Cerutty

There were a group of seminal fitness/running coaches in the 1950's and 1960's. I tend to put Arthur Lydiard at the top of the heap, at least as far as running goes. In the United States, Jack LaLanne brought fitness to TV. Bernarr MacFadden was one of the very early fitness proponents. (I differentiate strongmen and body builders from fitness proponents, though the lines are sometimes very grey.)
I had recently purchased a (used) copy of Percy Cerutty's Be Fit! or Be Damned!, and read it on my recent trip to the Dominican Republic. Some dismiss Cerutty as a crank, but he must be measured by the time and place in which he wrote. This book carries a 1967 copyright. Cerutty identifies himself as coach to both John Landy (second man to break four-minutes for the mile) and Herb Elliott (a world-record holder, though I'm not sure in what). If I were to sum up the basic theme of this book, it is "if you don't take care of your body, you'll die sooner."
Several of Cerutty's key points were: a) exercise inproves cardio-vascular health b) diet matters in your overall health and c) strength is needed in life. By today's standards, these concepts are almost laughable, but when you consider this was also the time when Dr. Kenneth Cooper was coining the term "aerobics" to describe long-duration, low-intensity exercise, it was important stuff.
Do I recommend that you read this book? No, while it is an important book, many of the concepts feel dated. Unless you have an interest in the history of fitness, it's probably not worth the time and effort to seek it out.