THE LONGEST RACE
A New York Times Bestseller
Available at:
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING…
“In her new memoir, Goucher says for the first time publicly that she is the woman behind the sexual assault allegations that led to her former coach Alberto Salazar to be banned from the sport for life in 2021.”
—Good Morning America
“Kara's story is inspiring and powerful, and she shares it with vulnerability and honesty. This book has something for everyone, whether you're a seasoned runner, just starting out, or don't think you have any interest in running at all. A must-have for your bookshelf, it leaves you motivated, empowered, and ready to take on the world. Thank you, Kara, for sharing your story and reminding us all that we are stronger than we know.”
— Allyson Felix, seven-time Olympic gold medalist and twelve-time World Championship gold medalist
"Stunning in its honesty and intimacy, The Longest Race is one of the most important athlete memoirs of its generation. Kara Goucher takes us inside a breathtakingly complex world, showing us the love and beauty of sport as well as its gruesome abuses of power, callous cruelty, and disregard for the athlete—specifically the female one.”
— Kate Fagan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen
“Kara Goucher’s journey is dramatic and alarming. Beyond that, she and Mary Pilon have put together a stellar work of investigative journalism. The Longest Race will break your heart and blow your mind.”
— James Andrew Miller, #1 bestselling author of Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN
“A lightning-quick runner who would go on to become a two-time Olympian and the face of Nike, Kara had no idea that her 7 years with the Oregon Project would elevate her career to soaring new heights — and drag her into one of the darkest chapters of her life. In her explosive new memoir, Kara opens up about how she and [her husband] Adam helped expose Salazar — the once-beloved coach they regarded as a father figure.”
—People
“The Longest Race is a striking reminder of the importance of using your voice. Kara’s courage to stand up against the powers that be has helped pave the way for change. Her book is essential reading for anyone who wants to make sports safe and fair for everyone.”
— Mary Cain, Founder of Atalanta NYC and 2014 World Junior Champion in the 3,000 meters
"Both books — Goucher’s and [Lauren] Fleshman’s — should be victory laps for two celebrated runners. But that’s not the sort of book either woman set out to write. Each has produced something much grittier: a close-up look at the uncertain and often unhealthy climb toward stardom for women in organized sports."
—The Washington Post
“Goucher is finally telling the whole story of her experience at The Oregon Project in her book The Longest Race, written with sports journalist Mary Pilon . . . the details around how sexual and emotional abuse can be so expertly intertwined to convince victims not to seek help, and even question their own experiences, is a chilling, but necessary story.”
—Sports Illustrated
LOSERS
Where to buy it:
“It's easy to do anything in victory. It’s in defeat that a man reveals himself.” —Floyd Patterson
Twenty-two notable writers—including Bob Sullivan, Abby Ellin, Mike Pesca, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Louisa Hall, and Gay Talese—examine the untold stories of the losers, and in doing so reveal something raw and significant about what it means to be human
The locker rooms of winning teams are crowded with coaches, family, and fans. Reporters flock to the athletes, brimming with victory and celebration, to ask, How does it feel? In contrast, the locker rooms of the losing teams are quiet and awkward, and reporters tend to leave quickly, reluctant to linger too long around loss.
But, as sports journalists Mary Pilon and Louisa Thomas argue, losing is not a phenomenon to be overlooked, and in Losers, they have called upon novelists, reporters, and athletes to consider what it means to lose. From the Olympic gymnast who was forced to surrender her spot to another teammate, to the legacy of Bill Buckner's tenth-inning error in the 1986 World Series, to LeBron James's losing record in the NBA Finals, these essays range from humorous to somber, but all are united by their focus on defeat. Interweaving fourteen completely new and unpublished pieces alongside beloved classics of the genre, Losers turns the art of sports writing on its head and proves that there is inspiration to be found in stories of risk, resilience, and getting up after you've been knocked down.
THE KEVIN SHOW
A National Bestseller
For sale at:
You can read an excerpt on Longreads. And here's one and two morsels about sailing for the New Yorker, a manifesto for Wired about how Instagram is ruining travel, a look at kiwi mental health for Vice and some recommended Longreads!
In case you missed it, here's NPR's Studio 360 segment on the book, coverage from NPR's sports show, as well as Slate's The Gist.
