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Summary: Lance Was Right: It Wasn't About the Bike
Review: I am not an athlete, nor interested in sports, but I am always fascinated by how different people react to what life hands them. That's why I chose to read IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE, and I was not disappointed. The book itself is very easy reading, and each chapter chronicles the changes in Lance Armstrong from cocky, maverick competitor to humbled cancer patient ("I was brought low, and there was nothing to take refuge in but the philosophical: this disease would force me to ask more of myself as person than I ever had before, and to seek out a different ethic [p.99].") to the winner of the Tour de France who had learned from his suffering to be a more compassionate, tolerant, and understanding human being. Indeed, Armstrong made an acronym out of the word cancer: Courage, Attitude, Never give up, Curability, Enlightenment, and Remembrance of my fellow patients, that will hold him in good stead for the rest of his life. After reading IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE, I find myself wishing that Lance's life will be a long, healthy, and meaningful one. Something tells me that it will...
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Summary: I could not put it down, my attention was riveted.
Review: I am a avid reader and cyclist. I am generally reading two to four books at a time. When I started to read "It's Not about the Bike", all my other books remained closed until I finished this one - cover to cover. My twelve year old son is starting to read it now and while some parts are a bit graphic, the inspirational material is exceptional.
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Summary: Wow!
Review: What an amazing individual. . .this book read like one of John Grisham's page turners, but with a ton more substance obviously. The strength and beliefs of Lance are simply unmatched. The book is very inspirational and ranks right up there with "Tuesdays with Morrie" in terms of content and the issues it questions of readers. A must read, for both athletes and none athletes .
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Summary: The best I have read!
Review: I am not the most avid reader, but I like biographies of sports "Heroes." This book is in fact the best I have read. The story flows well chronologically and tells a truely heartfelt story of overcoming struggles. The action vs. emotion is very well done. It is not about the bike and I could not put it down. AWESOME!
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Summary: AWESOME
Review: I just finished this book and I can honestly say that I have not been so emotionally moved by any other book. Of course I am a huge LA fan but this book will take you through emotions comparable to the ascents and descents of the Alps and Pyrennes encountered in the Tour de France. Bold and matter of fact writing that keeps you interested from cover to cover. Great insight into two of the most brutal struggles put to man-the Tour de France and cancer. As the book says,"VIVA LANCE!"
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Summary: patience and acceptance
Review: Excellent ! If cancer were to strike us ..could we handle it as well as Lance did ? Before reading this book I had doubt ! when I finished reading its not about the bike ...and jumped on my bike the hills of the road had now become my medicine .
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Summary: Sounds like someone else we (Bikers) know.
Review: I thought the book was excellent. I also started the book and couldn't put it down until I had finished. Lance is truly an American Hero and everything in this book says so. From a cancer survivor to a biking legend and still going. He is going to have to look out for those walls on the way down the mountains though if he wants to continue biking. Luck lasts just so long. Greg Lemond had similar feelings about continuing biking after his hunting accident.
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Summary: A Must Read
Review: Whether you like bicycling or not this is a book to be read and reread. The courageous story of this world class athlete will amaze and touch you. This man is a true American hero who can evoke emotions with words as well as his performances.
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Summary: It's Good, But Sappy At Times!
Review: Yes, I agree with all the other reviews that it is GOOD. However, it's VERY CUTESY, CUTESY when it comes to descriptions of his wife (is he sucking up or what?). I am a HUGE Lance fan, and have followed his career for the last 12 years or so, back when he was a triathlete. Yes, buy it. However, it can be corny at times.
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Summary: A must read regardless of your interest in cycling
Review: This book offers so much brutal honesty that you will not be able to put it down (I finished it within 8 hours of starting it). I never much cared for Armstrong (and his over confidence) early on in his career, but I have to count myself among his many admirers now. His climb from cancer to to the top of the podium in Paris is remarkable, but that is a nearly insignificant portion of the story. If you are a fan of his work, though, you will granted some very candid and enlightening views into the maturing and development of a world class athlete. In a time when superstar athletes get away with murder and have no appreciation for their good fortune, Armstrong sings a very different song. You may or may not become a fan of cycling after you read this book, but you can't help being a fan of the man. You might think, as I did, that this book was simply a well spun public relations event, but when you read the intimate and graphic accounts of his chemo treatments and the various medical procedures that were performed you quickly realize that this was not done to put the guy on a pedestal. It was done to show the devastating, human side of cancer. And yet despite all of that the message that prevails is that we, even in our worst times, still need to have hope and that we have so much to be thankful for. You will never look at this man or the disease in the same way again.
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