Rating: 
Summary: An Engaging Travelogue On Two Wheels
Review: Neil Peart's first book, The Masked Rider, gives life to the full reality of travelling on two wheels. These pages relate the immediacy and intimacy of a rider exposed to the elements and the open country. The country here is Cameroon, which offers a challenging and different landcape for the Canadian author, who writes that he returned to the continent of Africa a second time for the people. This is his story of that cross-country, cross-cultural, exchange.Peart is objective in his writing. The description of the landscape and of his feeling(s) for the people he encounters is clear and compelling. Sometimes the experience is not pleasant, and Peart is not afraid, for example, to address the racism, reversed, he feels as a displaced western caucasian. His honest interest and empathy for Africa is vividly apparent, however. He has placed a spotlight on one corner of the dark continent and made it shine. When Peart, reunited with his wife in Paris, France, leaves the reader, one feels the physical and emotional effort was well worth the time.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent recounting of Peart's African adventure
Review: Neil Peart's first official published work is on par with his demonstrated writing talent with the Canadian rock band Rush. I had high expectations of this book, in fact, I bought the book at a Rush concert on their Test For Echo tour. I read the first chapter or two while waiting for the band to come on stage. I couldn't wait to get home to finish the book! Peart takes his readers along for the ride as he vividly details his African biking experience. You experience Africa just as if you were a passive observer on a bike of your own! I felt exhausted at times even though I had not broken a sweat. His command of language and story telling far exceeds many authors I have read in the past. Though I enjoyed this book cover to cover, I must say that I was disappointed in the end. I felt betrayed becuase so many story lines were left unresolved. Did members of the tour simply part ways without emotion or repentance for their actions during the more difficult parts of the tour? I realize Neil's departure at the airport was one of desperation and necessity, but I still felt as if something was missing. However, I did like the way he discovered a new found appreciation for our culture and civilization, when in Paris he claimed he bought things, anything, just because he could. He was glad to once again lead a meaningful existence. If you are a fan of Neil Peart or Rush and their music, then this book is perfect. Otherwise non-Rush fans may labor through the book without a psuedo-emotional attachment to its narrator. I am looking forward to Neil's next book as well as the next Rush release.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent travelogue and brilliant writing
Review: This book is the best "travel book" I have ever read. It is true reading joy to live vicariously through Mr. Peart's adventures while bicycling through Africa. He is a brilliant observer of human behavior, personal interactions and cultural differences. Combine this skill with his obvious mastery of prose and you end up with the unforgettable experience of reading, "The Masked Rider." Regardless of whether you are a Rush fan you will undoubtedly enjoy this book if you like great writing and the sense of "being there" as the story unfolds. Critics of Rush often point out that Mr. Peart can sometimes be "difficult" or is lacking "people skills." I have read several passages from Mr. Peart, on various Web pages, that summarize his take on such opinions: he never wanted to become famous, all he wanted was to play the drums the best he could and perfect his craft and style in percussion. He is a free-thinker, intelligent, articulate, creative and exceptionally talented as a drummer/percussionist and a writer. He doesn't try to be everybody's best friend nor does he bend to expected modes of behavior in certain situations. He is his own man. Read this book and you will gain keen insight into a remarkable person. And bicycle through Cameroon along the way!
Rating:
Summary: Primal Bicycle Ride
Review: Though I read this book over a year ago, the images that are conjured up when recalling excerpts from "The Masked Rider," a writing of Neil Peart's travel through West Africa with a group of bicycle enthusiasts leads me to think, "I'm not sure if I'd want to subject myself to what he and his fellow riders did." His writing is (as usual) eloquent and very thought provoking and really helped to place my fanny on the seat of my own bike riding along side him on the dusty trails of a primitive land. He details so many great stories of encounters with African tribal leaders and their people, good (and not so good!) meals, sicknesses, danger, laughter, home sickness, and the ever present oven-like heat that I'm not sure if I ever could summon up the courage to take a trip such as his on my own bicycle. Intruiging thought though I think I'll stick with the annual 42-mile Bike NY ride and call it an accomplishment. :-) "The Masked Rider" is definitely worth a second read. Neil Peart has traveled all over the planet and I hope he writes more on his journeys as they would likely be lessons in geography, social studies, personal endeavors, and triumphs.
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