Arts & Humanities

In this extraordinary interpretation of Western architecture, Harbison (architecture, London Metropolitan Univ.; Reflections on Baroque), a well-traveled and exceptionally knowledgeable English architectural historian, begins with Egyptian architecture; continues with Greek, Roman, Byzantine, medieval, Renaissance, and baroque; and ends with three chapters on 19th-century, modern, and postmodern architecture. Harbison relays his opinions, which are captivating, direct, and personal, on individual buildings. He approaches this history with the philosophy of New Criticism in mind, considering each building with an "innocent eye" and "the fresh vision of the child in [him]self." VERDICT This book could serve as a secondary survey of Western architecture for architecture students, professionals, and devotees, although more maps, plans, and pictures of individual regions and monuments would have been useful. Harbison's expression of his personal and professional views is unbelievably shattering and breathtaking; he has the capacity to alter the entire history of Western architecture for 100 years to come.—Peter S. Kaufman, Boston Architectural Ctr.

Topical essays about the history of skyscrapers, global skyscraper culture, the economic and political forces involved, the mixed use of space, and environmental sensitivities buttress this breathtaking visual journey of the world's iconic skyscrapers. Superior full-page halftone photos emphasize buildings of the last decade. In his previous The Big Idea: Criticality and Practice in Contemporary Architecture, Johnson (architecture, Univ. of Southern California) applied recent architectural theory to current practices. Using the skyscraper as a metaphor for the intersection of engineering, commerce, and consumption, he here delves into manifestations of its associative cultural significance and psychology. Sections on supertall buildings in Asia and the Middle East, designer cults, "art skyscrapers," and creative collaborations between artists and architects are well articulated. Johnson suggests that half of the world's skyscrapers have been built since 2000, and he optimistically expects the current construction pace to continue. VERDICT Appropriately "tall" (the book is 8.5" × 14") and attractively priced, this complete package will most appeal to architecture students and historians as well as practicing architects.—Russell T. Clement, Northwestern Univ. Lib., Evanston, IL

I.M. Pei's starkly monumental yet elegant 1978 East Building addition to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, is the focus of ten scholarly essays and a documentary portfolio of photos, drawings, and plans. However, the subject of this book in a broader sense is the theory and criticism of "orthodox" modernism as it has evolved from the post-World War II period to the present. Well documented and nicely illustrated, the essays Alofsin (architecture & art history, Univ. of Texas, Austin; Frank Lloyd Wright: Europe and Beyond) includes are expanded versions of lectures given at a 2004 symposium held in Washington in commemoration of the East Building's 25th anniversary. VERDICT Alofsin and nine other distinguished art and architecture scholars approach the subject from different directions, but all conclude that owing to Pei's extraordinary sensitivity to site, materials, and function, the East Building succeeds while the value of other iconic offspring of the International Style now seems far more ambiguous. For museologists, architects, and art historians trying to keep pace with the ever-shifting reevaluations of the modernist past.—David Soltész, Cuyahoga Cty. P.L., Parma, OH

Issued in connection with a traveling exhibition organized by the National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC), this is a tribute to late 19th-century collecting, display or concealment, and private enjoyment of prints, drawings, and watercolors as well as small objects such as cameos, coins, medals, and small sculpture. While Parshall (curator, old master prints, National Gallery) is a prolific Renaissance scholar, the other contributors' areas of expertise run closer to this subject: S. Hollis Clayson (art history, Northwestern Univ.) authored Painted Love: Prostitution in French Art of the Impressionist Era, Christiane Hertel (art history, Bryn Mawr Coll.) has written on the history of collecting and collections, and Nicholas Penny (director, National Gallery, London) has published much in the areas of sculpture and the history of taste and collecting. VERDICT Just as the title is sophisticated in its ironic play on words and ideas, so are the essays. Complete with extensive endnotes and a checklist of works that corresponds both to the catalog and to the exhibition, this is a great read that is also serious and beautiful. For readers interested in works on paper (prints and drawings) and the history of art collecting, specifically of the late 19th century.—Jennifer Pollock, Coll. of DAAP Lib., Univ. of Cincinnati

