The basic story here is awfully familiar : healthy, cocky, young athlete
is stricken with cancer and faces a fight for his life. But what's
truly remarkable is how differently the story ends than those we've become
used to over the years. Just thirty years ago, in Brian's
Song, the story revolved around the courage and grace with which Brian
Piccolo, a 26 year old football player for the Chicago Bears, struggled
against certain doom, and how he touched the lives of those around him.
Today, not only did Lance Armstrong survive testicular cancer--the same
cancer that killed Piccolo--he was actually able to return to championship
bike racing and win that Tour de France
thing. Nor is this a rarity, there are numerous other pro athletes who
have survived cancer and returned to compete at a level at least equal
to where they were prior to their illness. In fact, it is almost
tempting to become blasé about such stories.
So the great service that Armstrong provides here is to detail just
how frightening it still is to face such a disease, no matter the survival
rate. In particular, the rather gory detail he goes into about the
manifestations of the cancer, and the treatment process, serves as a helpful
reminder of the psychological, as well as physical, costs that survivors
pay even as they return to health. Modern medicine is capable of
some amazing things, but it still requires a healthy dose of the human
spirit to overcome illness. Lance Armstrong is nothing if not spirited.
The book may not turn you into a cycling fan--it didn't me. But
it will more than likely get you to root for Lance Armstrong, and the other
brave folks who have fought back, successfully, against cancer.
(Reviewed:15-Jul-01)
Grade: (B)
Websites:
Book-related and General Links:
-Lance
Armstrong On-Line!
-EXCERPT
: Chapter One of It's Not About the Bike
-EXCERPT
: It's Not About the Bike
-INTERVIEW
: with Lance Armstrong (Cycling News, December 15, 1997)
-INTERVIEW
: Lance Armstrong: facing cancer, fatherhood, and the future
(Book Page)
-INTERVIEW
: CNNSI.com's Laura Okmin spoke with Armstrong who was in Monte Carlo,
Monaco near his home in Nice, France (CNN/SI, July 2000)
-PROFILE
: Lance Armstrong's Tour de Force (Bill Shepler, In a Positive Light)
-Lance
Armstrong (WorldSportsmen.com)
-ESSAY
: Triumph of the cure : Lance Armstrong beat testicular cancer and
then won the Tour de France. Was it a miracle or is he a poster boy for
the power of modern medicine? (Arthur Allen, July 1999, Salon)
-ESSAY
: Backpedaling : Armstrong's threat only adds to suspicion (E. M. Swift,
December 14, 2000, Sports Illustrated)
-ESSAY
: Tour d'Amerique : Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong used a triumphant
whirlwind return to the U.S. to peddle a message of hope (Leigh Montville,
August 9, 1999, Sports Illustrated)
-ESSAY
: Of Lance We Sing (Outside Magazine, May 2000)
-ESSAY
: Surviving Cancer (American Fitness, Sept, 2000)
-DISCUSSION
QUESTIONS : It's Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong Discussion
Questions (Blue Ridge Community College)
-LINKS
: Sports > Cycling > Racing > Cyclists > Lance Armstrong (Google)
-ARCHIVES
: "Lance Armstrong" (Find Articles)
-ARCHIVES
: "Lance Armstrong" (Mag Portal)
-REVIEW
: of It's Not About the Bike ( Janice A. Farringer, January Magazine)
-REVIEW
: of It's Not About the Bike (SHELTON CLARK, Book Page)
-REVIEW
: of It's Not About the Bike (Elliott Vanskike, Sports Jones)
-REVIEW
: of It's Not About the Bike (Claire Martin, Denver Post)
-AWARD
: It's about the book : Literary Lance wins British book prize : William
Hill Sports Book of the Year award (CNN/SI, November 28, 2000)
GENERAL :
-Cycling News
-CNN/SI
Cycling
-Bicycling
Magazine
-Tour de France
-LINKS
: Lance Armstong Online Cycling Links
Comments:
Orrin welcomes reader comments on his reviews.
Add yours here.
