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Again to Carthage | 
 enlarge | Author: John L. Parker Jr.
Publisher: Breakaway Books
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
Buy New: $14.67
You Save: $9.28 (39%)
New (29) Used (8) from $13.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  40 reviews
Sales Rank: 18554
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 344
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 5.8 x 1.4
ISBN: 1891369776
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781891369773
ASIN: 1891369776
Publication Date: April 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
John L. Parker, Jr.'s first novel, Once a Runner, is the cult novel for runners. Self-published in the late 1970s, and for years sold out of the trunk of the author's car at running events, it went on to sell over 100,000 copies and achieve legendary status among runners. It perfectly captured the intensity, relentlessness, and sheer lunacy of a serious miler's life. Kenny Moore of Sports Illustrated-himself an Olympic runner-called it "by far the best fictional portrayal of the world of a serious runner . . . a marvelous description of the way it really is." For over twenty-five years, fans of Once a Runner have wanted more. Parker has finally written the sequel, which begins in the early 1970s where the previous book left off. The protagonist of the first book, Quenton Cassidy, has lost his best friend and teammate from college, a helicopter gunship pilot who dies a horrific death after crashing in the jungle. Cassidy is plunged into a depressive spiral in which he is forced to re-examine his studiously carefree life as a young, single attorney. Cassidy's return to the world of competitive running is dramatic and revelatory both to Cassidy himself and to the reader, as is his desperate, all-out attempt to make one last Olympic team. John L. Parker, Jr. is the author of the highly acclaimed novel Once a Runner. He has written for Outside, Runner's World, Running Times, and numerous other publications. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida, and Bar Harbor, Maine.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 35 more reviews...
 Like many a marathoner, this book hit the wall at the 20 mile mark November 17, 2008
As an avid runner, I really enjoyed Once a Runner, so I was eagerly anticipating its long awaited sequel. I really enjoyed first 276 pages, and the whole book took me no time at all to read. The development of the different characers and the rounding out of Quenton's charcter were wonderful. My only disappointment was the end. I thought last 70 pages were just could have offered so much more. In the last 75 pages he does have one of the funnier passages in the book, but other than that highlight it was disappointing. I don't think it is disclosing too much to say this book, like the first, ends with a race. However, this race was way too hokey and unrealistic. Not wanting to give away any details for those who have yet to read it, is will simply say there were several other events throughout the last chapters that were not written up to the same high standards as the begining. That said, it was a good and easy read, it just that end left a little to be desired in my mind.
 High Hopes Dashed November 15, 2008
My first thought when I finished Again to Carthage (ATC) is "Dude, they used Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' during the race scene in Saint Ralph. You couldn't find another song?"
As a life-long runner...I gotta say...this book was horrible. It wants to be a runner's version of "The Natural" and comes off as Rocky IV (sorry, my depth of sports literature is thin beyond the Natural).
My overall impression is that he wrote the last 120 pages or so first, the story of Cassidy's decision to start running again and his training and the big race. Of course, 120 pages will not a novel make, so the editors sent it back and said, you need to add more. So he tacks on a hundred or so pages of background material to set up the mid-life crisis. This still leaves him 80 pages short, so he went back at it with a thesaurus, and everywhere he finds a verb he adds an adverb and everywhere he uses a noun he adds two or three adjectives.
My other problem with ATC, in addition to the overuse of adverbs and adjectives is the complete lack of any dramatic tension. No tension lasts for more than a few paragraphs. He has a ho-hum life. He starts running again. He gets up to 100+ mile weeks and gets in awesome shape with an awesome body. The only place I felt any tension was during the race - will he or won't he make the team? But it's so overwrought - the bloody footprints, the visions of dead friends...very cliched.
Feeling a bit bummed by this one...I was hoping for so much more....
Frustrated throughout - until Cedar Mountain September 17, 2008
I had to put this book down a few times because I did not believe that a sequel to OAR had little to do with running. However, as I was reading about his law practice, his vacation in Bermuda, his lack of relationships and on and on...I realized that this is the boring life of anyone. I realized that he needs purpose and significance and since he was once a runner, he returns to running. When this occurs is when I become captivated by Parker's explanation of why we run, how it makes us feel, and how we envy seeing someone run effortlessly and knowing the power and joy that carries them. Parker's explanation of this is what makes the book worth while.
I am mostly a trail runner and that is why I liked Parker's description of where Quenton trained. He went back to basics. And isn't that all running is.
Good follow up to a great book June 10, 2008
A little too descriptive at times, but overall the story is interesting and thoughtful. I felt that on occasion the author wanted to put so much in that the real guts of the story would be put on hold for a chapter or two. It's my personal opinion that the ending twist was a tad predictable, but not annoying. If you are a runner, this is a great book with parts that will sound very familiar to some. If not, then you may be a little disappointed. I'm bias, but I really love the characters and was very happy with the end result. Do not read this book if you haven't already read Once A Runner...
A Worthy Sequel June 3, 2008
Again to Carthage: The long anticipated sequel to "Once a Runner" delivers the fix many fans have clamored for over the years. A book less about the act of running itself and more about the spiritual side of running, "Carthage" goes where few books about running are able. Parker's prose makes running real without inflating or cheapening it. His ability to do this is a big reason why "Once a Runner" is required reading for anyone who slides on a pair of running shoes. Parker does it once more in "Carthage," a worthy companion to its cult classic brethren. Read "Again to Carthage" because you've always wondered what it is like to commit yourself to the Olympic dream.
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