New York City in the late 1920s and 1930s provided a stimulating environment for Gilbert Rohde to evolve from an illustrator to a nationally recognized industrial designer of furniture and interiors. Avant-garde ideas from France and Germany inspired his signature "unit," or modular furniture designs (based on the German Typenmöbel). In this thoroughly researched book, independent decorative arts scholar Ross conveys the appeal and impact of Rohde's promotion of functional lifestyle spaces for modern Americans. Although Rohde died in 1944, it is easy to see his influence later in the century—streamlined styles of affordable mass-manufactured furniture; geometric and biomorphic forms; innovative combinations of metals, new synthetics, and woods; reflections of light off glass surfaces and chrome; personal touches of plants and artwork; and savvy marketing of space-saving, often dual-purpose items to create flexible configurations and comfort in houses, offices, and urban apartments. VERDICT Students at colleges of art and design will find this book useful; also recommended for members of the public who would like to discover why much of our furniture today looks the way it does.—Anne Marie Lane, Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie

Sorkin (architecture & urban design, City Coll. of New York; Indefensible Space: The Architecture of the National Insecurity State), formerly the architecture critic for the Village Voice—sections of this book were previously published there and in Architectural Record—offers a potpourri of personal, if not always original, observations on the urban environment gleaned from his daily 20-minute walks from his home near Washington Square to his Tribeca office. He contemplates philosophers (e.g., Friedrich Engels, Walter Benjamin, Guy Debord), praises Jane Jacobs, and disdains Donald Trump's architectural developments. Most key topics relate to Manhattan urban design surface, from the removal of Richard Serra's highly controversial Tilted Arc from Federal Plaza to the history of the 1916 zoning law. By situating his discussion in two high-income neighborhoods, Sorkin avoids more challenging questions of urban poverty, sluggish economic development, culture conflict, and education. VERDICT This book is essentially a romantic epilog to Jane Jacobs's more universal The Death and Life of Great American Cities, and, on the topic of public space, it does not measure up to Kristine F. Miller's Designs on the Public or William H. Whyte's The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces.—Paul Glassman, Felician Coll. Lib., Lodi, NJ

Blending fine photographs and absorbing text, this absolutely stunning book portrays the rivers of Alabama, from their sources in the Appalachian highlands and along the rocky Chunnenuggee Hills to the coastal plain. Conservation photographer Young's 155 images are exquisite in their breadth, detail, and sensitivity. Yet this book goes far beyond fine photography with the lively, informative text of naturalist Hall (curator, Black Belt Museum, Univ. of West Alabama), becoming a photo-essay that tells a wonderful story of our past, present, and future. The detailed text is well organized into broad chapters: "Headwaters," "The Alabama Uplands," "The Fall Line," and "The Coastal Plain." As Rick Middleton (executive dir., Southern Environmental Law Ctr.) states in his foreword, this book "simplifies the complex and gets at the heart of our connection to nature and place." VERDICT Carefully edited and designed, this book expresses a powerful theme about conservation and our stewardship of precious natural resources that goes far beyond state and region. Highly recommended, it will appeal to broad audiences—photographers from amateurs to professionals, conservationists, environmentalists, and others who simply enjoy nature and wildlife.—Raymond Bial, First Light Photography, Urbana, IL

These latest compilations of short bursts of theatricality assembled by Harbison (after, e.g., The Best Women's Stage Monologues of 2008) bring us plays that, at their best, are like cold drinks of water on a summer day: bracing, refreshing, and startling. A noticeable number take place in cemeteries or funeral homes, locations where, in real life, emotions are at their most concentrated. The plays within each title are arranged according to casting needs (one male and one female, three females, etc.), and each play has been produced professionally (information on performance rights is included). Standouts from the Two Actors volume include A Funeral Home in Brooklyn, in which David Johnston gives new meaning to conspicuous consumption, and Ian August's Godfrey, about the real tooth fairy. Highlighting the Three or More Actors collection are Lisa Soland's The Other Shoe, which features a character known as "The dropper" (put two and two together here) and Vanessa David's Christmas play with a cast of often-overlooked but ever-present characters (Current Season). VERDICT The comedic selections among these plays reinforce the ridiculous predicament of the human condition, while the dramatic take us to the edge of the tragic (some of these are reminiscent of the best Twilight Zone episodes). Get two to five of your friends together and put on a show—or three. For drama students and anyone auditioning.—Larry Schwartz, Minnesota State Univ. Lib., Moorhead

