Summary of Christopher McDougall's Natural Born Heroes

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The German commander on Crete, General Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller, had a difficult time explaining what happened to his fellow commander, General Heinrich Kreipe. Kreipe had been captured by a British raiding force and taken off the island.

#2 The Butcher was suspicious that the general had been grabbed after he left the city, but his car was found only a twenty-minute drive away. Within that brief window, these mystery men executed an ambush, disarmed and subdued two prisoners, and smoked a pack of cigarettes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jul 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822548923

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The German commander on Crete, General Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller, had a difficult time explaining what happened to his fellow commander, General Heinrich Kreipe. Kreipe had been captured by a British raiding force and taken off the island.

#2

The Butcher was suspicious that the general had been grabbed after he left the city, but his car was found only a twenty-minute drive away. Within that brief window, these mystery men executed an ambush, disarmed and subdued two prisoners, and smoked a pack of cigarettes.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

In 2012, I stood where the general’s car was found, wondering where they could possibly go. The only possible escape was the southern coast, but the only way to get there was up and over Mount Ida, which was eight thousand feet high.

#2

The Butcher had a lot of resources thrown at finding him, and it seemed like they had him. But the longer he was missing, the more vulnerable the Butcher looked to his own men and his enemies.

Insights from Chapter 3

#1

When you land on Crete, the island will appear frothy around the edges, like it just popped up from the deep. The island has another nickname, the Island of Heroes, which was bestowed on it by the ancients.

#2

The more I looked into Crete during the Resistance, the more stories I found of normal people doing extraordinary things. The Germans had landed on Crete, and they realized that they had entered a completely different kind of fight.

#3

The art of the hero was about being so competent that bravery wasn’t an issue. Heroes learned how to use their own body fat for fuel instead of relying on bursts of sugar, the way most people do today.

#4

The Greeks perfected a hero’s diet, which curbs hunger, boosts power, and converts body fat into performance fuel. They developed techniques for controlling fear and adrenaline surges, and they learned to tap into the remarkable hidden strength of the body’s elastic tissue.

Insights from Chapter 4

#1

Churchill was quick to point out that Hitler was not a statesman, but a megalomaniac who derived pleasure from persecution. He warned Parliament that the most sinister men in the world were preparing themselves for every kind of novel stratagem and brutal and treacherous maneuver.

#2

Churchill came up with a novel tactic. He wanted to send lone phantoms to test the unwritten laws of war and execute whatever havoc they could imagine. He couldn’t use seasoned soldiers for this operation; anyone fit enough to fight was needed on the battlefield.

#3

Churchill was sure that his misfits could become heroes, and they believed him because they had seen a real superhero in the flesh. Lawrence of Arabia was more than their idol; he was their evolutionary road map.

#4

The ancient Greeks knew that everyone is tinged with a touch of the godly. To be a