A Life In A Day In A Year: A Postcard From Meadowbank, 1973-1978: Volume 3 (An Edinburgh Trilogy)

A Life In A Day In A Year is written in the style of a folded clock and gives a unique insight into a 'year' between 1973 and 1978 in the life of a Scottish athlete. In 1978 the author got as close to beating the disgraced world number one 800 metres East German athlete, Olaf Beyer, as either Sebastian Coe or Steve Ovett. The book tells the story of the ups and the downs of a young man's day to day journey and his quest to become a champion athlete. It includes life at the 1976 Olympic Games and the 1978 European and Commonwealth Championships as well as details about his training and racing, giving an insight in to the requirements to run 1 minute 46 seconds for a half mile. There are colourful and amusing descriptions of trips abroad to behind 'the Iron Curtain' and other countries. A Life In A Day In A Year is the final volume of An Edinburgh Trilogy, following on from the The Stair and The Secret Diary of Retep Nnamffoh aged Fourteen and a Half : An Edinburgh Schoolboy's 1971 Diary. It is based on the author's detailed journals and paints an honest picture of what it was like to be an athlete in Scotland during the 1970s and his journey from beginner to Olympic level. However, the story is of interest beyond the athletics enthusiast to the more general reader too, as it captures his route of travel from boyhood to manhood all set within the Edinburgh and wider culture of the period, recording day to day family, working and student life, making the book a valuable and interesting social document.