Alfred Bertram "Bud" Guthrie Jr. (1901–91) may not be a household name, but his novels The Big Sky and the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Way West and his screenplay for Shane are notable achievements, each resulting, in part, from Guthrie's enormous passion for the history of the West. Benson (The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer; Wallace Stegner) relays Guthrie's birth in Bedford, IN, and his childhood in Choteau, MT, where he developed a love of nature, which influenced Guthrie's later activism on behalf of the environment. Guthrie had a natural tendency for hard work and a steely determination; these characteristics coupled with his tough-minded reporting experience and a decided taste for realism were major contributions to his depiction of the West and his popularity. Guthrie drank too much, was considered by some to be a womanizer, married twice, and experienced family problems—none of which diminished his reputation as a great talent. VERDICT The impact of Guthrie's view of the frontier cannot be underestimated. This biography is recommended for fans of Guthrie's books, Western enthusiasts, and literature scholars.—Robert Kelly, Fort Wayne Community Schs., IN

In this anomalous collection of eight essays, Brown (The Gifts of the Body) juxtaposes her personal history with classic literature and movies. In "A Child of Her Time," she reminisces about the abundance of oranges when she was growing up in Jacksonville, FL, in the 1960s and how it contrasts with the children in books of Laura Ingalls Wilder, who are thrilled to receive the fruit as Christmas presents. "Extreme Readings" explains how Brown identified with A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man as she traveled on a bus to a summer bible camp. Brown aligns the movie version of Shane with the day when her father and mother broke up their marriage. Each essay is followed by extensive notes revealing additional thoughts, explanations, and source material. VERDICT This whimsical flight of imagination shows how books and reading have influenced the author's life. Recommended for creative writing students and aspiring writers.—Joyce Sparrow, JWB Children's Svcs. Council, Clearwater, FL

Playing on the title of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, Flaherty, a New York Times editor who teaches journalism at New York University, shares 50 simple and insightful tips on the many elements writers can convey in stories. Not a style guide, this is instead a nuts-and-bolts examination of the larger elements of a story. First and most adamantly, he stresses the importance of bringing a human face to every story. Flaherty gives us real and invented examples of the cream of the crop of nonfiction writing in the form of narrative news articles. VERDICT This book can be read in one fell swoop to expose yourself to the full spectrum of story elements—such as theme, motion, artfulness, truth and fairness, leads, and titles—or it can be used as a guide during the process of writing nonfiction. An essential read for both freelance writers and students of journalism.—David L. Reynolds, Cleveland P.L.

Graham (Rebuilding the House; Singing the City: The Bonds of Home in an Industrial Landscape) has written before about the concepts of place and of home. Rather than a cohesive work, her latest is a series of essays generally dealing with themes of place and grief. The first two chapters, "Bibliophillia" and "L'achat," were originally published in Creative Nonfiction and have a different feel from the last four chapters, which deal with Graham's life in Paris during her husband's illness and after his death. Taken as a whole, this book is more about the author, her grief, and a sense of home and her perceptions (as filtered through language) of her surroundings than about the joy of a linguistic tour of a second home. VERDICT Graham's writing style is erudite and engaging, and the book is a pleasant read; however, those in search of female authors' memoirs about losing spouses may be better served by Anne Roiphe's Epilogue or Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking. —Felicity D. Walsh, Emory Univ., Decatur, GA

Schwartz (literature, Penn State Univ.; The Matrix of Modernism: Pound, Eliot, and Early Twentieth-Century Thought) examines each work in C.S. Lewis's "Space Trilogy" to not only discover similarities in structure but also to posit the development of Lewis's response to the evolution of modern thought. In Schwartz's view, the first work, Out of the Silent Planet (1938), confronts orthodox Darwinism as expressed in the writings of H.G. Wells. In Perelandra (1943), he argues, Lewis challenges the theory of creative evolution as expressed in the writings of Henri Bergson. The third work, That Hideous Strength (1945), employs the gothic element from the novels of Charles Williams to reaffirm Christian humanism in the modern world. In addition to his analysis of each work as a progression of Lewis's thought, Schwartz offers some frank commentary on an unfinished manuscript, The Dark Tower, published posthumously in 1977. He also offers an extensive section of notes, and the bibliography is substantial. VERDICT Schwartz assumes that his readers have a thorough familiarity with the trilogy as well as with the philosophical underpinnings of modern intellectual discourse. Lewis scholars, not casual fans, will best appreciate this work.—Anthony Pucci, Notre Dame H.S., Elmira, NY

