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This is a book that is hard to put down. What a fascinating story of Lance's battle with cancer and what it takes to win, whether in life or cycling. After reading this book I wanted to know more about Lance and read two more books, another by him: Every Second Counts, and one written about him: Lance: The Making of the World's Greatest Champion, both wonderful accounts of his personal life and the incredible journey to winning seven Tour de France titles.
WEAKNESSES: Heavier than a paperback, making hill climbs more difficult.Dark blue cover is hard to see during a night ride--requiring the addition of reflective stickers or a flashing light for safety."Hey. All of us who have competed in a hardcore sport on a national or international level have that attitude about ourselves, and it just serves to show that Lance Armstrong is/was no different. Sally Jenkins managed to maintain Lance Armstrong's voice on the page, so that it mostly reads like a very long e-mail or conversation over beer with Lance Armstrong himself. Nor is it some junkie book about a person who just happened to catch national attention, like The Amy Fischer Story or whatever crap is out there about Tonya Harding or some of our instantly famous heros who cash in on that first fifteen minutes of fame. Dammit." SIMILAR PRODUCTS USED: I graduated from an ivy league college, so I've read a couple of thousand books both for study and enjoyment. I could probably wear the maillot jaune in the Tour de Waterstone's, but I can only think of five books out of all of those that I enjoyed as much as this one.I am also an avid cyclist of both road and mountain bikes.REVIEW:For one thing, this book is SO GOOD despite that the writing doesn't come across as the work of a professional writer. STRENGTHS: Hard cover withstands most crashes.Quality paper repells bicycle grease better than most.Just fits in my CamelBak M.U.L.E.The ink doesn't run after riding in a typhoon, though it takes a long time to dry out the book.The ink smells of adrenaline. Yeah, it is about the bike at some points, about the Tour at others, about racing, cancer, and his mother--but it's not a jumble of these things.
Maybe they can't relate, maybe they'll like it for some other reason, but for us titans out there--in sports or business or whatever--this is a great read.What the Book of Five Rings is to teaching people how to be more competitive, this book is to teaching competitive people to be more human. It served to connect all of us jerks to the one we admire the most, to evaluate our attitudes and then get a lesson from Lance Armstrong's experience of fighting for his life and his humanity rather than just fighting to win more.What makes this book really great is that it seems like it's several books, but they're all tied together well. BOTTOM LINE: I had to stop myself from reading this book all in one day and managed to pace myself out to five days. The ink smells of adrenaline.A couple of the chapters do read like professional writing, but it's not overdone and strengthens the readability and enjoyment of the book.I can only think of one chapter--which was entirely about the bike--that started to get boring because it was full of Lance Armstrong just blowing his own horn. This book really ISN'T about the bike. It's not understated, and not overstated.Will people who are not athletes or related in some way to serious athletes enjoy this book.
You would never get this kind of personal-style expression and energy out a person in an interview, giving me the feeling that this really is a book BY Lance Armstrong with significant guidance and help by Sallie Jenkins. On the other hand, it was kind of Mohammad Ali, "Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee" of him, and showed the real mind of a competitive athlete. I have no idea. I'm a rather careful reader, but this was one of those books that I couldn't put down--which is unusual for me.
well worth a read although its a little disappointing to see that by the time i finished the book he had already left his wife (a long time before).
Lance Armstrong had all of the experiences and had developed all of the tools to become a great athlete and full blown narcissist. Had cancer not intervened, his views of himself and of the role of those around him might have become even more aggrandized than they did in real life.His loving and lovely wife we can see was the ultimate support mechanism, very little is spoken of what he gave to her other than the once in a lifetime chance to be with himThere is a good story about dealing with cancer and how it has the potential to change one but in his case not enough.The history of the last decade has confirmed what the book foretold
I thought It's Not About The Bike meant you ride with spirit with a certain grace. Sorry but I agree with Badger Bob. And a recurring problem in autobios by unexperienced writers. Armstrong, it took 159 pages of patience for you to crack a smile of humility, you had a chance to make this an inspirational book like "Born to Run" (some great moments). I hope in many years when the fame fades away and you discover yourself, THE great Lance Armstrong, who is not a cyclist but like you said, Cancer survivor, human being, and father figure, you can share words of wisdom when u finally get back on that bike at 50 yrs old and although it hurts you ride everyday like a child on his first trainer with a free spirit. I have read many auto bios and I was half expecting this to be one of those greats.
But it became repetitive. This is a "I love Lance" book written by Lance. I half expected to admire cycling more as I'm an avid road cyclist. The Book should NOT have been titled as such. Mr. This may have to do with the fact you probably haven't read much great literature, Athlete's are busy, and rarely focus on matters of self discovery and spirituality.
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