Rating: 
Summary: A constant, thoughtful observer...
Review: From cover to cover, Neil Peart takes the reader, not only through the West African land, but to its people as well. Throughout the book, I felt as if I was along for the ride with him as he observes and explains his feelings and attitudes on the people he meets as well as the ones who are traveling with him. As a Rush fan, I knew Neil was a great lyricist and was confident that his first book would be enjoyable. He did not dissapoint!
Rating: 
Summary: Neil's extraordinary adventure
Review: I simply could not put this book down. I recommended this book to anyone. I for one am very familar with RUSH and Niel's ingenious works on drums and very well knew, it was about it. After reading this great book i felt like i was with Neil the whole way. I give it an obvious 10 and wish you'd all read this book . One day soon Neil should write a book about his life with RUSH. P.S. I hope that Neil can have the strengh and to try to move on peacefully after the tragedy of his dughter who I deeply fell sorry for.
Rating:
Summary: Take a fantastic journey with a fantastic man...
Review: Neil Peart makes you feel like you are with him on the trip. His expertise use of the English language makes the reading more like a real experience that has happened to you.
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Summary: Neil is the greatest drummer of the greatest band, Rush...
Review: And Neil is an excellent author! This travel log of his bicycle trip in west Africa is hard to put down. Don't look for talk of the band, Rush (he mentions Rush once),fellow band members Geddy Lee or Alex Lifeson, or drumming (well, just a little bit). Instead, if you are interested in Africa, long distance bicycle trips or well written travel logs, then you can't go wrong with this one. This man is a genius (as his musical work shows) so his perspectives during this trip are very thought provoking. And, if you are *just* a fan of Rush, get the book anyway to learn more about how "Pratt" thinks. I can't wait for the next book!
Rating:
Summary: Insightful look at Africa, it's customs,people and geography
Review: I was 12 in 1975 when "Caress of Steele" was released (3rd Album of Rush) and I was instantly hooked on Rush. I immediately bought a 5 piece Stewart drum kit and haven't looked back. So I could say that my appetite for Peart paraphernalia has never stopped. I feel like taking a bike trip to Africa myself after reading this incredible novel for the "second time"! Neil makes you want to be there, to feel what he has and to experience all that he does. He pulls no punches and tells it like it is, there's and honesty and realism about the way Neil writes that makes this book very real and truthful. I passed the book around the office and all that read it where very surprised that a "rock" drummer could have such an incredible writing style, they should hear him drum! I give this book two thumbs up for an enjoyable and down to earth experience you just cannot miss in West Africa! Please write more Neil!
Rating:
Summary: One reason why he's the lyricist for Rush!
Review: Being a Rush fan (a BIG one), I am guinea-pigged into having to own EVERYTHING about them, which even included this book (which I bought at one of their concerts).
I don't play drums, or guitar, or bass, but I do understand where the power of writing comes from. Neil's book is top notch reading material for people who like to read about other people's adventures in foreign lands (whether or not you're a Rush fan or even a rock-n-roll fan for that matter). Neil writes about some of the unusualnesses and about the culture of the West African country of Cameroon (A country I never even heard of until I read this book), and either makes you laugh, cry, shudder, etc. (i.e. He talks about cultural guilt that some westerners get when it comes to food after a peace corps volunteer makes his bicycle group hamburgers and french fries)
There's more to this book, but you must buy it to learn more. If it was released by a major American publishing company, it would surely be a best seller.
Rating:
Summary: An honest insight to a travellers experience in Africa.
Review: The Masked Rider, by Neil Peart is an honest insight to a travellers journey to Africa. Peart details a bicycle tour thru western Africa, and in the process manages a wide-ranging commentary on a variety of topics. Very expressive, and thoughtful in his approach as a writer.
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Summary: Neil tells it like it is!
Review: I am also a survivor of three Bicycle Africa tours. Neil has been on five tours, the book is based on his experiences in Cameroon. I have travelled through Mali, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. The book is a journal filled in with comments on all sorts of subjects including life discoveries and philosophy. I enjoyed the book as a story, with all of the characters and their interaction. I also found myself transported back to my own trip through Mali and was amazed at how accurately my own experiences were documented. Instead of spending hours telling people what cycling in Africa is like, I will lend out the book.
Rating:
Summary: A bicycle journey over bumpy roads and bumpy thoughts
Review: I'm a Rush fan so it's hard for me to be perfectly objective. However, Neil Peart is a man of insight. This insight shows in Rush lyrics and in this book. Aside from an interesting account of his travels in Africa, the book is an account of insights and thoughts along the way. He doesn't offer any solutions. Instead, he celebrates the diversity of life and how everything we do can contribute to improving our ability to live it.
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Summary: Neil Peart cycles (bumpily) through West Africa...
Review: This one should be subtitled "Roads?! We don't need no stinking ROADS!!!" Those who only know Mr. Peart in percussive terms (i.e. the rock band Rush) will be suprised at the depth and intelligence displayed in his writing. The action centers around a cycling trip Peart and a small band of Westerners took through Cameroon in 1988. We are given all the gritty details as our heroes endure odd (yet consistent) cuisine, spartan accommodations, forgotten roads, and a new but disturbingly familliar sort of racism. Peart's observations range from the droll to the profound as he weaves his way through the heart of Africa at "people speed." An enlightening read, even for those who have no vested interest in cycling OR Africa.
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