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Review
A rattling good ride through the highlights of each race...a brisk solo breakaway through a history littered with bad behaviour… hugely entertaining - Independent
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
Few sporting contests have roused such blind passions and filthy suspicions as the Tour de France. From Lance Armstrong's incredible comeback from cancer, to Tom Simpson's death on the slopes of Mont Ventoux, the Tour has been the stage for some of sport's most monumental triumphs and the scene of some of its darkest hours. Since Maurice Garin's inaugural victory in 1903, hundreds of thousands of kilometres have been covered in pursuit of the yellow jersey - cycling's holy grail - and few have been without incident or drama. And on 7 July 2007, the whole pedalling circus is descending on London! But will the Great British Public be ready for an invasion of neck to thigh slippery lycra, gaudy Geiger-alien headwear, aerodynamic neoprene pixyboots, and Space Age carbon fibre bicycles weighing less than a dinky toy but costing more than a family car? Not without this book, they won't. It's a no-holds-barred look at the rivalries, characters and controversies that have given century-old race its unique colour. Matt Rendell's vivid and entertaining narrative combines the Tour's golden legends with tales from its dark side, capturing the true and often surreal spirit of the world's most arduous race.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I ordered this item with the highest expectations, having read Matt Rendell's superb biography of Il Pirata: The Death of Marco Pantani. Which book I'd recommend wholeheartedly to anyone interested in cycling and its many highs and perhaps even more numerous lows; but unfortunately, I can not recommend this one.
Having read the book, I can't tell you how disappointed I am.
No information which is not available in a hundred earlier books; I shan't cite them here but if you are a TdF fan or a cycling fan at all, you probably have all of them already. Also, there are some outright faults with this book, quite gratuitous, inexplicable in a professional publication.
Firstly, the photographs. Oh, there are some wonderful vintage photos in this book; including several I'd never seen before. They're all captioned, sure, but some of the most intriguing are not referenced in the text at all! For instance, I *really* wanted to know what was going on in the picture captioned, 'One transitory headache for Andre Darrigade; one mortal blow for Constant Wouters ... He never regained consciousness and died eleven days later' (p.132). Is this really a photograph of a rider suffering a brain hemorrage or whatever and dying on his bike? Does this have anything to do with the Tour de France? I don't know! And unfortunately, after reading this book, I still don't know, because the picture and its caption are not referenced in the text. Likewise, there are some famous TdF pictures - like the one with the peloton deciding they'd had enough of this and wanted to do some sea-bathing instead, p.110 - which as a cycling fan I knew about; but if you were approaching this stuff for the first time you'd have no more idea after reading this book, since the incident is not mentioned in the text. Nor is poor Abdulkader Zaaf, whose picture appears on the very next page (111); a Muslim who had never touched alcohol in his life, this guy accepted a bidon from a bystander and quaffed it in one, in his desperate thirst, unaware that it contained red wine. He immediately became so drunk that he set off again in the wrong direction and eventually collapsed and had to abandon. He then returned to his home country where he was arrested as a spy, and spent several years in prison. This is a tragic story and deserves far more than the pseudo-comic photographic caption this book chooses to give it.
There are just *loads* of other photos printed with captions but no context - highly frustrating at best, and at worst, very disrespectful to the persons concerned.
And finally - I simply cannot believe, CANNOT believe, that Matt Rendell does not even mention Fabio Casartelli in his account of the 1995 Tour de France. The guy DIED for heaven's sake; please let it be the last fatality on the Tour? But does Rendell mention him. No. Nada. Not one word. NOTHING.
Dunce's cap and in the corner until next period, I think. Very disappointing book. Not a patch on the Pantani biography. Alas, I'll think more than twice before buying another of Matt Rendell's books.
I'm just happy that I got a discount here at Amazon because otherwise, I'd be even more annoyed!
Having read the book, I can't tell you how disappointed I am.
No information which is not available in a hundred earlier books; I shan't cite them here but if you are a TdF fan or a cycling fan at all, you probably have all of them already. Also, there are some outright faults with this book, quite gratuitous, inexplicable in a professional publication.
Firstly, the photographs. Oh, there are some wonderful vintage photos in this book; including several I'd never seen before. They're all captioned, sure, but some of the most intriguing are not referenced in the text at all! For instance, I *really* wanted to know what was going on in the picture captioned, 'One transitory headache for Andre Darrigade; one mortal blow for Constant Wouters ... He never regained consciousness and died eleven days later' (p.132). Is this really a photograph of a rider suffering a brain hemorrage or whatever and dying on his bike? Does this have anything to do with the Tour de France? I don't know! And unfortunately, after reading this book, I still don't know, because the picture and its caption are not referenced in the text. Likewise, there are some famous TdF pictures - like the one with the peloton deciding they'd had enough of this and wanted to do some sea-bathing instead, p.110 - which as a cycling fan I knew about; but if you were approaching this stuff for the first time you'd have no more idea after reading this book, since the incident is not mentioned in the text. Nor is poor Abdulkader Zaaf, whose picture appears on the very next page (111); a Muslim who had never touched alcohol in his life, this guy accepted a bidon from a bystander and quaffed it in one, in his desperate thirst, unaware that it contained red wine. He immediately became so drunk that he set off again in the wrong direction and eventually collapsed and had to abandon. He then returned to his home country where he was arrested as a spy, and spent several years in prison. This is a tragic story and deserves far more than the pseudo-comic photographic caption this book chooses to give it.
