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

Rating:
Summary: What an Inspiration!
Review: One of the most fascinating and awe-inspiring books I've read in ages! It is extremely well written, easy to read, and a "can't-put-down" kind of book! I found it had a great balance of technical details about bike racing (even though I'm no cyclist, it was easy to understand), but more importantly, Lance's emotions and feelings came through in EVERY chapter. His strength of character and will to live, and love of life was totally inspiring to me, as well as to my entire family who read this book (including 2 teenage sons who read very little!) We all loved it.

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Summary: Powerful, gripping, page-turner.
Review: This book grabs you from the get-go and never lets go. It quickly pulls you into Lance's world, makes you feel the shock of learning about cancer, and makes you feel the struggle and pain of getting through it. Not for the squeamish, the descriptions get into gritty detail. The parts about racing really have you in the saddle--you can practically feel like you're straining up the mountain or screaming down the descent with Lance. A hard book to put down; great insight for fans of Lance as to his drive and personality, and an inspiration for everyone.

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Summary: A life raft for survival
Review: I was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the age of 49. My father died of cancer at the age of 52. I was beyond stunned or numb. Catatonic would have been a relief. An attending Doctor and bicycling enthusiast, recommended this book to me at the time of my greatest fears and doubts. As I read what this other Texan went through when dealing with a most undesireable period of his life, I found myself getting stronger and more determined to find a way to beat this temporary diversion. Lance Armstrong's epiphany moment with the doctors in Bloomington Indiana, has become the touchstone for everything I now encounter. My Doctor friend echoed this same theory from the book: Anyone, regardless of their position, education or authority, who is not positively contributing to your overall success; fire em'! Life is about what you determine to make it, and what you can make it for others. We don't have time to waste on pithy, trivial "what if's" or "maybes" or "but I might fail". We may not have control over everything that happens to us in our lives, but we don't have to simply lay down and take it either!
I am now 51 years old and recovering quite well from my cancer experience. I now believe that a cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence, but negative or limited thinking can be. Lance Armstrong has my most profound gratitude for having the guts to speak his mind on a subject few people even want to acknowledge; the value of every day in this life.

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Summary: What makes Lance tick
Review: This is an excellent book about an outstanding person. Yes, Lance is a cycling hero by any standard, having already won the Tour de France four times, but to have showed such perseverance in the face of life threatening and body wrecking cancer is just amazing. Most people would have never considered making a comeback after something like that, but Lance not only came back- he triumphed. This book gives the reader all the details of the battle with cancer, and much much more. By reading it, you get to know Lance as a person, and get inside the psyche of this great champion. The book is a real page turner, too, as I hardly put it down. An excellent read even if you have no interest in cycling. Avery Z. Conner, author of "Fevers of the Mind".

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Summary: I can do anything I set my mind to doing
Review: This is not a profound book, and it is not great literature. It's not even an objective account of Lance Armstrong's life and career. But what it is is more important than all that: the book is an inspiration with few peers. I have read it more than once, and each time I read the last page I close the cover, put the volume aside and think: I can do anything I set my mind to doing.

As the title says, the story is not (only) about the bike, as its lessons of hope and perseverance are relevant to anyone facing adversity. But it is probably best enjoyed by those familiar with cycling, since it also offers a fascinating glimpse into the world of someone who does what he does better than anyone else.

If there is anyone who doesn't already know the general outline of Lance Armstrong's history, he overcame a deadly battle with cancer to win the Tour de France, considered by some the most grueling and difficult endurance test in the world. And it's a story that is still current: Lance won the tour twice more after the book was published and will be vying for a record-tying fifth title this summer.

As I wrote at the beginning, don't buy this book if you want a philosophical tome about overcoming a life-threatening illness, or a spin-free look at the complex life of an athlete who is probably still under appreciated in his home country and at once admired and resented in Europe, where he spends most of his time. But if you want an easy-to-read real-life story to inspire you and illustrate what is possible -- and what could be more important than that? -- this is the book you want.