Adapted from the popular "Fine Lines" column of the female-centric blog Jezebel.com, this collection of essays offers sentimental retrospectives blended with a little literary criticism on beloved children's and YA classics, most of which are popular with girls. Jezebel contributor Skurnick collects her own essays and a few others by an all-female ensemble of contemporary YA luminaries such as Meg Cabot ("The Princess Diaries") and Cecily von Ziegesar ("Gossip Girl"). The essays are written in the frank, effusive style of a well-read best friend, complete with exclamations of OMG. Beyond the fond remembrances of girlhood fictional crushes, however, lie compelling examinations of how spunky heroines and their sometimes controversial but all-too-familiar trials and tribulations helped a generation of readers navigate the perennially perilous waters of adolescence. VERDICT Some of the essays are regrettably short—a book like Julie of the Wolves, for instance, deserves a more substantial analysis than the two pages it's given. Together, however, they are likely to provide any woman who grew up loving books with a satisfying voyage to the past, as well as a list of books to reread.—Megan Hodge, Randolph-Macon Coll. Lib., Ashland, VA

It is the subtitle that pertains here; the challenges in this book are fiendishly difficult. Walton has hosted BBC Radio 4's The Write Stuff, a literary quiz show, for more than a decade. This book contains ten quizzes, each consisting of five rounds, for which Walton provides annotated answers. The first, third, and fifth rounds are rapid-fire rounds, where a quick answer will suffice. The second round involves identifying extracts and their authors, and the fourth round is the most devious of all: given four literary people or things, the reader must tease out what links them. Although the book is based on the show, the knowledge required to navigate these quizzes is not solely based on British literature. A solid acquaintance with American literature is necessary, too, and children's and young adult books feature as well as adult works. VERDICT Those who wish to challenge themselves will find this an enjoyable read, but it calls for healthy arguments and group interaction. For this reason, it's especially recommended for book clubs or groups of literary friends. Be prepared to find that you know much less than you thought!—Audrey Snowden, Cleveland P.L.

Howell, senior tutor of stage combat at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, sums up Stage Fighting well with his tongue-in-cheek comment that his "job as a teacher of stage fighting is to turn men into dancers and women into warriors." Covering physical preparation, unarmed combat, and weapons, he provides step-by-step instruction accompanied by photographs for each move from "attacker" and "victim" points of view—including safety tips to prevent injury. Howell's discussion of how a fight works as part of the story, following either script or musical score, is essential for understanding what it takes to create an illusion of violence that is visually effective and safe. While much of what freelance theater designer Ayres covers in Creating Outdoor Theatre is found in any work on theater production, she adds that extra component of responsibility, safety, or practicality necessary when leaving the haven of an indoor performance space. Chapters cover, e.g., the whys and types of outdoor theater, designing and setup for outdoor spaces, audiences, and weather. The useful photographs will tickle the reader's creativity. As with all the guides in Crowood's "Practical Guide" series, the language is British rather than American (e.g., "get-out" rather than "strike" a show). And Creating Outdoor Theatre has sections dealing with local laws/regulations useless to an American reader, though they do provide the questions/concerns that need to be addressed anywhere. VERDICT Both guides focus in detail on topics that are often overlooked in other books. Stage Fighting is for actors, directors, and choreographers as well as anyone interested in staging a fight scene in theater or film. Creating Outdoor Theatre should be interesting to anyone involved in dramaturgy, but it is primarily targeted at directors, artistic directors, producers, and designers.—Laura A. Ewald, Greenville Coll. Lib., IL

The film industry is a highly competitive market, and as unromantic as it seems, filmmaking is as much about finance, business management, and law as it is about the creative process. It is true that anyone, given the right equipment, can make a film, but whether that project ever finds funding or an audience demands a more businesscentric understanding of the word production. For those who didn't minor in accounting, marketing, or contractual negotiation, Garon (law, Hamlin Univ.; Own It: The Law and Business Guide to Launching a New Business Through Innovation, Exclusivity, and Relevance) provides a clear and concise crash course on not just making a film but also making a film company. In this updated edition of a 2002 publication, all areas have been revisited, and there is an emphasis on new online technologies and the legal concerns and business considerations that lie therein. VERDICT As well organized and descriptively broken down as an outline, this is equally insightful read straight through as didactic instruction or visited circumstantially as a reference guide. An advisable read and career supplement for aspiring filmmakers and entertainment industry students.—Ben Malczewski, Ypsilanti Dist. Lib., MI

