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

Rating:
Summary: Inspirational
Review: I read this book in one day because it was damn good. I wanted to covet every word written; it's about hope, it's about survival and it helps to know a little about the most grueling athletic event in the world - the Tour de France. How this man survived a major illness with a 2% chance of survival and got on his bike the very next year and won is a force of determination beyond human comprehension.

Rating:
Summary: INSPIRING
Review: Great read! Sally Jenkins style of writing Lance's story is wonderful. Makes you want to become a better person and set new goals.

Rating:
Summary: Simple but Truthful
Review: This book was written with such simple language and words, yet the message is direct and strong. Read the words and look deep into their meanings. These are the confessions of a proud man, a fallen man, a revived man and a victorious man. Although we might not be able to associate ourselves in Lance's situation, we all can learn one lesson here : Hope and Willpower can sustain life.

Rating:
Summary: How about them apples?
Review: What an inspiring book. As a cancer survivor and a cyclist, Lance hit home on many subjects. His account of cancer ("You don't know it yet but we're the lucky ones")is so true. His account of Plano, TX (Not very favorable) is so true. His account of the tour was very inspiring and educational. It lets you see him as a person, and not the 1999 Tour De France winner. Read this book. Give it to someone you know fighting cancer, and hopefully they will one day realize they are "one of the lucky ones"

Rating:
Summary: Awesome Inspiration; Candid Portrait
Review: I purchased this book at the recommendation of a cycling friend...I had been working hard to get back in shape after baby two and on a "longer" cycling ride (only 35 miles) I was passed on a hill by an older women on a mountain bike...I was a little depressed by the incident and my friend chuckled and immediately said, "...you should read Lance Armstrong's new book." I did! I purchased this book because I thought it would give me motivation to workout, but Lance Armstrong's story gave me soooooo much more. His story is so inviting and personal that I felt it more than I read it. And although this is a book about Lance's triumphs, he's not the only extraordinary person you'll read about. I drew inspiration from many of his closest friends and family, especially his mother and his wife. When I read the last paragraph and closed the cover, it was late and quiet....and there was just one single word left in my mind and my heart....THANKS.

Rating:
Summary: Who knew this would be so good?
Review: Even if you aren't normally interested in sports memoirs or medical-miracle tales, this combination of the two is well worth reading. It is informative, moving, and often funny account of Armstrong's battles both as an cyclist and as a patient, distinguished by his refusal to slip into arrogance as a champion or into self-pity as a cancer victim. Rather than recite platitudes, he tells us in fascinating and often gut-wrenching detail exactly what he has had to do to beat his cancer (I found the medical sections fascinating, as good as any science book you'll read on the subject). The cycling parts are, as you might suspect, a little bit lighter, but also very enjoyable. Buy this book. Read it. You'll be entertained, you'll be informed, and you might even be a little bit enlightened.

Rating:
Summary: A Surprisingly Good Read
Review: Our book club read this book this month and we all agreed that it was a surprisingly good and quick read. To read how cancer took hold of his life and how he and those around him dealt with it made for a powerful story. It is especially interesting to anyone who knows anyone who has or had cancer. Well done.

Rating:
Summary: There aren't words to describe it.
Review: I found the book after checking the recent Tour standings and seeing that Lance was in first place. My husband and I emailed Lance when he was first sick and have followed his career with great pride. I bought the book as a surprise for my husband, who is not an avid reader. Since we received the book, he has been unable to put it down. I walked into the bedroom last night and he was crying. He was crying over the hardship and the determination and the honor that Lance demonstrates through a very tough battle. Kudos Lance! We will continue to watch and are with you in our hearts.

Rating:
Summary: A nice evenings read
Review: I'm a physician and a bicycle racer and when I heard that LanceArmstrong had metastatic testicular cancer, my first thought, likemany in my field, was "He's dead." But Lance Armstrong's story has the happy Hollywood ending nobody expected four years ago. This isn't Shakespeare, but I found it to be compelling reading (a stay up til you finish it kind of read). I am especially appreciative of the insight into the human condition, how one responds to adversity by either giving up or fighting back. Many of his homilies such as "turning negatives into positives" struck a nerve with me, as I've come to expect setbacks to be followed by unexpected success because it's happened to me so many times. I'm pleased that the book is so popular, because maybe the rest of the world will stop thinking people like me aren't such freaks riding our bikes 50 miles in January. It offers a glimpse into our sport that most people don't get to see. But I mostly hope others find the human message of hope as inspirational as I did.

Rating:
Summary: A very inspirational book.
Review: I am not a bike rider, but I am a cancer survivor. I really liked the positive message from this book; having cancer does change your life, and it can change it for the better. I have given this book as a gift to several friends undergoing cancer treatment as well as their family members in the hope that they will benefit from that positive message.