If you've ever felt the endorphins kick in after an hour or two of running or biking, if you've ever bonked after three or four hours of cross-country skiing or, um, pogo sticking, or if you've ever sat in the couch and wondered why on earth people do things like that—this is the book for you. It's a beautiful exploration of the quirky transcendence that endurance provides!

Bill McKibben, climate activist and author of Long Distance: A Year of Living Strenuously

A good travel writer draws you into the tastes, sounds, and soul of places around the world and around the corner. A good sportswriter shows the grit, craft, and ardor that the true athlete—be they a Boston Marathon champion or a child in the slums of India—brings to their calling. A good fiction writer delivers both the outward thrill of a journey and the inward exploration that makes the trip worth the telling. Bill Donahue, an exceptional writer, combines all three elements in each luminous piece in Unbound.

John Brant, author of The Boy Who Runs and Duel in the Sun: Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, and America's Greatest Marathon

Every time Bill Donahue writes about acts of endurance—running, cycling, even climbing stairs or pogo sticking—and the people who discover themselves in such extreme activities, he finds the familiar, the human spirit we share with one another. It’s fitting that in this collection of his most memorable works his words once again create the most enduring memories of all. Unbound is a joy.

Glenn Stout, founding editor of The Year's Best Sports Writing and author of Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World

This fascinating compendium of endurance, which ranges widely, asks deep questions and doesn’t shy away from the darker side of our attempts to push our limits.

Michael Crawley, author of Out of Thin Air: Running Wisdom and Magic from Above the Clouds in Ethiopia

The beauty of the endurance world is the near-infinite diversity of its amazing athletes. But most books follow just one Olympian or record setter. Happily, in Unbound, Bill Donahue reaches far wider and takes us far deeper into the seemingly impossible achievements of those who refuse to quit.

Amby Burfoot, 1968 Boston Marathon winner, author of Run Forever

Each story in Unbound has an empowering message that will be a treat for all adventurers.

Sarah Marquis, National Geographic Explorer