It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life

Rating:
Summary: The Wake-up Call
Review: I am not a great reader. But Armstrong's book is hard to put down, easy to read, and incredibly inspirational. He puts real-life skin on old standards: tragedy and triumph. While Armstrong's honesty and frankness, at times, reveals a young maturity level, they also reveal a growing character, and a hard to come by balance between a satisfaction in whatever life may bring and a determination to make the absolute most with it. I cried when I read his encounter with an "angel," and e-mailed the passage to my friends. The wake-up call?: Get back in the saddle... and ride.

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Moving
Review: Lance Armstrong gives an incredibly moving and heart-wrenchingly honest account of what it's like to have cancer, to go through the unfathomable degradation of chemotherepy and to come out the other side. I went through much of what he specks of with my sister when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and my husband when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. While my sister did not survive the disease she left a gift for each of us who went through it beside her. Lance has given his readers the same gift. It is not something you can name but when you read the book you will recognize it. This is a must read for anyone who may ever encounter this horrifying disease in anyone they know. That would be just about all of us. You will cry, you will ache for Lance and all the millions of others who have gone through what he faced and you will feel joy for the triumph of each new day. Thank you, Lance for sharing your disease and survival with the rest of us.

Rating:
Summary: A heart warming book
Review: An inspirational book, especially considering his latest achievment!

Rating:
Summary: If you are alive, you NEED to read this book!
Review: This book held me almost breathless throughout. It is not for any specific type of reader or person, athelete or scholar. It is a book for anyone and everyone. It is a book that can truly be appreciated by anyone that has ever taken a breath of human life. I had never thought much about cycling or the Tour de France before I had read this book and was worried that parts would bore me. I could not have been more wrong. It traces his life in an interesting and entertaining way, but most of all lets you know what it is like to face death and survive. Lots have done it, but few have put it so eloquently as Mr. Armstrong and his co-author. This is truly a book that should be read by anyone that wants to live a life of purpose and meaning.

Rating:
Summary: Read between the lines
Review: I have read books autobiography's and the closest this one comes to was one on Arnonld Schwarzenegger and this one reminds me of that. To say that this man is self absorbed would be an understatement. I have not finished the book and it does read well. The only thing I see redeaming about him is he knows how to ride a bike well. He sounds pompus and spoiled and of course from what I heard he is not well spoken either. He maybe a champion in others eyes but not in my book. Grow up Lance lets talk in 10 years.

Rating:
Summary: Inspirational, well-told tale
Review: Mr. Armstrong and his co-author have hit a home run with this inspirational story of the cyclist's life thus far. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and fully appreciate the fact that Mr. Armstrong was so kind as to share something so personal with his fans. Readers (as did I) will find this heartwarming, tearful, motivational and finally exultant, as the authors take you from his humble beginnings, through his near fatal bout with cancer, through remission and to victory in the world's toughest and most prestigious cycling event. Perhaps most enlightening about Mr. Armstrong is his consistent effort to give credit to those who helped him achieve his goals (i.e. his Mother, Wife, Team, friends, etc.) A must read!

Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: I had the priviledge of actually getting this book signed by Lance Armstrong a couple of days after he won the Tour De France. He was at Niketown near Rodeo Drive a couple of days after he won it and is a very nice guy. It's a great book, it shows all of us you can overcome any obstacle. I definitely recommend this.

Rating:
Summary: Much More Than a Sports Biography
Review: This book is fascinating on several levels: First, it's a very frank analysis of Lance Armstrong and his rise from a less than ideal family situation to his perch atop the cycling world. Second, it's an amazing account of his mother's strength and devotion in raising a son, often as a single parent. Third, it's a troubling account of the overwhelming difficulties facing cancer patients -- from insurance runarounds to loss of jobs to contradictory assessment and treatment recommendations from the doctors entrusted with their care. This is truly an incredible story. Four years ago Armstrong dropped out of the Tour de France and bombed out at the Atlanta Olympics. Over the next year he discovered he had a very advanced form of testicular cancer,tumors in his lungs and two in his brain, underwent brain surgery and four rounds of chemotherapy. Not long after, he was competing in Europe again. The rest is well-known: Tour victories in '99 and 2000 and a real hope for Olympic gold this time around. This is a frank, well-written account of Armstrong's incredible journey. I think it may be especially well-received by those undergoing cancer treatment or their families. The story goes far beyond an account of two-wheeling through the Alps.

Rating:
Summary: A book about living...
Review: Like Lance, I too am a cyclist, but this book is not about cyling. This book is about taking each day by throat and living. It's about not ever giving up, regardless of the odds. It's about reveling in your family, friends, and loved ones. It's about living your life on your terms and only having to answer to yourself. It's about not stressing over the little things that no one will remember ten years from now. Every human being whether they're an athlete or not, a cancer survivor or not, should read this book.

Rating:
Summary: A life cycle.
Review: Lance Armstrong's "It's Not About the Bike" resonates with the boundless, Tour de France-winning energy of its author. Armstrong tells his story with honesty and simplicity in a way that made me want to hear and know more, and not shrink back from the details of what it's like to have testicular cancer. As he talked about the person he was before and after fighting cancer, I could feel the post-cancer Lance emerge in the book - a person who woke up to what a difference people make in our lives, and what a difference we make to other people and to ourselves. I really like the following quote from the book: "The one thing the illness has convinced me of beyond all doubt --more than any experience I've had as an athlete--is that we are much better than we know."

I owe a great thanks to a reviewer of this book from Jersey City. The review spurred me on to read this book as well as another book she recommended "Working on Yourself Doesn't Work" by Ariel and Shya Kane. I've read many books that have pointed the way to a great life, but this one went right tothe heart of the matter - that trying to fix yourself keeps you stuck in the places you'd like get out of, but getting into the moment will set you free. Don't miss either of these books.