Tour de France: The History, The Legend, The Riders Book

Second read - A comprehensive look at the Tour de France over the years by an excellent author who seems to have swallowed a dictionary. I certainly needed one by my side when reading this book and I thank him for extensively extending my vocabulary. I like the fact that he links in his own cycling exploits on the TDF roads to the exploits of the riders on these same roads. The detail and research needed must have been phenomenal so chapeau for that. In the end I found finishing the book hard work but my interest kept me reading. It's a well written book but you have to be deeply interested in the TDF to finish it.
First Read - It a long read but enjoyable and very detailed. The first part was historical and mixed up with the authors own cycling journeys, later, it settled down to a year by year description of the race. The authors very literary background meant I had to keep a dictionary handy and, in the course, of reading I learned quite a few new words. The finish is a bit disappointing; I felt he should have talked about the future of the race vis a vis cheating and drug taking, instead we got a eulogy about how glorious the race is, an approach that is hard to understand in view of the sordid events of the last 20 years (or more). I have always said that the mixture of an amazing race, history, cheating, and drugs played out in the magnificent backdrop of France, especially in the mountains, gives us cycling anoraks something to talk about. La Gloire…maybe. Le Doping…..for sure.