Every Second Counts

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: Good, but not as good as first book!
Review: A lot of great things in this book, but it doesn't pull things together as well as in his first book. Ignore the negative reviews, but I would classify this as a good book versus a great book (which I think his first book was).

Rating:
Summary: The Epilogue (So Far) for "It's Not About the Bike"
Review: Every Second Counts brings us up-to-date on what happened to Lance Armstrong after he survived testicular cancer and went back to competitive cycling to win the Tour de France. If you have been away in another galaxy, he has fathered three children (a son and twin daughters) using sperm saved from before his cancer treatments, won four more Tour de France races, become a world-renowned celebrity, been investigated for and cleared of "doping" his body, stayed clean from cancer, become a noted cancer advocate and developed a rocky patch in his marriage.

Every Second Counts is a rambling account of all this that sometimes comes across as having been dictated into a tape recorder during a long descent on a bicycle.

The book will be of most interest to those who want to know what it's like to recover from a potentially fatal cancer, live as a celebrity, try to balance a personal life with a demanding career and how Mr. Armstrong won all those Tour de France races.

Both his natural personality and his escape from death make Mr. Armstrong treasure every minute . . . and he likes to take life at full speed in demanding conditions. If he's not training endlessly, he's driving his car too fast or taking dangerous leaps into a rocky pool. At the same time, he's trying to temper that instinct with a desire to see his children grow up and have a good marriage. The book candidly explains how his retirement from racing will be required to help bring his life into a more helpful balance for his family. But he's not ready to do that just yet.

I enjoyed understanding more about why he likes helping those who have cancer, how he trains in ways that give him an edge over mere mortals (including sleeping in an "altitude" tent that simulates the thin air in the mountains), and the strategy he has used in the Tour de France. From watching the races on television, I couldn't figure out what was going on most of the time. These explanations were very interesting to me about his sports career.

I gave him one-star credit for candor in explaining his spiritual beliefs and how he relates them to his recovery from cancer. Most people would not be willing to share a set of beliefs that will not be popular with those who have a lot of religious faith.

I hope Mr. Armstrong finds peace to balance his life journey as he careens up and down the trying mountains ahead.

As I finished the book, I found myself wondering how hard I would try to save my own life if I had had his illness. I hope I have learned from both of his books that you must apply maximum determination (no matter what the pain and toil) and that . . . every second counts!

Rating:
Summary: An honest account, though I wanted more cycling insight
Review: It would be difficult to match It's Not About the Bike. That story had a perfect arc to it: cocky young cyclist limited by his lack of discipline, brought down by cancer, but then redeemed by that very illness and the aid of his family and teammates to become a champion of the world's most grueling endurance event, in the process finding love. The saga beyond that, covered in this book, does not have such a naturally dramatic arc. He went on to win five more Tours, the cancer has not returned, and the story ends with the dissolution of his marriage.

The process of living in the years after remission is not as naturally compelling as the battle with it, and Lance already covered some of his fears about the return of cancer in the previous book. So some of the book feels repetitive. For me, a cycling nut and a Lance fan, I would have loved more insight from Lance into the race itself, what he was thinking during every stage. He covers entire stages in the span of a page or two, and what he reveals leaves me greedy for more. Given how closely his last few Tour efforts have been followed by the media online and offline, a lot of it will be repetitive to his biggest fans. What we need is a DVD that contains edited portions of stages, with Lance and teammates and coach providing a commentary, interspliced with actual excerpts from the radio communications between Lance and his team car, like the bits shown in the Nike-produced documentary 28 Days to Paris.

Still, book is highly readable, just like the first. I read it all in a few hours as soon as I received it. Lance is completely honest with his life, and I find that admirable. Many people have read his books and commented that they didn't really find him likable. He can come off as arrogant, brash, foul-mouthed, controlling; some of those qualities, though, probably make him one of the few people capable of dominating the suffer-fest that is the Tour de France. He doesn't hide who he is, and he doesn't claim to be a saint for having survived cancer.

What I would have preferred is for him to have released this book after his days of competing in the Tour. Perhaps that would be after his attempt for six straight. Then the story would be more inherently dramatic, what with his marital problems and the struggle for his fifth Tour in the center of the story, instead of being a last-minute addendum at the end of this novel (tacked on just as the book was going to print, the last chapter about Tour victory #5 and the problems with his marriage naturally feels rushed, abbreviated). Maybe that story will be Lance and Sally's next endeavor.

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: Follow Up, how life is after cancer
Review: This book is the follow up of the book, it's not about the bike which is about his career up till his second win.

In this book, all his wins (5) in the Tour de France are mentioned. It is mostly about how he felt during the last three and how cancer played a role in it.
It shows us there is more to life than just cycling. Cancer stays with a person for ever.
His relationships with other cancer patients are emotional and gripping and is also shows he was the lucky one.

This book stands out from other books about cycling, it is very personal and not just about baseball but also about life in general.
He also explains some things that had happened in the Tours, his historic ride towards Mt Ventoux with the late Marco Pantani, his fall and Jan Ulrichs' fall. For those he have followed the Tour the last couple of years, this gives a very good insight, also because it is well written.

