Every Second Counts

Rating:
Summary: A Man With Inspiring Themes
Review: Lance Armstrong works with two inspiring themes in his latest book Every Second Counts. These themes are inspiring, but at the same time, they make you do a little self-evaluation. First, Lance talks about how he is "just a regular t-shirt wearing guy." He is not Superman and he does not have any supernatural powers, as it may sometimes seems as he floats up the Alps. He is just a regular guy who happens to have survived cancer and won the most grueling sporting event in the history of man. He shows that he has flaws, just like everyone else. That fact that he is normal is the essence of what amazes people every time he arrives in Paris in the Maillot Jaune. If he some unnatural advantage, it would be easy to understand why he wins, but he's just another angry Texan who likes torace bikes. Lance's second theme is just what his title suggests: every second counts. He talks about how his life flashed before his eyes with his cancer diagnosis. He also shows us that nobody is immune to death. It could happen to anyone; therefore, we must seize the moment. He shows us that if you are not enjoying every moment and trying to live a life of purpose, you are hurting yourself because time waits for no man. Together, these two themes make one great book. This book is not only strengthened by these themes, but completely centered upon these themes. This book is highly recommended because of its inspirational value. This book is great for anyone who need some encouragement to acheive, or any person that has found the appeal of two wheels. I give this book five Texas stars from Colorado.

Rating:
Summary: Very Un-organized
Review: First Lance Armstrong is the best rider in the world when it comes to the Tour. I am a super fan of the man and the team.

But he needs a new editor and co-author. Good God! It's all over the place. Have they every heard of a timeline?

Dear Lance...Please give us what your fans want, team tactics, trials and tribulations,in your races. Stop trying to make another best seller by satisfying the general public.

Rating:
Summary: Book was not necessary
Review: Fisrt, I'll start by saying I LOVED "It's Not About the Bike". So, I was looking forward to reading this book. However, it was a MAJOR disappointment!

"Every Second Counts" spent too much time about Lance's outlook on life after cancer and his feelings about beating cancer. When I read these passages, I felt like I was reading the first book again. It was just re-hash material.

There were snapshots of good material in "Every Second Counts". This was when it covered racing in "The Tour". However, these passages were also slightly disappointing because it could have gone more in depth about these topics.

If Lance Armstrong made the main focus of this book about training for the Tour and participating in the hellish race and his team's strategy in the Tour, in depth, it would have been spectacular. I liked the parts in "It's Not About the Bike" when it covered the Tour as well. If "Every Second Counts" talked about CYCLING more and it didn't cover cancer survival again (the first book did that), I would have given it a higher rating!

Rating:
Summary: NOT a good book for younger readers!!!!
Review: We purchased this book on tape to listen to on a long roadtrip with our daughter; felt it would be a positive, inspirational story. Unfortunately, within the first 5 minutes, we were surprised by the F-word and before the end of the first side of the first tape were subjected to this word again, as well as two other un-kid friendly curse words. At this point, we ejected the tape and resorted to the radio. I don't understand movies, etc that have to include such objectionable language. Certainly, this tape should have been properly labled so that parents could make an "informed" decision. This may have been a great story, but I'll never know-I'm so furious that I won't finish the tapes. We usually donate our books on tape to the public library, but I will only do so if they will allow a "parental notification" on the packaging so that no other parent will be as horrified as I was to hear such language without prior warning!

Rating:
Summary: A Fan of This American Hero
Review: Lance Armstrong is a true American hero- his fifth time win of the Tour de France was not well celebrated- other World Events took first page. Lance works hard, unbelievabe number of hours in each day to become the best cyclist in the world. He deserves all of the awards and praise heaped upon him. In this book, Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins assistance is able to describe and elucidate his philosophy of life. His brush with death and cancer is not over- he undergoes a series of testing every year, and he is not cancer free in his mind until his physicians tell him so. Most of the people with cancer that he meets, do not survive. He works tirelessly to raise monies for cancer awareness and research. He is quite aware that everyday on his earth is due to his good luck and faith in his physicians. Lance spends time discussing his relationship with the French people- his "doping" accusors and his time in court winning that battle. His win of he 2002 Tour De France was not his best win, but he learned from it and did not make those mistakes again. Most of us are quite interested in his marriage and there is a post script but not much mention of what went wrong, just that alot did go wrong. To maintain a high profile marriage, a high profile career, 3 young children and maintain any sense of privacy cannot be done when there is no time. Day to day life with the family is not possible when you are not there. Much has been written and supposition of romances gossiped, but none are mentioned and I would suggest that is none of our business.
This is a book of winning and losing-hard work and hard times and some of the intricacies of such are outlined in good detail.
As a fan of an American hero, Lance Armstrong, I suggest you support him and read his newest winner! prisrob

Rating:
Summary: I have much more respect for Lance now.
Review: We all know what Lance did these last five years. We all kind of sort of know about his failures, the Olympics, his failure of his marriage. What we did not know is that Lance was evolving into a thoughtful and introspective human being. This book isn't about the bike either. It is about life, it is about teams, it is about competition, it is about living. Most bike enthousiasts probably won't like this book because Armstrong and Jenkins did not go into the minutiae of training, racing, and the grueling pace of the Tour. What they did accomplish is to follow Lance along in his thought process and his reaction to the amazing things that have happened to him since he started winning the Tour de France consecuetively and deal with his reaction to these events.

