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

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Summary: A world-class athlete vs. cancer illness
Review: I finished Lance's book "It's Not About the Bike". Lance has to tell us two sides of his life. One is the sports-man and another is the fighter-man. As cancer survivor he had to fight that illness, while he tries to race again. This illness affected him and he made changes in his life. But after he fought it, he turned into a man with a great family. -Life is beautiful, specialty when you have this things: parents, a fiance and children- you became part of human life.

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Summary: A man with courage
Review: This book is an example for the people who have cancer. Lance explained it, in his book how he got a cure for his illness and the courage for reaching his goal as the best cyclist in the world. I admire Lance's temperament and tenacity to survive. How this disease changed him his style of life, but the most beautiful thing that happened to Lance was the birth of his son Luke. I enjoyed this story.

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Summary: Triumphant Cyclist
Review: When I started to read this book.I didn't believe a person who had brain surgery recovered like Lance Armstrong,but after I read this book,I'm convinced this will happen.I like his relationship with his mother.I think all we do with love can be positive like Lance's mother did.She gives courage and she never leave him alone,when he needs her support,she suffered but she never showed him.In my opinion the cancer was devasting to Lance but the cancer changed his life too.Also I like what Lance does to help other people who suffer like he suffered.I think he gives hope and good life lessons.

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Summary: The wave which found its way back to the ocean
Review: This book can show you how a disease can change somebody's life, in this case Lance Armstrong's. You can see how he changed from a non-sweet and non-caring person to a sweet, caring and kind person. He changed his view of life, the way of looking at people around him, and the way that he coped with the chemo. You can see his passion for cycling and how he struggled with it after the chemo. You will laugh, cry and you will live and feel with him every single memory that he is giving you. He is a symbol that inspires COURAGE to keep going and not to quit. This is Lance Armstrong, the man who did consider himself as a "Wave" before, but now he considers himself as a "part of the ocean"("We are no waves, we are part of the ocean" it is a aphorism form the book "Tuesdays with Morrie". It touched me a lot because it means that we are not by ourselves or alone in this life. We are part of the humanity that during our lives we need someone beside us).

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Summary: Toast Lance!
Review: I loved this book and learned some about how terrible cancer is, how hard bicycling is, and how to create his miracle baby, Luke with IVF. It was an inspiring book for me. Especially "Carpe diem"(p.174), "Make every obstacle an opportunity." and "I don't check my mother at the door."(p.64) which I will remember as long as I can. And did you see him on TV? He looks healthier, Doesn't he?. Toast Lance!!!

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Summary: A SPORSTMAN
Review: An interesting book about the simple life of a sportsman fighter.His cancer ,pain ,fight,love and anguish.Easy to read its a good reading for young people who have there projects of life.

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Summary: No, It's Not About the Bike or Cancer. It's Pure Lance.
Review: I know I'll catch it for this review. The book itself gets 5 stars from me. I enjoyed the read, I shed a few tears and I kept hoping that somewhere it would eventually turn Lance Armstrong into one of my heros. It never did. In fact, I pray to God I never meet Lance Armstrong and never get in his path, and I pray anyone who ever has to does survives the encounter. Sally Jenkins gets kudos on pulling off what was a difficult task. How to write his biography and story with him watching over her and to tell the truth. She did it. She pulled it off by writing between the lines like no other. She is truly the hero here. Make no mistake, the book is good, the hero is not. He is, without a doubt the single most arrogant and egotistical person I've ever read about in my life. I wanted him to be my hero so bad too. I have just gotten into cycling and was looking forward to having someone to watch, follow and emulate. Lance is not that guy. You'll read things that will blow you away. How he fully expected his French sponsor to pay him his 5 million dollar contract even when he was taking chemo and was not riding for them, they even offered to give him a contract, just not 5 million and he was outraged. He freaked on might having to sell his $300,000 worth of furniture and "art" to pay for his treatment. Why oh why have all forsaken poor Lance he wonders. Supposedly a boy that grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in Plano, Tx, but give me a break, there is no "wrong side" of the tracks in Plano. Even though he was only raised by his mother, it's obvious people took care of Lance. Riding his expensive cycles that were given to him out of the goodness of one man's heart, and then he doesn't speak to this guy for years on end. I could continue, but I think the world needs to read this book to learn about this. Lance's story is not over, he still hasn't learned what he probably was meant to learn. I do not suggest buying this book for someone with cancer or a teenager. It's not inspiring in the least, no one can afford what Lance had to get him through his terrible cancer ordeal. And, if a teen reads this, he or she will expect the world to give them everything on a silver platter just like Lance expects. One curious note I can't yet figure out. Never once does Lance tell the world he didn't check himself monthly for testicular cancer and that if he had, he could have caught it before it spread to his brain and lungs and recovery would have been comparably easy. With many pages devoted to pictures of he, his wife, his baby and mother not one single page printed a diagram on how to check yourself for testicular cancer. Seems a hero would have had that thought first and foremost in his head, especially since testicular cancer never has gotten the same PR as checking for breast cancer. I might read his other books. Maybe he's learned something along the way, but that is highly doubtful.

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Summary: It's not About the Bike....excellent reading
Review: Us cyclists often spend our free time out riding, but spend a few hours going through Lance's book and you'll be well inspired. Excellent reading

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Summary: His message is simple and strong.
Review: I like his style --- both in story-telling and life-living. His message is simple and strong. He tells us that our lives are full of challenges to overcome so we just make our mind to face it and do what we can do. On the other hand, of course, he is just a human-being like us. At first, he felt fear to face his cancer and avoided doing what he could do to prevent his cancer to ruin himself. He says in this book, "I thought I knew what fear was, until I heard the words You have cancer." For him, the cancer was the real fear that he had faced. And after suffering from fear of dying of cancer, he had to get through the chemo. He says, "The question was, which would the chemo kill first: the cancer, or me?" The answer is clear to us because he is alive. But so to him? He says again in this book, "People think of my comeback as a triumph, but in the beginning it was a disaster." Comeback to life is a problem itself. And so, what is a life? He can't be what he had been before cancer attcked him. Cancer changed everything. He has to start from the beginning. He has to re-live his life again. But he tells us that it's a wonderful experience and cancer is a part of life. Why he is so calm telling his disaster? I can answer the question, but I only hope you will read this book because he told everything in his book.

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Summary: a riveting read for anyone
Review: I'll start by noting that I am not a cyclist. That said, I highly recommend Armstrong and Jenkins work. They paint a gripping picture of Armstrong's battle with cancer and chemo while giving the reader great insight into the doubts and fears he had during that time. They also show the critical role his medical team, mother, "stud" wife, and friends played in his recovery. I was captivated by his story and made to truly empathize with his plight as I read. And I'll cheer for him now as he chases a third Tour de France title. I also found the text on his post-cancer training regime to be extremely informative and it convinced this reader, for one, that he is winning the right way. Perhaps the French press ought to give this book a read.