Popular music and culture critic and former girl rocker Hopper provides girls who want to rock with all the insider information and tips about starting a rock band. Hopper takes it from the top with details about choosing and learning to play the guitar, bass, drum set, and piano, as well as how to work with amps, microphones, and speakers; assembling and naming the band; practicing and learning songs; recording a solid demo; booking and publicizing performances and touring; and playing a killer show. With checklists, work sheets, and recommended reading and listening lists, Hopper also includes inspirational quotes from music legends such as Joan Jett, Patti Smith, Pat Benatar, and Nancy Wilson. Hopper provides practical information that will make parents happy, too, including how to soundproof the garage for the band's practices. VERDICT This highly informational and inspiring do-it-yourself resource will guide girls toward their rocker dreams. It will also appeal to the young-at-heart who dream of being a rock star and readers and researchers of girl culture.—Elizabeth M. Wavle, Elmira Coll. Lib., NY

The story of Kramer, drummer of the legendary rock band Aerosmith, follows the familiar rock star trajectory of childhood musical talent, struggling early years, a stratospheric rise to fame, spiraling drug addiction, and the inevitable comeback and sobriety in middle age. Kramer's tale is somewhat distinctive in that during Aerosmith's resurgent years, he fell into a deep depression. Kramer focuses on his personal life—a difficult relationship with his father, dealing with fame and riches, and the near breakdown that he suffered in the late 1990s. Using the language of therapy and recovery, he writes about the "gift of desperation" that eventually led to healing and happiness and his wish to share his story with others who might be suffering from similar issues. VERDICT Readers hoping for a more comprehensive discussion of Aerosmith's songs, albums, and concerts may want to start with Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith, but devoted fans of the band will certainly want to read Kramer's book, as he is the first member to publish his own memoir (lead singer Steven Tyler's is scheduled for this fall).—Jim Collins, Morristown-Morris Twp. P.L., NJ

The poems in Raab's sixth collection (after The Probable World) talk like John Donne in Billy Collins's clothing. He employs pop icons, movie madmen, and monsters to explore death, loss, and what it all means to be a planetary dot with immense nuclear capabilities spinning through a universe of dark matter, gases, and dust: "What once was vast/ will be small, what was endless/ will end." The poems probe the welter of forces that rush to fill the voids left by history and a culture all too good at forgetting. The pace is lackadaisical, as if you are strolling casually along with a friend, talking baseball or movies, and the friend suddenly turns and says, "I have two weeks." VERDICT Sometimes the insistence on plain language creates a rhythm that falls flat—the poems peter out, and the pattern becomes formulaic—while others like "A Friend's Umbrella" (about Emerson), "Hawthorne on His Way Home," and "The God of Snow" refocus the metaphysical. The more personal poems are embedded throughout like code; here, too, something truly essential seems at stake. The result is satisfying reading for those interested in contemporary poetry.—Susan Kelly-DeWitt, Univ. of California, Davis

Playwright, director, and nonfiction writer Swados, who won three Obie Awards and received five Tony nominations, veers in a new direction with her first poetry collection. In a tribute to escape artist Houdini, the lines are often simple and direct: "My wife practices a backbend/ outside this cheap room,/ its ripped screen door." But Swados has delved deeply into the psychological core of the performer, "Sleek and naked,/ I will defy the/ pain of human nerves." Sometimes the phrasing is awkward, "I, the artist, hang above you/ from my feet/ fifteen stories up." But Swados examines her subject from many angles: family, relational, cultural, the audience's perspective, and the artist's own. Even Arthur Conan Doyle has a conversation with Houdini in one poem, warning him, "To reach into another world/ requires intimacy with darkness." Some poems are too literal and pedantic, as is the beginning of "Scarves": "Tricks are tricks,/ objective, logical,/ excellent techniques." When Swados pushes dramatic elements, the poems lift off: "I will be a planet called/ Houdinimus and children/ will make wishes on me." VERDICT The narrative story of Houdini is always intriguing, and Swados's poems build on one another to prove the lines "man as an instrument/ of wonder." An interesting first collection.—Doris Lynch, Monroe Cty. P.L., Bloomington, IN

