Summarizing Chris McDougall’s “Natural Born Heroes”
You’ll enjoy this book if you like:
1. WW2 stories of unconventional British spies, esp Churchill’s Special Operations Executive (SOE) dept.
The book is framed by the story of the daring kidnap of a German general by a motley crew of British military rejects and local rebels on the island of Crete (which was a strategic hot-spot for the Nazis during the time of Hitler’s invasion of Russia).
The Brits (led by radical but very good-looking misfit Patrick Leigh Fermor) and Cretans grabbed the general then (miraculously?) hiked him through the mountains, somehow evading capture by the Germans.
The book contains brief discussion of how Churchill formed the SOE, the key personnel chosen (both as trainers and as operatives — some fascinating personalities here, including a dude who was beaten up a million times in Shanghai but still emerged alive)
Also contains tragic episodes of what the Nazis’ did to many Cretan villagers, not pretty.
2. ‘Alternative’ ideas on health and fitness
Not everyone will enjoy the book’s format which is like 60% WW2 history, 40% fitness research and innovation stories. Anyway, some of the ‘new’ ideas proposed here (although by today maybe not so new anymore):
a) dehydration may be overstated; McDougall claims that companies like Gatorade kept pushing the hydration dogma which resulted in ppl ‘drowning’ in water. He says better to listen to your body and your thirst i.e. drink only when you need to
b) burn body fat as fuel, not glucose — i think this is the keto philosophy, right? The experts he quotes suggest the low (or even zero) carb approach followed by the ‘take it easy’ exercise method i.e. subtract 180 by your age and don’t push your heart-beat beyond that number. Why not? Bcos high-intensity leaves your body gasping for ‘cheap energy’ (i.e. sugar).
Do this often enough and soon your body will get better at burning keto and achieve better performance at said number.
3. Greek mythology and Cretan history plus geography in particular
Lots of stories about Greek heroes (incl non-Greek ones like the kindie principal who saved many children’s lives by crossing her arms against a dude wanting to slash kids at her school), culture and honour (eg, “A Cretan is measured by her xenía, and the 3 rules are very clear: You offer food. You offer a bath. You ask no questions.”)
Here’s a quote about how grabbing stuff is a time-honoured Greek thing (hence, kidnapping a Nazi general was almost a tribute to the Greeks):
“Greek heroes were always stealing stuff, the bigger and weirder and more impossible the better. Half of Hercules’ 12 Labors were heists, incl snatching an Amazon girdle and a team of man-eating horses. Prometheus made off w the gods’ fire; Theseus was constantly dragging off women, incl a warrior queen and a Cretan princess.
Odysseus was a born thief: his dad was Laertes, one of the Fleece-seizing Argonauts, although his true father was rumoured to be Sisyphus, famous for robbing house guests. His grandad was the Thief Lord Autolycus, and his great granddad was Hermes, God of thieves.”
4. Parkour
McDougall introduces Erwan le Corre who believes that we should all dump the gym memberships and barbells and move naturally like we’re in the wild i.e. swim, throw, jump, etc. One theme of the book is that this was how the Brits and rebels in Crete managed to navigate the island’s treacherous terrain and out-maneuver the Nazis i.e. by ‘bouncing’ up and down the mountains like Jackie Chan in a fight scene (okay that’s my personal analogy).
You won’t enjoy this book if you prefer a very focused study or story. McDougall, not unlike literary parkour(?) or MTV, jumps and bounces from one topic to another. But I think if you stick with it (and if you’re keen on the issues he raises) it could be worth your time.