“Absorbing and empathetic…Pilon is a paragon of dogged research. She’s best in reconstructing (via hundreds of hours of interviews) the intertwined life struggles of Hall, his steadfast sweetheart and eventual wife, his vexed parents and some denizens of the competitive sailing world. Her attempts to reach Hall’s 'inner world' display levels of empathy that touch the heart.” – New York Times Book Review
"As [The Kevin Show] journeys through Hall's illness, it also forces readers to consider the 'sanity' of their own relationship to a media-saturated world . . . Grippingly provocative reading." - Kirkus Reviews
"Pilon’s compelling portrait of a remarkable young man and the challenges he faces as a cancer survivor, Olympic athlete, and bipolar patient underscores all the difficulties involved, especially in treating mental illness, and offers insights into the effects it has on patients and their families." - Booklist
"Draws attention to the toll of mental illness on individuals and their families." - Publishers Weekly
“I was impressed by how deeply and empathetically Pilon describes what Hall was thinking during episodes in which he thought everything he did was being guided by a director. She also points out something I’d never considered, which is that we often hear about how bipolar disorder affects artists and even contributes to their unique work—but we never really talk about athletes who are affected. Pilon’s book pushes the conversation a little further with Hall, who is clearly a brilliant athlete and a fascinating person.'“ -Outside
THE MONOPOLISTS
A New York Times Bestseller and Notable Book of 2015
Don't miss the book excerpt from the New York Times.
"Briskly enlightening...[Pilon] has woven a plush, often humorous tapestry of board-game and social history. Even passages devoted to sick children during the Depression fail to deflate her book’s buoyancy. Her empathy lies with Magie, Anspach and other creative progressives, but she also plays fair by the Darrow and Parker families." —James McManus in The New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice, a Notable Book of 2015)
"[A] fascinating history . . . The Monopolists lucidly weaves together a multifaceted story . . . [It] builds to an intense pitch - while highlighting several fundamental issues of capitalism. —Los Angeles Times
"Highly entertaining . . . Like Monopoly itself, the book unfolds in interesting directions, probing into lost Quaker communities, the early history of Atlantic City, and how a game originally invented to critique capitalism became its most diverting simulacrum." —Boston Globe
"A legal, corporate and intellectual whodunit . . .The tale, like the game, becomes a parable for American capitalism, with powerful players stamping out competitors and fortunes being made or destroyed at the roll of the dice . . . anyone who grew up playing Monopoly will have a hard time resisting The Monopolists. "—Washington Post, (A Notable Book of 2015)
"In The Monopolists, Ms. Pilon not only tells the strange and at times tragic story of the evolution of America’s favorite board game—she also takes us on a jaunt through turn-of-the-century America, where we learn about such far-flung things as the origins of the price tag, the founding of Atlantic City, and the fact that one of the most coveted addresses in the game was home to some of the earliest gay bars in America. This is a must read for anyone who loves the game, and really, who doesn’t?" —Erik Larson, author of Devil in the White City and In the Garden of Beasts
"What enormous fun this book is! Clever, engaging, finely crafted, and endlessly surprising—and revealing in passing much about the ghastliness of American corporate greed. Much like the game itself, indeed." —Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman (and many other bestselling books)
"Mary Pilon has discovered an enthralling story behind Monopoly, as much a history of our country as of its favorite game. She writes with the assurance and energy of a historian who knows she has struck gold." —Gay Talese
"America’s toy chest is stuffed with games whose origins belie their shiny packaging and family-fun marketing—none more than Monopoly. Mary Pilon’s page-turning narrative unravels the innocent beginnings, the corporate shenanigans, and the big lie at the center of this iconic boxed board game." —Stefan Fatsis, author of Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players
"Thanks to Mary Pilon's meticulous reporting and mellifluous prose, we now know the real story of the corporate greed and relentless cover-up that scars Monopoly, one of the most beloved and successful board games of all time. Finally, the truth is out." —William D. Cohan, author of The Last Tycoons
"Dry concepts such as brand identity and copyright are deftly woven to create a compelling and seamless story that many readers will find more entertaining than the game itself." —Publisher' Weekly (starred review)
(Then, there's the 2009 Wall Street Journal article about Ralph Anspach and his epic battle, this 2013 NY Times Sunday Review piece about the evolution of the game or about how you're playing it incorrectly.)
And if you've made it this far, here's a secret.