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It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life | 
 enlarge | Authors: Lance Armstrong, Sally Jenkins
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $14.99 (100%)
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Rating:  723 reviews
Sales Rank: 5676
Media: Paperback
Edition: Rei Rep
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9
ISBN: 0425179613
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.62092
EAN: 9780425179611
ASIN: 0425179613
Publication Date: September 1, 2001
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Amazon.com Review
People around the world have found inspiration in the story of Lance Armstrong--a world-class athlete nearly struck down by cancer, only to recover and win the Tour de France, the multiday bicycle race famous for its grueling intensity. Armstrong is a thoroughgoing Texan jock, and the changes brought to his life by his illness are startling and powerful, but he's just not interested in wearing a hero suit. While his vocabulary is a bit on the he-man side (highest compliment to his wife: "she's a stud"), his actions will melt the most hard-bitten souls: a cancer foundation and benefit bike ride, his astonishing commitment to training that got him past countless hurdles, loyalty to the people and corporations that never gave up on him. There's serious medical detail here, which may not be for the faint of heart; from chemo to surgical procedures to his wife's in vitro fertilization, you won't be spared a single x-ray, IV drip, or unfortunate side effect. Athletes and coaches everywhere will benefit from the same extraordinary detail provided about his training sessions--every aching tendon, every rainy afternoon, and every small triumph during his long recovery is here in living color. It's Not About the Bike is the perfect title for this book about life, death, illness, family, setbacks, and triumphs, but not especially about the bike. --Jill Lightner
Product Description
The #1 New York Times bestseller with legs as strong as its author's.
Lance Armstrong is one of the most talked about- and inspirational-sports figures of all time. He was Sports Illustrated 's 2002 Sportsman of the Year-and now, after his record-shattering string of Tour de France victories, some are proclaiming him the greatest athlete of all time.
This is the book in which he shares his journey through triumph, tragedy, transformation, and transcendence. It is the story of a world-famous cyclist and his fight against cancer.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 718 more reviews...
 Need inspiration?!? December 23, 2008
If you are looking for a book to get you off your but and moving this is the book for you. I have never felt as lazy as I did after reading Lance Armstrongs story. He will not only inspire you to be more active he'll make you see the value of trusting yourself, loyalty, and taking control of your life. Im not he fastest reader around but I read this book in one day! This book is a must for anyone who likes true stories of determination and inner strength winning against all odds.
BRILLIANT.BEST SPORTS BOOK EVER! December 20, 2008
What a story. This book is for everyone and anyone. Even non sports fans will love this.
 A Story About The Power Of The Human Spirit December 13, 2008
Before reading this book I knew that Lance Armstrong survived Cancer to win a bike race, how naive I was. First off, the Cancer was mostly in his brain and required an incredible surgery and a large amount of painful recovery. Secondly, the bike race was the Tour De France which is a 2,000+ mile race around the circumference of a nation. His tale is so much more than that of an athlete trying to complete a dream. This might sound cliche but this was a story about the power of the human spirit to overcome social, emotional and physical odds.
It's Not About the Bike, it's about Living Strong! November 7, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The book begins: "I want to die at a hundred years old with an American flag on my back and the star of Texas on my helmet, after screaming down an Alpine descent on a bicycle at 75 miles per hour." When I first read those words, I found the book impossible to put down.
I purchased my first copy of It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life right here four days after it was released in the spring of 2000, and read it immediately. I read many chapters of it to my youngest son over the following years, and we discussed its message even in his early grade school years. Lance Armstrong became a personal hero to him, as he has been to me.
Have given this book as a gift, sometimes in its paperback form and other times as a hardbound, and only once have I given it to a fellow cyclist -- it's often been to friends who have gone through a battle with cancer, either themselves or with someone close to them. And now I see that it's available here in a Kindle Edition, so I'm sure that I'll be giving it again... and if I ever get my own Kindle, it's going to be the first book that I get in that media.