I enjoyed the book thoroughly, as a coach looking for motivational material, as a person who is searching for meaning, as sportsman looking for people who understands competition and honor.

I would recommend this book to any thinking person who is not looking for a quicky celebrity bios, because you would be disappointed with this book. If you are looking for blunt, intelligent, sometimes funny, sometimes philosophical inquiries into a life, then this book is for you.

Rating:
Summary: Great Tour recaps; boring when Lance gets on his soapbox
Review: I loved Lance's first book, "It's Not About the Bike" but the follow-up falls short. As a cyclist and huge fan of Lance and the Tour de France, I truly enjoyed the behind-the-scenes rendition of his five Tour victories (the fifth win is added at the end of the book), but the book gets bogged down when Lance climbs on his soapbox. Although his bout with cancer certainly shaped the rest of his life, I thought he got his story out in the first book-- there are too many italic repeats from that book added here, with commentaries that go on for too many pages. Although he does give his cycling team full credit for his Tour victories, he still manages to come across as a bit self-centered and shallow. This book is worthwhile for cycling fans-- skip to the pages of his five tour victories, scattered throughout the book-- but otherwise a waste of time.

Rating:
Summary: This book helped me see the more "human" side of Lance
Review: Okay, I just finished reading the book. I wrote an earlier "review" before I actually read the book because I wanted to voice a general opinion, but in retrospect I feel I really should not have done that, so I apologize to all of you review readers (especially "A reader" from New York).

Anyway, about the book. It was honestly much better than I thought it would be. I read "It's Not About the Bike," when it first came out, so I don't remember everything about it, but I do remember that I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. I found the opposite to be true for this book. I voiced the opinion in my last "review" that I thought Lance was probably not the type of guy I'd "really get along with", which sounds really stupid when I read it now. But in "Every Second Counts" I get a much better understanding of his personality. He is very open in his book. He talks about how his personality & focus have brought him to five tour victories, but also acknowledges that this same "live for the day" personality is not always perfect and that he has his own every day normal person struggles. Perhaps reading what he has written about these struggles has helped me understand what's going on in his life. Many people seem to jump to the conclusion that his separation from his wife is his fault, and that he's putting his career above his family. But I honestly don't believe that he has put his family second. Plain and simple, I think he has just struggled with it, as so many other people out there have also done. We sometimes expect athletes to be different, but they are not... they are only human.

Finally, on a personal note, I appreciate the way he addresses cancer in this book. Yes, his recovery from cancer is a success story and an inspiration to those trying to overcome cancer right now. But he also talks about the fact that many people don't survive... he talks of people he has met who did not make it. I have lost both my mother (at only age 54, after a 10 year struggle with breast cancer) and my father-in-law (lung cancer) in the last year. My mother was an exceptional person and there was no reason she should not have lived out a healthy life. It is a very hard thing for me to understand & accept at times. Lance's survival doesn't hold the same personal inspiration to myself and my family as it did when "It's Not About the Bike," came out and my mother was still alive. In fact, at times I wonder why some people get to survive and others do not. I would have been upset had he not addressed the fact that some people do not survive. But the fact that he did has, in a small way, helped me. To know that he has known not only the successes in cancer treatments, but the pain in losing someone to the disease who was close. I also think it is commendable that he finds that taking the time to talk with people who are dealing with the disease and sharing his experiences with them is a source of strength for him.

Anyway, sorry to drone on. I enjoyed the book and recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Why did we need this book??????
Review: If you spent more time on your personal life instead of jet setting around and riding a bike (that is something kids do you know) you might be keeping a wonderful wife and actually being a "real" hero (aka "a father") to your kids instead of a cocky, arrogant flash in the pants. Lance's bubble has burst. No more big wins, trying to "milk" the history. Get a life.

Rating:
Summary: More Inspiration
Review: This book is a very nice companion to "It's not about the Bike". While nothing compares with the heart wrenching drama of the first, this effort gives a peek inside of Lance's world since the rise to the top. It is a very quick read with many looks into his title defenses. What this man has accomplished is truly amazing.