Buddhist thought has inspired many American poets since the Beat era, perhaps few as directly as Waldman, whose latest book (after 2004's Structure of the World Compared to a Bubble) springs from her interest in Kalachakra initiation—a practice that moves the subject toward heightened empathy with the natural world—and a profoundly mystical, personal encounter with a manatee, transformed here into a metaphor for peaceful transcendence. Though this may sound like a recipe for New Age-y self-indulgence, Waldman skillfully synthesizes her meditations on the nature of consciousness, evolution, neuroscience, and threatened species into a vibrant poetic discourse, employing a variety of literary devices—litany, parallel texts, historical narrative—to channel the urgency of her ecological message. "Surely our conscious plans have precursors in animal brains," she writes, and by thoughtlessly slaughtering other species humanity risks erasing a critical clue to its own nature: "sentient being's connection to the visceral animal." VERDICT In speaking "for the wild universe," Waldman has contributed a substantive addition to the growing body of ecopoetry.—Fred Muratori, Cornell Univ. Lib., Ithaca, NY

Poems about the dark side of childbirth can't help but recall Plath inside her damp, haunted English cottage. But, unlike Plath, Wolff in her third collection stands outside her life and points: "our house lies somewhere at the end of the road." Little more of the physical is revealed—cemeteries, a playing field, a nursing infant—as Wolff seeks precision in lingual transpositions: "why do you have to be so previous?" The book is divided into titled sections, such as "The Condition," "The Baby," and "The King," that record the mind's difficulty adjusting to motherhood. The king represents, perhaps, everything that the speaker must come to terms with, including the baby, who is both "matter and subject" (pun noted) and who changes everything. The mother is left to "queen it/ over emptiness." She is divided by everything about her condition, so that it becomes unclear even to which of the two males in her life she refers: "What he loves me for/ I do in secret." VERDICT Wolff's previous collection, Figment, won the Barnard Women Poets Prize. Her latest work is sometimes baffling yet brave and intense. A good challenge for sophisticated poetry readers.—Ellen Kaufman, New YorkReligion

This memoir of how one newspaper story led Lyons (former editor in chief, Dallas Observer) to join and become a leader in the Body of Christ Assembly in South Dallas is as much a paen to the congregation as it is the author's story. We learn of Lyons's childhood in Wisconsin and her early Christian life, but we also are treated to the backgrounds of her husband, the minister and his wife, and various other church members. At the Body of Christ Assembly, the Holy Spirit is an active presence. Stories of healing, speaking in tongues, and the casting out of demons fill these pages. The church's mission to Botswana provides an international angle to its story. Lyons contrasts her church with other local Pentecostal churches, describing sexual improprieties of other churches' ministers and their loud but spiritually empty worship. Some of her views, including that homosexuality is a sin and that men and women cannot be platonic friends, will draw some readers and deter others. VERDICT Ultimately, this book will appeal to a small, self-selected group of readers, as the author's opinions do not invite those with other spiritual opinions.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Lib., Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Nearly everyone has heard of Lance Armstrong, the imposing bicyclist who overcame testicular cancer and won seven straight (1999-2005) Tour de France races. Wilcockson (23 Days in July: Inside Lance Armstrong's Record-Breaking Tour de France Victory) provides an extensive look at his early life. Armstrong's mother became pregnant with him when she was 16, leading to her marriage to Lance's father, from whom Lance is estranged; he was named after Lance Rentzel of the Dallas Cowboys; Lance's parents came from low-income families and were ill equipped, financially and emotionally, to raise a child. Wilcockson writes of the petty crimes that Lance committed as a juvenile and of how the often unstable domestic environment of his youth would impact his own later short-lived marriage. Through it all, however, Lance became an outstanding athlete, moving from triathlon competitions to concentrating on bike racing. VERDICT Although there are nearly no details of Lance's life provided after 2005, this book offers stories and insights that will make it a popular choice for those who follow Armstrong and/or his sport.—Tim Delaney, SUNY at Oswego