I'm a cyclist of the mountain/trail bike variety, but as the title of the book says, "It's Not About the Bike." I've never had cancer, but have had numerous close family members and friends who have been victims of this most dreaded disease, including my mother and my oldest son's mother. This is perhaps why I find Lance's story so inspirational. It's more than a story of his amazing athletic achievements and cancer recovery, this is a true story about the triumph of the inner self.
Since the book was originally published, 'Maillot Jaune' (Lance's nickname in French for 'Yellow Jersey') has gone on to break so many cycling records. In his final tour before retirement in 2005, he crossed the finishing line on the Champs-Elysees on July 24th to win his 7th consecutive Tour de France title. Since his retirement, he has focused his efforts on the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which provides support for people affected by cancer. And yes, I'm one of those who wears a yellow LIVESTRONG wristband on a daily basis in support of his efforts.
Lance has also written a moving and insightful follow-up to this book, Every Second Counts which offers another facet to this inspirational athlete who is both motivated and motivating. And now we hear that Lance Armstrong, at age 37, will be making his pro-cycling comeback, and he's already in training, and put in 20-24 hours a week on the bike throughout October. He's pledged to continue with his national call to action on cancer prevention and survivorship program.
If you're looking for a book about cycling, this isn't it. Read the title and that will tell you that. I found his message of optimism to be quite stirring, and hope that you will as well.
It's Not About the Bike, My Journey Back to Life Review November 1, 2008
Lance Armstrong was a strong, single, 25-year-old world-class athlete that was diagnosed with testicular cancer in October of 1996. It's Not About the Bike, My Journey Back to Life is his story. Through x-rays and severe symptoms, the doctors finally pinpointed his disease and Armstrong embarked on the most aggressive form of chemotherapy as soon as possible. Although being testicular cancer, it had metastasized through his entire body to even his lungs and brain. This man even underwent surgery before his chemotherapy treatments and afterwards. Before his treatments to remove the cancer his chemotherapy could not and afterwards to fix and smooth out complications brought up by the chemotherapy. You will have to read to find out what exactly those complications were. Even before his final chemotherapy treatment on December 13, 1996, Lance began to ride again, but this time for a different reason, for the love of it, not because it was his career. He even said, "it was something I had to do for pleasure--like poetry." After Armstrong's grueling fourth cycle of chemotherapy he began to ride again and train. Yes, as a career, but with a new sense of passion and accomplishment. He had married a woman he had met one month after his treatments and went on to race in the Tour de France, which you all can guess the outcome. Lance was now a "record-breaking seven-time winner of the Tour de France, a cancer survivor, a husband, a father, a son," and of course, "a Human being."
Although this book does not go into extreme details of how cancer forms and specifically testicular cancer, it does talk about the multi-cellular level and what stages this cancer undergoes. With this absence of information, the reader is able to concentrate on the emotional appeal brought up by the spreading of cancer, treatments and the overall affect of this great athlete's life. However, overall this book was extremely informative. It gave great experiential information and therefore a chance for the reader to understand the steps of a process such as cancer and how it affects the person who has it but the family and close friends as well. As the book progresses reader's began seeing cancer as monster, and questioning its reasons for taking over a man's life and why it would inhibit the natural ways of life such as marriage and reproduction. But as readers, we are triumphant over cancer just as Lance Armstrong was, because we are with him during this time, and through his description we are able to understand closer to what cancer truly is and how people overcome it, even when its at the most dangerous stage and the survival rate is only 3%. Anyone can read medical pages with boring facts, but to read this book is true meaning behind the word cancer.
I personally have not had cancer, but I have had plenty of family members that have, including my cousin having testicular cancer. Although he overcame it in the early stages and before I was old enough to understand what was going on, this book really came me a true insight to a little of what he and other victims of this disease must go through if they want a chance at a normal life afterwards. Armstrong writes in an empathetic way, not only for himself but in a way that makes people want to help everyone in their own lives and societies. Lance Armstrong even did this himself by creating the Lance Armstrong Foundation which helps to research for cures and treatments for cancer. After reading this book, the word cancer has an entirely deep, empathetic, and different meaning.
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