Graham Watson (1) (1956–)

QUICK TAKE: As I write this, I'm watching the final stage of the Tour de France, a grueling three-week cycling competition that's had a rough couple of years. Not only has it struggled to rid itself of blood-doping riders, but it has had to find its way following the retirement of seven-time champ Lance Armstrong. I relived some of the Armstrong years between stages of this year's Tour by paging through Images of a Champion.

Armstrong wrote the opening page of each chapter and invited family, show more friends, rivals, coaches, and teammates to pen the closing pages. Together they tell the story of a fierce competitor unwilling to quit or finish second. The full-page photography of Graham Watson carries the book, however. His large, full-page photos capture some of the drama and color of the race, as well as the scenes of the French countryside so familiar to Tour watchers.

A couple years ago I read Armstrong's It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life. It's a much more thorough autobiography and covers his cancer battle well. Images of a Champion makes a nice illustrated companion to that book.

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Illustrated book about disgraced US cyclist Armstrong before his fraud was made publicly known. He has been stripped on all his Tour de France wins and banned from racing. There is a sad Forward to the book by Robin Williams who called him a hero and the Uniballer (Stephen Colbert said he was a true American since he beat the French at their own race with just one testicle.) Only one mention of Bob Roll who helped him come back to racing. Bob is a nice guy. Armstrong isn't. Library discard, show more but tossing this one to the recycling bin where it belongs. show less