our potential for the best of humanity.

This book is filled with large personalities. It's best read via Kindle, or with a search engine nearby, so the reader can look up all the names.

Great book, good price, and timely delivery. The heralds the freedom fighters on Crete in World War 2, and how their athletic achievments can relate to our fitness in today's world.

Christopher McDougal writes great narratives and gives you well researched fitness and endurance information. I loved the story line and the characters. This book made me rethink my exercise and nutrition regimen.

This book has some very interesting ideas and is well told. It's good but not as great as Born to Run.

It was a good read, more so for the telling of how a German general was kidnapped than for explaining the long lost art of building strength and endurance, but it does get the point across. I found myself as was the case with Born To Run hard pressed to put it down. The story is a captivating one and his attempts to provide revelation in to the workings of a hero aren't off the mark. Such things are addressed in martial arts as well as in military training though not nearly as depth in especially in case of the latter. Once again McDoughall found a way to add credence to many concepts that I have long suspected. Overal a good read.

Absolutely inspiring book. I bought another 7 copies and distributed it to my friends and family. It is a very fun and easy read that keeps you up at night.

Very good book that explores some interesting ideas about endurance and fueling your body. The story is a little hard to follow at times because of how much bouncing around you seem to do from chapter to chapter but a good read non the less.

Great story told in spurts with too many side trails and double backs. I enjoyed the subject matter but the narrative could have used more editing to connect all the pieces into a smoother journey

The author has the power to keep the reader enthralled, especially near the end. I've read Born to Run and it's characteristic of his style to go on seeming tangents to bring in a related story. The style might not suit those who prefer to skim and quickly read their non-fiction. I love it because I love stories, drama, and life altering perspectives. The author compiles research that would have been challenging for the ordinary reader to find out themselves. The best part about this book is that he tried to experience himself. The story evolves from an old war tale into a challenge to surmount, here in the present. Read it for the inspiration. Born to Run convinced us of our primal potential to run and endure. Natural Born Heroes will show us that whatever it takes to be a hero, we were born as humans with the potential for it. It's up to us to cultivate it to help our fellow human. He's got a lot of heroic stories to tell along the way. Why were a band of amateurs able to kidnap a general behind enemy lines? Why do people become heroes? How do you make one? Why were dorks and eccentrics sent to turn the tides of war? Who are these people rediscovering ancient secrets? There's a lot of adventure to experience.

This book is one of the best I've ever read. Filled with a variety of higher level ideas and practices. An amazing story with life changing lessons

Riveting read. Especially because the WWII story is a familiar one for me, it was good fun reading it, That tale interspersed with running, strength training etc. - superb timing for this book to come out - one more voice in favour of functional fitness!

Great book. A must read for athletes!

Another ripper from Chris McDougall. His writing takes you into the mountains and villages like you are actually there. I did not think Born to Run could be beat. This is right up there or even surpasses it. Please write more of Chris McDougall......

Enjoyed the original story and the side story covering fitness and health.

An absolute cracker. If you thought that Born To Run was a wonderful read (and it is), then this is possibly even better. Best read of the year.

Excellent

I really enjoyed this book. It was full of entertainment, wisdom, and practical knowledge. I highly recommend others read this book and others from the author.

I am in awe of anyone else who produces a well written book. Having read Born To Run and having totally enjoyed it I was ready to be wowed again... for myself, this was not the case for "Heroes". I do appreciate the skills and discipline brought to this project but after a few of what appeared to be side stories (and they weren't) I lost interest. I know that when I have time I will pick up this book and read a little... and put it down again until the next time and so forth. I take the blame for this as I came to the work with preconceived assumptions and expectations instead of willing to be suprised by what he had to offer.

If the story of Crete wasn't so interesting I would have stopped reading. The context of the book is very interesting but this style of writing isn't for me. It's like three books put in one and sometimes your not sure where one ends and starts again.

Great book! Very interesting read! Really made me think!

Great use of story line to make mental and physiological points, but it goes off on tangents sometimes and takes awhile to work back to the personal story it started with. Good history on Nazi tactics and Allied movements.

McDougall weaves a number of investigations together into a surprising and interesting nexus. What was the Greek ideal of a hero? How did the Cretians tie down 80,000 crack German troops for month after month? What role did the Cretian diet play in their survival? How did bookworm Oxford Brits secret agents manage to fare in the inhospitable mountainous environment? Was the myth of King Minos and the the Minotaur a true story and did their attributes survive to today? And Parkour? Not the greatest literary achievement of our age, but this book is well worth an effortless read.

Decent book although the author tries far too hard to draw parallels between the main story ( which is a fascinating true life story of WW 2 in Crete) and the various training methods he wishes to espouse. It's a bit of a reach and in my view detracts from the main story. I'm sure just about everyone is reading this after having read the great born to run and while the story of the British and Greek resistance fighters is fascinating, the discussion on various training methods is a bit more random and made me wish he devoted more time to the main story. Still well worth a read though.

I enjoyed the book. Little disorganized compared to his last book. Lots of good info but the transitions seemed forced. Glad I read it.

very interesting story....two to three books in one.....very interesting digressions....much like Crete itself.....a story plus a reference manual.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to anyone interested in WWII, running, good stories, and history of movement development. I don't have time to write a review that gives it the recognition it deserves.

Outstanding tale with a bonsus-- how to change your diet and live longer...

The only book that I actually took notes while reading. Great story telling combined with in depth research into fitness philosophy.

Good book, good price, expeditious delivery!

Outstanding, well written account of the history of Greek heroes and little known history of the role of a rogue band of British and Greek heroes in WWII

A must read for any human who is truly inspired to unlocking their fullest human potential!! I learned so much from this book and it has really inspired me to learn more about stepping into my own greatness!!

I liked this book alot. Having never read any of the author's other material, I picked it up because I am very interested in the intricacies of functional fitness and had heard that it might contain helpful information on the building, acquiring and maintaining of this type of muscle. What I found was not only a good adventure story, but hidden within were useful gems of knowledge on the type of fitness that i was searching for. It is NOT a book that tells you: "Do x amount of reps and y sets of z exercise", but looking deeper within the story and using my own knowledge (and a little googling) I was able to find some applicable ways to build the style of fitness that i was hoping/searching for. One of my favorite things about this book is that it references materials (youtube videos and pictures) that can be easily found by taking only a few moments and doing a quick search. That helped to bring me into the story that much further. Overall: just what I happened to be looking for in a story!

I loved it. Anything McDougall writes is now a must-read for me. It may pack a slightly lesser punch than Born To Run, but it is still very insightful and inspiring reading.

Interesting book and information, but it kind of had random tangents