Book Review: The Man Who Ran Faster Than Everyone

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The Man Who Ran Faster Than Everyone:

The Story Of Tom Longboat

By Jack Batten

Tundra Books

112 pages (sc)

$16.99

The story of a Six Nations man who became one of the country's most celebrated athletes in the early 20th century has won the Norma Fleck Award, presented annually to the best Canadian non-fiction children's book.

The book about the famous Native long-distance runner Tom Longboat was written by Jack Batten, a Toronto author with 28 other titles to his credit. This is his first award win, though he had once been short-listed for a crime novel award.

Batten got the idea to write the book about Longboat after he read an issue of Maclean's magazine in 1998, he said.

The issue honored the 100 most important Canadians in history. In a 10-person category dubbed Stars, Longboat was at the top of that list, ahead of Wayne Gretzky (third), Marshall McLuhan (fifth) and Celine Dion (ninth).

"I thought, 'Wow, nobody knows much about Tom Longboat,'" Batten said. "And I didn't know much about him either."

Longboat won the Boston Marathon in 1907 and competed in the 1908 London Olympics.

Longboat was often the featured attraction at races throughout North America, including events at New York's Madison Square Garden, where 18,000-plus screaming fans would assemble to see him and his rivals race on an indoor track.

The book also addresses rumors that Longboat dabbled in performance-enhancing drugs, and that various agents tried to swindle him out of his race earnings.

After reading the Maclean's issue, Batten spent a good chunk of his time during the next few months at a Toronto library, looking at microfilm, searching for stories on Longboat.

He originally pitched the book idea to McClelland & Stewart. After rejecting it, the publisher took the proposal to their children's book division, Tundra Books. About 20 minutes later, Batten received a phone call informing him that Tundra was interested.

The finished product is a paperback suitable for readers age 10 and up.

Batten said he thoroughly enjoyed the work he did while researching and writing this book.

"The most satisfying part was finding out details that unfolded his career and his life," he said. "I really came to admire him a lot."

Article by Sam Laskaris