biographies

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.

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"

If every second counts for you, you should probably skip this book and read something a little more worthwhile. Unlike his previous book "It's not about the Bike" this book lacks the drama and general interest for the common reader. That being said if you are a cycling fan you can probably find some behind the scenes stuff here to be interesting, but basically this is a recap of Lance's racing since the 1999 Tour De France win. Which means if you are a cycling fan you already know everything in this book and if you are not a cycling fan you wont care what's in this book.

Overall it is more less just another puff piece athletic biography that seems more interested in re-enforcing Lance's status as a sports hero than it does delving into one of the most fascinating sports figures of a generation.