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Summary: Participate In Life-Multi-Sport Maketing & Coaching
Review: Surviving The Toughest race on Earth -This is the first real information source on adventure racing a sport that began in 1989.This offers the perspective from a freelance writer who has covered many of the different Adventure races in all parts of the most difficult terrain the world has to offer. Writer Martin Dugard also describes the process from the perspective of a racer having finished One of these events.The Information on personalities,perserverance,team-dynamics,and the mind numbing difficulty level of andventure racing is brought out in it's truest form.The descriptions of the people,places and emotion bring adventure racing to life. If you are a multi-sport athlete this will peak your interest in adventure racing.
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Summary: Great book for the adventure race spectator catching the bug
Review: The book took the reader through the emotions associated with adventure racing. It was an inside look at how it feels to desire to compete and complete an adventure race. The story does not get lost in overwhelming technical details of individual events, rather developing the whole experience of being driven with desire. I only wish the book would have been longer.
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Summary: A Passion For Living
Review: There is a message in this book much greater than that of finishing the Raid Gauloises. It's the journey that's important, not so much the finish.If your looking for a how-to book on adventure racing, this may not be for you. However, if your looking to read the story of one man's accomplishments and how those accomplishments relate to adventure racing, this is certainly a book to read. The author takes us through his experiences of adventure racing both on and off the course, sharing the essence of his human spirit. It's a story of dreams that became a reality. A story of teamwork, discipline and friendship. A story of love for one's family and a passion for life. Thanks Marty and enough with the ibuprofen, that stuff will kill you.
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Summary: Rockin Great Book
Review: This book is really two stories within one. The author starts by telling how he changed his life by taking a chance and pursuing a dream. It is a story of a corporate professional who grows disillusioned with his job, and spends his days daydreaming about a more exciting and fulfilling life. Taking a leap of faith, with the support of his wife, the author decides finally to pursue his dream as a free lance writer. We follow the author's adventure first as a correspondent for a new sport, and then listen as the author is drawn into the sport as a participant. The author is very informative when it comes to describing the adventure race experience. If you have ever wondered what an adventure race entails, and what motivates people to undertake such an endeavor, this book is for you. If you are stuck in a deadend job and dream of doing something different, then you may want to read this book as well. The editing could be better (I often times wondered if the author used the same editor on "Survivor"), but this is only a small distraction from the material contained in the book.
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Summary: Informative and Sometimes Inspiring
Review: This book is really two stories within one. The author starts by telling how he changed his life by taking a chance and pursuing a dream. It is a story of a corporate professional who grows disillusioned with his job, and spends his days daydreaming about a more exciting and fulfilling life. Taking a leap of faith, with the support of his wife, the author decides finally to pursue his dream as a free lance writer. We follow the author's adventure first as a correspondent for a new sport, and then listen as the author is drawn into the sport as a participant. The author is very informative when it comes to describing the adventure race experience. If you have ever wondered what an adventure race entails, and what motivates people to undertake such an endeavor, this book is for you. If you are stuck in a deadend job and dream of doing something different, then you may want to read this book as well. The editing could be better (I often times wondered if the author used the same editor on "Survivor"), but this is only a small distraction from the material contained in the book.
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Summary: Epic, factual
Review: This is a wonderful story of someone who actually had the guts to follow his dreams. Mr. Dugard proves that if you put your mind and heart into something you can accomplish pretty much anything. While I may never have the opportunity to participate in an adventure race like the ones he describes, it certainly is fun thinking about it and encourages me to keep pushing myself physically and mentally to accomplish my goals. Thanks for a great book, Mr. Dugard!
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Summary: A great chance to experience a bit of adventure racing!
Review: This is a wonderful story of someone who actually had the guts to follow his dreams. Mr. Dugard proves that if you put your mind and heart into something you can accomplish pretty much anything. While I may never have the opportunity to participate in an adventure race like the ones he describes, it certainly is fun thinking about it and encourages me to keep pushing myself physically and mentally to accomplish my goals. Thanks for a great book, Mr. Dugard!
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Summary: Well written, captivating and motivating!
Review: This was a book I looked at several times before I bought it, but I am glad I finally did. I think its an excellent description of adventure racing, and Dugard's description of his own attempts to form a team point out some serious considerations for anyone else thinking about it. The ability of a group of people to work together in pursuit of a common goal is going to be compromised when faced with conditions like those in adventure racing. Fear, exhaustion, uncertainty, hunger, stress...All of those things serve to magnify the little differences of opinion that might otherwise never be remarked upon. Dugard does a great job of being honest and open with what happens with his, and others', teams. Dugard's writing left me with the overall feeling that you didn't have to be superhuman to finish an even like the Raid, or the Eco-challenge. All you have to be is dedicated. And maybe a little lucky.
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Summary: Marty need to actually finish a Raid before claiming so.
Review: While the book is at times an entertaining read, it is a work of fiction. Mr. Dugard has never completed a Raid or an Eco-Challenge in his life, though he has attempted many. All one has to do is speak with the numerous teammates he's left angry, frustrated and disgusted in his wake to learn the truth of Dugard's adventures. To imply that he actually completed a Raid is both a disservice to the readers and a slap in the face of adventure racers who have persevered enough to truly finish -- completing all sections of the course with their team. While Mr. Dugard might lay claim to being an adventurer, he is no adventure racer and in no way can he lay claim to that term -- Mr. Fusil is the founder and ultimate father of the term and the concept.
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Summary: Time to set the record straight
Review: With the paperback edition of "Surviving... " coming out, I think a few words on the book's content are needed. First, and most important, though the sport of adventure racing is the backdrop for all that happens, this is not a book about adventure racing. This is a book about a guy who quit the corporate world to chase his dreams. Specifically, me. In the book I laugh, I cry, I point the finger of criticism at me, I talk about finding a greater depth to my relationship with my wife. Buy the book with that in mind (themes: hope, love, search for spirituality, self-doubt, failure, and ultimate redemption). If those themes, as well as a love for adventure and adventure travel or even just armchair travel, resonate within you, this book is something you should definitely read. I can almost guarantee you'll love this book and feel empowered to chase your own dreams. However, for those prospective adventure racers looking for training tips, detailed course maps, or dietary advice, you're in the wrong place. I've grown weary of adventure racers reading the title too literally, not realizing that it's a metaphor for life itself, then complaining because chapter upon chapter is not dedicated to the minutiae of discussing backpacks and shoes and orienteering skills and bowel movements in the wilderness. Give it a rest. There are plenty of books like that on the market. Find them, love them. But remember, "Surviving... " is a book about love and hope and sex and dreams. The title is a metaphor. Second, I've chronicled the rise of adventure racing worldwide in this book, and chronicle my own completion of the 1997 Raid Gauloises in Lesotho (race officials also document an individual's progress through the entire course, so there can be no doubt that I actually finished), I make no claims to be the father of the sport nor the last word on adventure racing. On the contrary, I was merely witness to a phenomenon and was made better for my participation. I happily walk away now to find new challenges. So... what do I think of the paperback volume? I think it actually looks better in appearance than the hardcover. A word of thanks to Jon Eaton and Tom McCarthy at Ragged Mountain Press for nurturing the book. Not a word of content has been changed, and I'm happy to see that the journey I took from the corporate world into the world of being my own boss and chasing adventure is still relevant -- and by that, I mean if you're stuck in a job you don't like, and wonder how it would be to quit to find a better life, this is the book for you. Thanks for taking the time to read these comments, and may God bless you in all your own adventures.
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