Endure

A wave of recent research suggests that physical limits are set as much by the brain as by the body, and Alex Hutchinson surveys it in his account of the science of endurance. He takes the limits one at a time (oxygen, pain, heat, muscle, fuel and thirst) and untangles the interplay of mind and body through the stories of people who pushed their own limits. Hutchinson, a Cambridge-trained physicist, former national-team distance runner who wrote the Sweat Science column for Runner's World and Outside, was one of two reporters given access to Nike's secret project to break the two-hour marathon, an effort he follows throughout. Malcolm Gladwell contributed the foreword.

Bear Grylls praised its insight into the minds of great athletes and adventurers. Adam Grant said it shows how people can go beyond their perceived physical limits.