Book Review: To the Edge

A Man, Death Valley, and the Mystery of Endurance, by Kirk Johnson

Following his brother's death, NY Times reporter Kirk Johnson decided to become a runner. But he wasn't interested in doing any old race - he had his heart set on running the Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135-mile race across Death Valley, widely regarded as the most difficult footrace in the world. This book chronicles his descent into ultrarunning and (simultaneously) gonzo journalism.

In a normal newspaper story, the reporter remains at a distance from his subject - there is no "I", and so the tone is (perceived as) objective, rather than subjective, or at least that is what they strive for. In gonzo journalism, the journalist inserts the "I" and truly becomes "one of those crazies" (as he says), which is what happens here. While this gives a more interesting look at Mr. Johnson's struggle to go from a non-runner to an elite athlete over the course of a year, it also skews the perspective one gets of the race. Other participants wander in and out, never fully characterized beyond their most recognizable qualities - this one had cancer, these ones are twins, this one is an amputee.

The lack of distance is obviously something Mr. Johnson is neither used to nor comfortable with; he spends a significant portion of the book returning, like a good Times reporter, to the history of the race and that of Death Valley. The information is interesting, but ultimately irrelevant, and the book would have done better had he simply surrendered, Hunter S. Thompson-like, to the pull of the race.

This "distant lack of distance" works to his disadvantage in another way: Mr. Johnson is never entirely successful in exploring his reasons for beginning the Badwater journey. Just as he has no explanation for his brother's suicide, he seems to have no reasons for whatever drove him to commit this much time and energy to so strange a quest; the few he comes up with (to be closer to his brother, primarily) are never closely examined, and cannot be, because his brother is never really fleshed out as a character.

The story, while interesting, had the potential to be truly moving - a tale of self-discovery and healing. But instead of the reader feeling the sentiments, we're left with the sense that the author pointed at a photo and said, "This was very moving". Nice try, but we remain unaffected. Whether this is a quality of Mr. Johnson's writing or simply a fact of trying to deal with a difficult subject, I cannot say. The book is worth a look if you're interested in running and its history.