Rating:
Summary: An American Sports Hero
Review: "It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life" is an autobiography written by Lance Armstrong, a four time winner of the Tour de France. The book explains the many struggles that he dealt with in his lifetime, mostly his struggle with cancer.

I am not the least bit interested in cycling, but Armstrong's story was extremely entertaining and interesting. From the first page, to the last page, I could not put the book down. The book was well organized with simple language which allowed the book to flow very nicely. I definitely would recommend this book to anyone between the ages of 14 to 45. Everyone's hearts will be touched by Armstrong's story. It has a universal message, to overcome any obstacle with high spirits and courage that pertains to all age groups. Armstrong discusses the feelings he had during his cancer recovery that make you want to cry because you feel so bad for him. By overcoming cancer and then winning the Tour de France four times, he definitely has all the characteristics of an American hero. The determination that is derived from Armstrong's love for life and cycling is evident throughout the entire story. A definite must read!

Rating:
Summary: Sweet Dude!!!
Review: This is my viewpoint from a book report that I wrote for school:
This book was fascinating. It was a page turning book that never let you get bored. It wasn't just a book with no point it was a book with a moral. It taught me many different lessons and values. This book taught me that you can never give up and it made me think. When something in life happens, you can never give up whether it is a game or cancer. It didn't just teach me about Lance, it taught me about my inner strength and others inner strength(how you have to beleive in yourself and others and never let yourself or others quit). As I said this book is a great page turning book that taught me many great values and lessons needed to exceed and achieve anything you want in life.

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Summary: It's about far more than the bike.
Review: Lance Armstrong writes with utter candor about his biking abilities, chemotherapy, growing up in Texas, and traveling Europe all with an equal ability to fascinate. An autobiography of a man who survived testicular cancer and won the Tour de France as well as many other races internationally Mr. Armstrong is able to do something that many people cannot when writing about their lives-delve into the minutiae of many areas of his or her life equally and take us with him.
I hadn't expected to learn SO much about what makes this man tick but after reading the book I feel that he has written one of the best autobiographies or biography that I have ever read.
Presented NOT in chronological order the style of the book works well because picking up the book we're thinking "Lance Armstrong, Cancer Survivor" but there is also much more to him. We feel the impact of some of the many people who have influenced Lance's life including his wonderful mother, many friends and one helluva nurse as well as the Doctors who treated him for a disease that would have killed most of us.
He's right. It is in part about the bike and biking but mostly it's about so much more. It's about living and surviving and learning to appreciate life so much more completely that=n you ever though you would or could.

Rating:
Summary: best book I've read ever
Review: I liked this book very much. The reason I chose this book was because I like watching the Tour De France and my dad wanted me to read more. The book is about Lance Armstrong's life through his child hood through his battle with cancer and through him winning the '99 tour. My favorite part of the book was when they talked about his's childhood.

Rating:
Summary: It's Hard Not to be Inspired by this Story
Review: Say what you want about Lance Armstrong but if you read this book it's hard to consider him anything but an inspiration.

Last summer I was in Austin, Texas during the end of the Tour de France attending the Texas Age Group Swimming Championships my younger brother was competing in. That city loves Lance and there wasn't a person in the streets who wasn't eager to talk about the Tour; yellow banners supporting him were more common than Texas flags, and anyone who knows Texas knows that that's saying a lot! Following that experience I knew I had to read this book and I wasn't disappointed in the least.

Having read the book, I can't regard Lance Armstrong as anything less than a miracle. He didn't survive cancer - he conquered it. He proved that a cancer diagnosis doesn't have to mean an end to anything unless you allow it to. This book is a very blunt and unapologetic account of his life before, during, and after his diagnosis and treatment. He's not the nicest guy ever, he's not the humblest guy ever, he's just a guy (who may or may not be the greatest cyclist in the world, it's not my sport, someone else will debate that).

If Lance Armstrong had never competed in another race again, his survival would still have been incredible. But he did compete, and he's sure to be a legend.