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Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: As an avid fan of bike racing, I thought I knew Lance's story pretty well. Turns out that what I didn't know is far more interesting than what I did know. I read the book in two sittings. I just couldn't put it down.
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Summary: Essential Reading for Cancer Patients as Well as Athletes
Review: This is one of the most inspirational biographies I have ever read, and comes from the truly remarkable life experiences of a determined young man. I loved every word! Early in the book, Lance Armstrong says ". . . that cancer was the best thing that happened to me." He goes on to say, "When I was sick I saw more beauty and triumph and truth in a single day than I ever saw in a bike race." Overcoming cancer and becoming an athletic champion in the grueling sport of bicycle racing require a toughness of spirit, mind, and body that is hard for most of us to imagine. This inspirational book portrays beautifully how one can start with the right spirit and overcome enormous obstacles. Although his doctors told him he had a 40 percent chance of surviving stage three testical cancer, this was mostly to keep his morale up. After he had recovered, his doctor admitted that is chances were around 3 percent, instead. While he was being treated for the cancer, no one thought that he might ever race again. He did decide to go through treatments that would leave open the possibility that his lungs (affected by the cancer) would still be functional and his coordination (through delicate brain surgery) would be unaffected. Within two years, he had won the Tour de France, a grueling race he had never done well in before he had cancer. Growing up, Lance Armstrong had little reason to suspect that he would become one of the world's greatest athletes. He was well into high school, still trying pretty unsuccessfully to make the football and swimming teams, before it became clear that he could become a significant cyclist. Pleased with the money that success brought, he had a tough time building the attitude of a champion to go with his remarkable endurance skills. Overcoming cancer helped him with that, as well as seeing the beauty around him. He met his wife at the press conference to announce the beginning of his foundation to fight cancer. They were married during his recovery, and recently became parents through the miracles of modern medicine. Of such wonderful stuff are role models made, something we have too few of these days. The story is told in a very open and matter-of-fact way. He is not trying to make himself into something that he isn't. Clearly, his purpose in writing this book is to help all of us fulfill our potential rather than to glorify himself. Please share this book with people who need this inspiration.
Rating: 
Summary: Inspirational Book
Review: Lance Armstrong is sure to inspire anyone who reads this book. He beat the odds, not only to survive, but to win the Tour De France. This tells of his hardships and ultimate triumph. Being struck with cancer, he wasn't expected to live, but pure dedication and the love and support of his family and friends got him through it. This story is one that should not be missed.
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Summary: A Must Read for Any Competitive Cyclist
Review: I was looking forward to reading Lance's book for a long time and was not disappointed when it became available. Being a competitive rider for over 20 years and having followed Lance's career and done the Ride For The Roses in Austin a few times, I thought I knew the story but I didn't. This book sets the record straight. From his difficult upbringing, his early days in Europe and then as his career began to take off, this is a great account of his story. The behind the scenes look at what he went through with his cancer treatment was a real eye opener.....Also some great accounts of the Tour, from his perspective. A great book for anyone who has been influenced by the accomplishments of Lance Armstrong.
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Summary: Life Threatening Diseases Change People Forever
Review: This book does an extraordinary job of taking you inside the heart and soul of a great athlete whose life was transformed by cancer. From one perspective, it does not come across as great literature. As an autobiography, however, you feel is if you are listening to Armstrong himself. For anyone facing a life threatening disease, it offers invaluable guidance, especially in terms of getting second and third opinions and going to the best, however much it might cost. I read this in large part because I love cycling, but the title is exactly right!
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Summary: a great book!
Review: This book is about surviving. It is about getting through the tough stuff and going on from there. The author appears to have achieved an understanding of his life and has chosen the direction to take from here. As the author states at the beginning it is not a pretty story. I highly recommend this book. It is especially insightful for those with a chronic disease. I found it inspiritional.
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Summary: Everyone's crash is relative
Review: My editorial comment here is brief. His work is inspiring and an example of the strength of the human spirit. That said, I must admit that I lost some of my compassion when he complained about losing his sponsorship and having to live on $275000/year, with the drastic consequence of possibly selling the Porsche. It was difficult for me to relate to that particular hardship....
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly compelling and well-written
Review: The appeal of this book should extend beyond the usual audience of bicycling enthusiasts. The story is compelling: man climbs the ladder of sports success only to be stricken with life-threatening disease. Man fights disease and returns to greater success. The prose manages to remain true to Lance's he-man attitude, but is also quite readable. The first chapter alone is a stunner. Definitely should be on your summer book list.
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Summary: inspiration
Review: This is a wonderful book about how to live life. I bought it the day after I did a half-ironman, and I read it in one sitting and it even inspired me, in all of my soreness, to exercise again. This could be a book that could equally appeal to an athlete or to someone struggling with a mental or physical illness. It provides some very real answers about why we continue to fight and struggle through life. Armstrong comes across as one of the most compelling, and humanly fallible characters, that I have ever seen in literature. In addition, this book is extremely well-written. It will make you laugh and it will make you cry. I recommend it both as an athlete and as a Ph.D./Professor of Literature.
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Summary: Wow. What an amazing and amazingly well-told story.
Review: Lance Armstrong shows us the entire range of his incredible life: stratospheric places where mere mortals cannot tread -- inside a peloton in the Tour de France -- and tortuous places -- the carpet inches away from his face --- where near-fatal levels of chemotherapy toxins force him to crawl to a bathroom sink to cough up blood. The levels of courage and generosity Lance shows are stupefying. This individual who defines excellence in a superhuman arena writes an entire book to say that it is neither his genetic heritage nor his good fortune nor his bad fortune that he has chosen to define his life. Rather it is his conviction that his life is his own, that plain incremental action is the tool to achieve that life, and it is his actions that define it. Author Philip Gourevitch in the July 1993 issue of Harper's says, "The absolute ...is a treacherous place to seek lessons. By definition, it does not yield. Like the God of Exodus, it is what it is and it shall be what it shall be. For that reason, the absolute is useless as metaphor. It is incomparable." Cancer is an incomparable occurrence in anyone's life, as nonsensical as an asteroid strike. There is no way to compare it by any standard of fairness, humanity, or reason. But there is great value in adapting, growing and becoming stronger. Lance says that in the face of adversity, the concept of acting heroically and the strategy of plea bargaining soon resonate with the thud of pewter. Simple, definitive action gets the job done. Los Angeles psychiatrist Robert J. Elstad says, "We experience ourselves by what we do." Lance Armstrong says, "Move." A fascinating glimpse into the life of an excellent member of our species.
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