Every Second Counts

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Holy cow, some of these reviews are pretty brutal. Don't be turned off by a few obviously bitter people. Lance puts a lot of thought and effort into this awesome book. It's an A+ on my list.

Rating:
Summary: Great Tour recaps; boring when Lance gets on his soapbox
Review: I loved Lance's first book, "It's Not About the Bike" but the follow-up falls short. As a cyclist and huge fan of Lance and the Tour de France, I truly enjoyed the behind-the-scenes rendition of his five Tour victories (the fifth win is added at the end of the book), but the book gets bogged down when Lance climbs on his soapbox. Although his bout with cancer certainly shaped the rest of his life, I thought he got his story out in the first book-- there are too many italic repeats from that book added here, with commentaries that go on for too many pages. Although he does give his cycling team full credit for his Tour victories, he still manages to come across as a bit self-centered and shallow. This book is worthwhile for cycling fans-- skip to the pages of his five tour victories, scattered throughout the book-- but otherwise a waste of time.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring
Review: 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!