There are just *loads* of other photos printed with captions but no context - highly frustrating at best, and at worst, very disrespectful to the persons concerned.
And finally - I simply cannot believe, CANNOT believe, that Matt Rendell does not even mention Fabio Casartelli in his account of the 1995 Tour de France. The guy DIED for heaven's sake; please let it be the last fatality on the Tour? But does Rendell mention him. No. Nada. Not one word. NOTHING.
Dunce's cap and in the corner until next period, I think. Very disappointing book. Not a patch on the Pantani biography. Alas, I'll think more than twice before buying another of Matt Rendell's books.
I'm just happy that I got a discount here at Amazon because otherwise, I'd be even more annoyed!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A very disappointing read, not least because the prospect of some photos of historic moments and riders seemed to promise so much more.
Passable enough as a run-through - that's literally all this is. The writing is often garbled and the attempted humour just doesn't work. For all the concentration on the history and quirky anecdotes, topics such as the introduction of the green jersey or king of the mountains categories get no mention - they just suddenly appear on the list at the end of each summary of how the race was lost/won in any given year.
As a last gripe, there are just too many typos in the book.
Overall, this feels like a book that was written in a hurry. You get a passing sense of the author's enthusiasm and can't help feeling that, with a bit more work, this would have been a really enjoyable read.
Passable enough as a run-through - that's literally all this is. The writing is often garbled and the attempted humour just doesn't work. For all the concentration on the history and quirky anecdotes, topics such as the introduction of the green jersey or king of the mountains categories get no mention - they just suddenly appear on the list at the end of each summary of how the race was lost/won in any given year.
As a last gripe, there are just too many typos in the book.
Overall, this feels like a book that was written in a hurry. You get a passing sense of the author's enthusiasm and can't help feeling that, with a bit more work, this would have been a really enjoyable read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If you know nothing about "Le Tour" - or you like old photos of "Le Tour" - then this might be a book for you... but be warned, there is nothing of substance here. It is written with such economy in terms of words/per year (a small page or two for each year the Tour has been held) that you cannot get any real sense of the race itself.
I enjoyed Matt Rendell's "The Death of Marco Pantani", I liked his style and the sympathy he gave his subject. However, there is no comparison between his writing in that book, and the style he employs in this.
In "Blazing Saddles" Rendell is terse, cynical and at times cruel. He fails to achieve anything much, except to present to the reader a number of wonderful old Tour photos (with dubious and rather disrespectful captions), a small muddled and at times oblique summary of each race, along with the top three finishers.
If you want to read about the Tour De France, there are a wealth of fantastic, informative, books out there, and this is most definitely not one of them.
Two stars - as the pictures are great and it is easy to flick through.
I enjoyed Matt Rendell's "The Death of Marco Pantani", I liked his style and the sympathy he gave his subject. However, there is no comparison between his writing in that book, and the style he employs in this.
In "Blazing Saddles" Rendell is terse, cynical and at times cruel. He fails to achieve anything much, except to present to the reader a number of wonderful old Tour photos (with dubious and rather disrespectful captions), a small muddled and at times oblique summary of each race, along with the top three finishers.
If you want to read about the Tour De France, there are a wealth of fantastic, informative, books out there, and this is most definitely not one of them.
Two stars - as the pictures are great and it is easy to flick through.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great place to start learning about the Tour
I thought I'd stick my oar in because previous reviewers have been so damning - this book isn't as bad as portrayed. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Chuffy
blazing saddles - tour de france
thank you for sending this book so promptly. It is a Christmas present for my brother, an avid cyclist, and it arrived in plenty of time for me to get it sent off to him, and as... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mrs. H. J. Shaddick
A Superficial Snow Job
As a reference book, a quick and easy guide to look up and see who won which tour when, this book has its uses. Read more
Published on 17 July 2008 by Matthew Taylor
A long list
Very turgid. You find yourself going from 1910 to 1960 and thinking did anything happen in those years. Read more
Published on 22 Jan 2008 by Mark Mango Bingo
A whistlestop tour of the Tour
Matt Rendell changes gear after the excellent DEATH OF MARCO PANTANI for something a little lighter. Read more
Published on 11 Dec 2007 by Lucy
Tedious
I bought this book and although I read the whole thing, I was glad to have finished it. The couple of pages devoted to each Tour gradually become repetitive and tiresome, and this... Read more
Published on 9 Oct 2007 by the_bald_man
fantastic
This was a fantastic read, which brought to life the key moments of the tour throughout the years. I am often accused of being a real saddo about the tour de france by my friends,... Read more
Published on 10 Aug 2007 by tifosi
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