Iron War

Iron War is an in-depth look at two of the toughest competitors-Dave Scott and Mark Allen-in one of the most grueling races of all time: the 1989 Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.

The book follows a standard documentary type format of starting with a dramatic cliffhanger from the climactic moment, before pivoting to tell the histories of both competitors and the sport itself.

My biggest problem with the book was the absurdity around some of the language used while the author tried to analogize certain moments. A specific example was when the author compared a female competitor losing mental capacity and shitting herself to a "Giraffe totter[ing] on ice" felt unnecessary.

Additionally, the book also dragged on for far too long after the dramatic race concluded, focusing on the post-race careers as well as the physiological studies that have gone on into runners and elite endurance athletes. While this could have been used to build up to the climax, it fell flat after the excitement was over.

Potentially due to the nature of the sport itself, the Ironman race is a feat of human achievement and thrilling for the racers, but is not particularly exciting to outside observers.