Rating: 
Summary: Great Intro To Adventure Racing
Review: A friend gave me this book just 2 weeks after we had completed our first adventure race and I quickly blew through it. It was a real joy to read. Dugard takes the reader along for the ride and attempts to give some insite to, not only the races, but why someone would actually want to attempt one, and how the race dominates the participant's life.Assuming the reader is interested in the sport, the information contained within is tremendously valuable, because the vantage point is not that of a Discovery Channel commentator or a Race Spokesman, but a participant, slogging through the ordeal.
Rating: 
Summary: Get off the tangents
Review: Although I revel in any material on this subject, Marty lost me with his many side bars. I read the book to learn more about the race and the details of competitors accomplishments and agonies. I did not read the book to learn about Disneyland, the Concorde and sled racing. Also, although Marty claims to have coined the term, "adventure racing",if you look on the Eco Challenge web site, Mark Burnett claims it for himself. Having mountain biked with Marty just 2 months before Equador '98, I was not impressed. My book will be much better.
Rating: 
Summary: This is a book about making dreams come true
Review: Having spent the past five years traipsing around the world covering and competing in adventure races, I wrote "Surviving the Toughest Race on Earth" (original title: Just Once) to tell the world about the sport. I think any event that demands nothing less than one-hundred percent mental, physical and emotional commitment deserves recognition. I also wanted to show that these are events for fairly average people who choose to take a flying leap outside the comfort zone three weeks out of the year. It's not a book about extreme sports. It's a book about making dreams true. The calls and letters I've received from readers tells me that point is coming through, for which I am grateful. It seems the book appeals to three sorts of readers: men and women who want to quit their corporate jobs and chase adventure; romantics who like how I write about my wife, and adventure racers looking for something to read. I'm just glad people are taking the time to read. This book has been my creative passion for a long time. There will be a sequel. It'll be about adventures and misadventures at this year's Raid, which promises to be the most competitive adventure race in history. My team will drive from Los Angeles to Quito, then compete. I call it my "heart of darkness" book, because the team dynamics are either going to flourish or be destroyed by the dual adventures. Working title is "Raid Rules." After I'm done with that I just want to stay home and coach Little League for a few years.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, but tends to wander away from true subject.
Review: I enjoyed the book overall, but I wish the author would have concentrated on the Raid and Eco races. I felt like I was being whisped around from one subject to the next without any sense of flow. I would recommend the book. It still does a wonderful job of uncovering the human side of adventure racing that TV has yet to be able to do. This is a book more of human dynamics. A good book to read over a weekend.
Rating: 
Summary: A 'corporate lackey' to adventurer story
Review: I enjoyed this book, even though I was expecting it to focus on MD forming a team and competing. Instead we learn of his frustration with and subsequent extraction from the corporate world and into a job he wants to do (how many of us can relate to that?). This 'job' being a journalist covering some of the most testing and demanding activities humans put themselves through - and then being bitten by the bug himself,experiencing failure and finally success. The fact that MD covers the negatives of his decision as well as the positives provides a good appreciation of the clash of responsibilities and FUD with doing what will make you 'happy'. I'm certainly looking forward to the next book and hope that there is a bit more focus on the actual racing aspect, but the fact that MD has including more in 'surviving' does not, in my view, detract from your enjoyment of it.
Rating: 
Summary: Greatly admire the author - did not care for book.
Review: I greatly admire the author for his achievements in journalism (especially since he was not formally schooled in this area) and as an actual race participant. A gutsy guy who wasn't afraid of going against the norm by quitting a well paying corporate job and persuing/realizing his dreams. Pretty amazing stuff. However, I did not care for the book. The author did not inspire me or educate me like, say, a Jon Krakauer does (author of similar types of "adventure" books like Into Thin Air and Into the Wild) or a Sebastian Junger (Perfect Storm). Too much ink spent on what I believed to be less than interesting and unrelated side tracks. It also would have helped to include detailed maps of the courses and a listing of the final standings of each race listing team members, etc.
Rating:
Summary: Rockin Great Book
Review: I just want to say that I think this is a great book. I like to adventure race and I probably wouldn't have hear of this book if it wasn't for Survivor. I'm glad I did. It was uplifting, motivating, and about far more than just adventure racing. I was interested to find out Dugard and Mark Burnett had such a long history together, which is catalogued in the book. It's like the Survivor story actually begins with this book, with the show as the next generation of outdoor survival.
Rating:
Summary: Participate In Life-Multi-Sport Maketing & Coaching
Review: I was boiling with anticipation to read this. It seems I can't get enough of Adventure Racing whether it's watching the Eco Challenge, reading about the Raid Gaulioses or participating in the Hi Tec Series. However, most of my anticipation was destroyed during the first part of this book. I'm happy for Mr Dugard in that he was able to escape corporate America and do what he dreamed of doing. But he beat the issue to death. Factor in his story on the Concorde and he has no right calling this book what he did. It's the classic bait and switch. I wanted a first hand account on what it's like to train, participate in and then finish an Eco Challenge and/or Raid. I just didn't get that. In the end he finally did give me a little taste of what I was after when he described his experiences with Team Lestra Sport. But it just wasn't enough. I do give him credit there as he did finish the race even after the rest of Lestra Sport was forced to drop out.
Rating:
Summary: Misleading
Review: I was boiling with anticipation to read this. It seems I can't get enough of Adventure Racing whether it's watching the Eco Challenge, reading about the Raid Gaulioses or participating in the Hi Tec Series. However, most of my anticipation was destroyed during the first part of this book. I'm happy for Mr Dugard in that he was able to escape corporate America and do what he dreamed of doing. But he beat the issue to death. Factor in his story on the Concorde and he has no right calling this book what he did. It's the classic bait and switch. I wanted a first hand account on what it's like to train, participate in and then finish an Eco Challenge and/or Raid. I just didn't get that. In the end he finally did give me a little taste of what I was after when he described his experiences with Team Lestra Sport. But it just wasn't enough. I do give him credit there as he did finish the race even after the rest of Lestra Sport was forced to drop out.
Rating:
Summary: Epic, factual
Review: I've done a few Raids and Eco's. I know what it's like to compete and finish, and to compete and fail. This book captures both sentiments. The feeling is raw and pure and I felt like I was back in it. Excellent, exciting.
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