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Summary: I just started reading it, but it's great!!!!!
Review: My Dad and I are really big RUSH fans ( Yes, I'm only 12 and love Rush) and when I found out he had written a book I had to get it. I got it for my birthday from my aunt and started reading it right away. I've only just started but so far this book is great!! He tells about every thing that happens to him on his bike trip across Africa. Neil Peart is not only a great drummer, but a great auther too!!!!
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Summary: The ultimate in rock and literature
Review: Suffice it to say that a fan of an author tends to be prejudice, but coming from a person who rarely enjoys reading books about documentaries, I find this book quite fascinating and at times humorous. To be truly honest with the potential reader of said book, regardless if you are or are not a fan of Rush, this book transcends the barriers of your typical image of a rock musician and delves into the mind of the lyricist Neil Peart. His book‹simplistic and at the same time complex‹weaves the the struggles of riding under the sun's fury as his fellow riders share the pains of men with guns, sickly starving people, eating a morsel that may not agree with you to the brisk freedom of riding the rugged as well as challenging roads of Africa. It also shows‹though in words‹that Africa is not a vast plains of nothingness like the Sahara Desert or monkeys swing through trees like a Tarzan movie, but well diverse race of people who to my stereotypes are French-speaking-soda-drinking-folks of a rich culture. Peart's story allows you to see him ride the roads of West Africa and feel the sweat, pain, stomach-churning,fear, excitement, pleasures, happiness, as well as an insight of his beliefs on religion thus eliminating the ever-so-popular quote "I-thought-I-knew-Neil-because-I-am-his-number-one-fan." This book the masked Rider is a lesson of humility; realizing there is more to the man as well as the band than I thought. Also, check out the band's music. If there is a prerequisite to this book, buy their C.D. Why you may ask? To understand what Peart is saying in his book, the C.D. is the best source of this man's insight
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Summary: A rare look at cycling through Africa
Review: A bicycle trip through parts of Africa is something few people even think of, much less do. Yet that is exactly what Neil Peart has done and written about in The Masked Rider. This book offers an insider's view of what it's like to travel in such a manner, with humour, intelligence, and interesting insights. I highly recommend this book for its literary and informative value. A fine travel guide for those who cycle, and a wonderful glimpse of the personal experiences of a man who had the determination to succeed.
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Summary: Good book, but is Neil Peart truly worthy of such praise?
Review: Like many other readers of this book, I too am a devoted fan of Rush, and of Neil Peart, whose tremendous skill on drums is matched by no one I've heard of. As the band's lyricist, he has written some of the most incredible, creative, beautiful, and powerful prose I have read. One might apply the term genius. I do not apply that term to Neil Peart, especially after reading this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to all Rush fans. I was amazed at the accomplishment of cycling through Cameroon and most impressed with his head-first approach. His description of the West African landscape is both beautiful and grotesque, painfully honest at times, and is an excellent travelogue. It is obvious from reading this book that he approaches other aspects of his life with the same intensity, focus, and excellence that he applies to his work with Rush. Ultimately, however, this is a book about Neil Peart, and not about bicycling, West Africa, politics, or philosophy. And it most definitely is not about interpersonal skills. Readers who are quick to apply "genius" to Neil Peart would do well to remember that there are multiple intelligences, among them interpersonal intellegence, and he is sadly lacking in people skills. At first, I thought the others in his tour were very lucky to be travelling with this great man, but after a few miles, I felt sorry for them! It is ironic that he recognizes (and appreciates!) the kind words and support offered by some of the strangers met along the way, but he cannot even conjure simple respect for most of the other tour members. I found that irony distracting. The reader is (understandably) getting a slanted view of Neil Peart's trip through Cameroon, and for that reason I would have a dificult time recommending it to someone who doesn't know who he is.
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Summary: Peart is incredible.
Review: Neil writes this book with the same passion for motion as the feel of a great Rush song. The book is a quick read and the reader's only disappointment is when it's over. Even people who don't listen to Rush will be very pleased. His style is his own but, you can sense all of the literary greats he has absorbed and is mirroring now ie; Rand, Hemingway, Tolkien, etc. I can't ever wait for a new Rush album and I feel the same about the next Peart book. His next book is about touring with Rush. Looking forward to it Neil.
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Summary: Toeclips for the creative process
Review: Great travel writing imitates the journey described. Neil Peart's prose follows his legs as they pedal up or coast along in the humid country he experiences. Its pacing is the narrative analogue of perfect pitch, crafting the illusion of being along for the ride. Once seated in this priveleged position, the reader begins feel the winds of the author's creative process: singing phrases putting kilometres behind him, deconstructing the background pulse of West Aftrican music, hoping to experience the transcendental. This book is peer to Redmond O'Hanlon's "Into the Heart of Borneo" or Heinrich Harrer's "Seven Years in Tibet."
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Summary: Vivid portrayal of central Africa behind a Western mask.
Review: As is denoted by the title, masks play a central theme through this work. Seeing through a mask can be as difficult as seeing behind one, as Peart says, and this refreshing admittance of his personal bias is just one of the delightful and thoughtful themes. Treating Africa and it's inhabitants with respect, the volume does not sugar-coat the tribulations experienced, but rather lays them bare, sometimes brutal, sometimes uproariously funny, sometimes touching, even bizarre. And with Aristotle and Van Gogh along for the ride, the reader is presented with a depth of experience rarely enjoyed in travel writing. Well done, Neil! Now, we gotta do something about Elsa...
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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.
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Summary: Cycling with Jack Kerouac and Spalding Gray
Review: Wisdom of Jack Kerouac and humor of Spalding Gray. A great ride along the human highway.
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Summary: This book was the best book ever. "The Masked Rider"
Review: The Book "The Masked Rider," by Neil
Peart was the best book that I have ever
read. Neil was the drummer for Rush,
one of the best bands ever, and he was
also the lyrisist. He once again impresses
me with his awesome concepts and use
of words. I recomend it to anyone who is
looking for a good book, if you respect a
true artist. Erin Maloney
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