Rating:
Summary: Decent follow-up to first book
Review: As a fan of Lance Armstrong, and his accomplishments on the bike, I bought this book hoping to get some insight into his career and life the past few years. But, as some other reviewers have mentioned the first book is better, and there is not much new material in this one. Many of the chapters contain material from previous articles, or updates from his web site. Even the last chapter on this year's tour is not really all that great (it sounds rushed, and probably was in order to be included in the book). The result, is a decent book, which is worth buying if you are a fan.

There are some encouraging sections to this book, which many readers will enjoy as Lance struggles to find balance in his life. He seems to be asking all the right questions like how does he continue winning Le Tour, and spend enough time with his wife and kids so that he is not a failure at home. Or, how should he give back to the cancer community, or respond to the riduculous doping charges. These discussions are all pretty interesting, and make for pretty good reading.

But, in the end I am bothered by his ultimate conclusions. To say that "too many people look at religion as an excuse, or a crutch, or a bailout" and that "even when I was looking straight at death, I never thought there was something on the other end" makes me think that after all he has been through he still doesn't get it.

I hope that Lance keeps winning Le Tour, and keeps searching for the truth. Perhaps one day he will find it. And maybe, just maybe he will figure out a way to save his marriage also. It is a shame to think that after all they have been through that they are throwing in the towel now.

Rating:
Summary: He knows what really matters . . .
Review:

Lance Armstrong knows what it means to overcome the odds. He made it through a rough childhood. He survived testicular cancer. He's now the father of three wonderful children. He's won the world's most demanding sporting event five times in a row.

Lance now gets to savor the sweetness of his life. He's living large. He's at the top of his game professionally. The endorsements continue to roll in. His children are thriving. The Lance Armstrong Foundation just completed its first Tour of Hope Ride across America.

Armstrong's had his share of disappointments, too. Team members have left. Friendships have suffered. Even though he and his wife have separated, their personal problems haven't been splashed all over the tabloids. They've handled this crisis with class.

I loved the humor in this book. Who knew George Hincapie was such a funny man? He seems so serious on that bike. Or that Floyd Landis loves ZZTop? Or that the guys actually mooned their manager on race day? Or that they played tricks on each other? (No chain. No chain.) And what's up with that pink tape?

I watched this year's tour in utter amazement as Lance and the Big Blue USPS team met every challenge thrown at them. What a great moment it was to see that Big Blue Train win the team time trial.

My heart was in my throat during that horrific day of the individual time trial when Lance ran out of water and suffered so miserably, but still came in second. What a triumph of the spirit that was!

I screamed when Beloki went down and Lance went across that field. Who but a boy that grew up riding in the fields around Plano, Texas, could have made a move like that and kept himself upright through that pasture?

I cried when Lance and Iban Mayo went down on Luz Ardiden. I shouted when he got up. I pumped my fists in the air when he passed the pack and screamed up to the finish line. I wept when he survived the rainy road to Nance. I cheered when he rode into Paris and took his place in that elite group of 5-time winners.

I relived every moment when I read the last chapter of EVERY SECOND COUNTS.

I'm not sure how she does it, but Sally Jenkins is able to get Armstrong's thoughts and stories down on paper in a way few co-writers have ever done, especially in a book about sports.

Even if you're not a fan of cycling, this book is a good read and will inspire you to do your best at everything you try because "every second counts."

Godspeed, Lance. We'll be cheering you on in 2004 -- and in everything you do.

Rating:
Summary: Every Second Counts
Review: Unequivocally the world's greatest cycling race, the Tour de France is an arduous three-week, 20-stage ride that tests both the physical fitness and the mental toughness of its participants. These two books pay homage to the event in different ways. A beautiful coffee-table work produced in collaboration with the French sports daily, L'Equipe, The Official Tour de France celebrates the race's centenary this year. Interspersed throughout this definitive, year-by-year account are wonderful photographs, 200 in color and 500 in black and white. In an appendix, readers will find information on podium placings, total victories by riders, champions by nation, and winners of the yellow, green, and polka-dot jerseys. With a foreword by Lance Armstrong. Speaking of Armstrong, one quickly runs out of superlatives to describe the four-time Tour de France winner who has survived testicular, brain, and lung cancer. In his previous biography, It's Not About the Bike, also co-written with Washington Post journalist Jenkins, he documented his early life and career and his battle with cancer, culminating with his first Tour victory. Every Second Counts chronicles the challenge an athlete faces living in the aftermath of his experiences, when each day is a precious gift. The work describes his recent cycling achievements, being cancer-free for five years, and dedication to the foundation that bears his name, which helps cancer patients worldwide. An inspirational read that has the makings of another best seller. Both books are worthy additions for all public libraries.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book for cycling fans
Review: Anyone who loved the first book, and is into cycling or sports in general would love this book. I think it is BETTER than his first one, especially on the behind-the-scenes of the professional cycling world, and The Tour. It starts off where "It's Not About The Bike" ends, and continues from there. In the begining there is a feeling that he is repeating himself, but the book improves with each page you read.
I feel it is more honest, and his thoughts and views are more profound than the first book. It is also a lot more about-the-bike than the first one, which is what I was looking for.
His descriptions of the Tours are honest and revealing, his proffesionalism and ethics are impressive and inspiring.
A highly recommended reading!