Bowerman and the Men of Oregon

The Story of Oregon's Legendary Coach and Nike's Cofounder

By: Kenny Moore

Narrated by: Paul Cirzan

No man has affected more runners in more ways than Bill Bowerman. During his 24-year tenure as track coach at the University of Oregon, he won four national team titles and his athletes set 13 world and 22 American records. He also ignited the jogging boom, invented the waffle-sole running shoe that helped establish Nike, and coached the US track and field team at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.

With the full cooperation of the Bowerman family and Nike, plus years of taped interviews with friends, relatives, students, and competitors, two-time Olympic marathoner Kenny Moore - himself one of Bowerman's champion athletes - brilliantly re-creates the legendary track coach's life.

©2006 Kenny Moore (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

A Robust Tale of an Incredible Man

It took me a while to listen to this one, as I wanted to digest it slowly. With everything from United States and world history, wars, to love, family, true friendship, to business lessons, courtroom drama, chemistry, design, to thoughtful descriptions of many of running’s heroes, to learning the origins of the foundations of modern day running and physiology and the wisdom of its architect, this book will make you not only a better athlete, but wholly a better person because you really get to understand Bill Bowerman. Bravo.

An amazing and emotional read!

If you could sum up Bowerman and the Men of Oregon in three words, what would they be?

Inspiring, Interesting and Emotional.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Hearing about the story of how pre built the jogging industry and his passion for coaching was amazing! Also the story of Prefontaine was really incredible and made me emotional reading about it.

Incredible.

Every track and field athlete, coach, and fan ought to read this book. An all time great.

Grudging respect for Oregon

As a Husky, I can’t believe I read this book much less enjoyed it. If you can get through all the race times and finishes and names of runners there is a great story. Maybe Oregon’s not all bad.

So much Oregon/track history

Although the book is predominantly about Bowerman, it also covers the stories of his most famous athletes, the history of Nike and the ups and downs and trials and tribulations of developing high performance athletic shoes, the Rajneesh episode in Oregon, track history and politics, and the tragic events of the 1972 Olympics. The book contains many smaller stories of honor, heart, and perseverance. It's well written and epic in its retelling of the life of a very humbly yet inspirational person who influenced many, and through those persons many more. Can't wait to read it again.