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As a fan of Lance Armstrong, and his accomplishments on the bike, I bought this book hoping to get some insight into his career and life the past few years. But, as some other reviewers have mentioned the first book is better, and there is not much new material in this one. Many of the chapters contain material from previous articles, or updates from his web site. Even the last chapter on this year's tour is not really all that great (it sounds rushed, and probably was in order to be included in the book). The result, is a decent book, which is worth buying if you are a fan.

There are some encouraging sections to this book, which many readers will enjoy as Lance struggles to find balance in his life. He seems to be asking all the right questions like how does he continue winning Le Tour, and spend enough time with his wife and kids so that he is not a failure at home. Or, how should he give back to the cancer community, or respond to the riduculous doping charges. These discussions are all pretty interesting, and make for pretty good reading.

But, in the end I am bothered by his ultimate conclusions. To say that "too many people look at religion as an excuse, or a crutch, or a bailout" and that "even when I was looking straight at death, I never thought there was something on the other end" makes me think that after all he has been through he still doesn't get it.

I hope that Lance keeps winning Le Tour, and keeps searching for the truth. Perhaps one day he will find it. And maybe, just maybe he will figure out a way to save his marriage also. It is a shame to think that after all they have been through that they are throwing in the towel now.

The continuing life of Lance Armstrong is almost mythical. For him to overcome latter stage cancer and go on to win 5 straight Tour de France races is unbelievable and an inspiration to anyone who rides (or walks on two legs). Writing in a straightforward typical first person voice, Lance actually waits until the end of the book to discuss his philosophy about bike riding itself and I believe it's the best part of the book. He's got a strong independent streak that is uniquely American. He has some resentment (and understandably so) towards the French officials who put him through countless drug tests, since they couldn't believe that someone recently on chemotherapy could still ride mountains like they were tiny little hills. As a result, he is the answer to the trivia question: 'Which athlete has been drug tested the most?'
He genuinely cares about people, cancer victims, his country, his family, and still has the time to train and be one of the greatest athletes of all time. Through it all, he's not even dogmatic except that you should believe in yourself. What a terrific story!

This is a beautiful follow-up to Lance's first book (It's Not About the Bike). In this book, Lance shares what it is like for him as person who is also a "superstar bicyclist", "cancer survivor", and "cancer philanthropist". Though a young man in terms of age, Lance speaks with deep wisdom about what it means to live, how to feel alive, and dealing with life's non-life-threatening complexities. And then there are remarkable and thrilling stories about his Tour de France experiences. I loved reading this book! It is spectacular, especially in conjunction with his first book.

Review by Evan Finer, author of "Effortless WellBeing"