Lance Armstrong's War: One Man's Battle Against Fate, Fame, Love, Death, Scandal, and a Few Other Rivals on the Road to the Tour de France

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Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks

Average Customer Rating:

Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.620944
EAN: 9780060734985
ISBN: 0060734981
Label: Harper Paperbacks
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 368
Publication Date: 2006-06-01
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Release Date: 2006-06-13
Studio: Harper Paperbacks

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Editorial Reviews:

Lance Armstrong's War is the extraordinary story of greatness pushed to its limits; a vivid, behind-the-scenes portrait of perhaps the most accomplished athlete of our time as he vies for a historic sixth straight victory in the toughest sporting event on the planet. It is the true story of a superlative sports figure fighting on all fronts—made newly vulnerable by age, fate, fame, doping allegations, a painful divorce, and an unprecedented army of challengers—while mastering the exceedingly difficult trick of being Lance Armstrong, a combination of world-class athlete, celebrity, regular guy, and, for many Americans, secular saint.

With a new afterword by the author, featuring in-depth reporting on:

Armstrong's unprecedented seventh consecutive Tour de France victory
New blood doping allegations
Armstrong's continuing personal and legal battles, and his retirement

A fascinating journey through the little-known landscape of professional bike racing, Lance Armstrong's War provides a hugely insightful look into the often inspiring, always surprising core of a remarkable athlete and the world that shapes him.

Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary: A Book for those Interested in Human Endurance
Comment: This book pretty much rules. If you have an interest in professional cycling, you've probably already read it. If you don't have an interest in pro cycling... well, you should. No sport mixes cutting edge science, the limits of human endurance, complex tactics and horrific physical pain into a more engaging final product. I mean come on, I know all about hemocrit levels thanks to my interest in little dudes in tights.

This book is first about a report following Lance's attempt to gain a sixth Tour de France victory. You get a real sense of what a driven man he is. Lance is apparently not a very nice guy to work for. He holds grudges; he hates his enemies with an unhealthy passion. But he wins bike races, and he is a really compelling athlete to follow.

This book is, however, more than a book about Lance. It is a great primer to pro cycling, giving you sense of who these mostly working class kids with nothing to lose are and how they and their teams go about trying to win the Tour. I found it totally fascinating.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Lance Armstong's War
Comment: Of real interest to any serious observer or participant in the sport of bicycling. One learns about the big tour from the inside and gains some insight into the complex person that is Lance Armstrong. Almost reads like a novel.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Very funny and affectionate look at pro cycling
Comment: Mr. Coyle has given us and his subjects (including the elusive Mr. Armstrong) a great gift. His funny, beautiful prose was in perfect juxaposition with the essence of the sport he covered with much affection. Do sane people ride nearly naked (Lycra!) at 60 mph down twisting, narrow mountain roads (in the rain!)? We can only look on in wonder at their courageous, graceful, crazy, difficult, "cut of coffee short" careers. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading.

Customer Rating:

Summary: After "BIKE" Read "WAR"! See Inside & Out!
Comment: I had just finished "It's Not About The Bike" when my wife -- a keen cyclist -- turned to me and said, "That's only half the story." She handed me "Lance Armstrong's War." "Here's the other half of the story."

You know a good book when you should be doing other things and... you can't put the book down. Bills don't get paid. E-mails don't get answered. You spend too long in the bathroom. "WAR" is one of those books.

Naturally you need to have some passing fascination with the world of professional cycling. For me it was watching the Tour de France and wanting to know more about how it all worked. Daniel Coyle will lead any interested reader into a fascinating world...

An opera needs to be written about the Tour. The melodrama. The characters. The morality plays. The blood. The guts. The insanity. The money. The doping. The journey. The jeering crowds. The test. The human spirit. Victory and loss. It's all there, a nice thick juicy slice of Life! And a huge bite or two of that slice is in WAR.

On the cover of my copy Sports Illustrated has described WAS as a "literary tour de force." A bit of a snob when it comes to writing I noted to myself, (a) What would Sports Illustrated know about literature? and (b) Daniel Coyle's a SPORTS writer for God's sake!

And... the writing is wonderful. Great character sketches. You'll get all the ins and outs of race strategy, sponsorships, training. You'll see France. You'll get a great glimpse of what Bob (Bobke) Rolls calls Eurotrash. You'll love the wry humor and jaundiced eye. Just wait until you meet the Lance hangers-on, "The Dudes" and "The Bros." Be prepared to LOL.

So if you're at all curious about this fascinating world -- but, like me, are either too old or too wise not to join it (!) -- WAR is Highly Recommended. You're in for a good read.

Dr. Kirtland C Peterson

Customer Rating:

Summary: A Different Side of the Story?
Comment: I was expecting this to be another story TOLD by Lance, but it was not. I found this to be a more refreshing view on Lance and the Doping Scandles that encircled his Tour De France days.

No matter what my opinion is on Lance and the doping, I found this to be a great read. I learned about some of the "players" in the Cycling media community that are attacking lance's position and character (justified or not), and how the Team operates around the Cycling legend.

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