Sprinting Through No Man's Land: Endurance, Tragedy, and Rebirth in the 1919 Tour de France
- Downloads：1719
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-04 06:18:56
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Adin Dobkin
- ISBN：1542018838
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Linda Galella
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I’m exhausted and might need a month off after experiencing the Tour de France from 1919。。。“Sprinting Through No Man’s Land”， by Adin Dobkin is far more than a book about a bike race。 WW1 has only just ended and Europe is reeling from the effects。 Towns， roads， cities， businesses - it’s all in some state of ruin but the people are rejuvenated， resilient and cheering for the men who engage in this gargantuan physical task。Dobkin introduces us to the key athletes; not only their biking biography I’m exhausted and might need a month off after experiencing the Tour de France from 1919。。。“Sprinting Through No Man’s Land”， by Adin Dobkin is far more than a book about a bike race。 WW1 has only just ended and Europe is reeling from the effects。 Towns， roads， cities， businesses - it’s all in some state of ruin but the people are rejuvenated， resilient and cheering for the men who engage in this gargantuan physical task。Dobkin introduces us to the key athletes; not only their biking biography but their military experiences， which play strongly throughout the book。 Driving the entire event is the Editor-In-Chief of l’Auto， the sponsor and organizer of the race。 There are additional interesting biographical sketches and historical interludes that are related to the stops and byways of the race that are very interesting。 It’s those vignettes that include the only female characters， otherwise this story is all about the boys。Intensely descriptive prose that go far beyond atmospheric， you will feel every jarring cobblestone， slop of mud， twist of painful wet leather and be thankful it’s not your hemorrhoids on that bike！ The pace of this race and the conditions under which it was conducted was brutal but the spirit of the countrymen as they rallied around these guys over the month long event was the stuff of great movies。Were this a film， it would be PG rated， for intensity only; not a foul word to be found nor an R rated interaction between consenting humans， hallelujah！Dobkin includes a Cast of Characters in the beginning that gives very brief bios。 It includes all the players and might look overwhelming。 Don’t worry。 Not that many are key to the story and keeping track isn’t hard。 In the back are his notes on Methodology and Sources。 These two items are seriously interesting。 In fact， I suggest reading the Methodology section prior to reading the bulk of the book but be sure to read the source notes as they are wonderful。From quiet determination to full fledged exhilaration， “Sprinting Through No Man’s Land” is sports， history and above all， a chance to celebrate the joy of victory📚 。。。more
Jeffrey A。
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300 plus pages about a bike race？ They pedaled。 And pedaled。 And yeah， they pedaled。 Call me skeptical…。initially。 In his debut novel， Adin Dobkin takes the reader through what was arguably one of the most grueling Tour De France’ in history， with a storyline that leaves the reader on the edge of their seat， from the days when the fate of the race itself was yet to be determined， to its finale on the streets of Paris months later。 With France still reeling from the ravages of the Great War， road 300 plus pages about a bike race？ They pedaled。 And pedaled。 And yeah， they pedaled。 Call me skeptical…。initially。 In his debut novel， Adin Dobkin takes the reader through what was arguably one of the most grueling Tour De France’ in history， with a storyline that leaves the reader on the edge of their seat， from the days when the fate of the race itself was yet to be determined， to its finale on the streets of Paris months later。 With France still reeling from the ravages of the Great War， roadways pocked with the scars of Germany’s long assault， 67 riders began a Tour that would traverse the war-torn country， navigating between towns that were no longer， towns that had barely survived， and some that would take decades to regain some semblance of normalcy。 In the best of times this weeks-long， arduous journey would have taxed the most steely of riders。 In the end， only X （no spoilers） brave souls would get to the finish line。 Dobkin introduces us to the many characters that made this event happen， and in particular， the cyclists who tortured themselves by participating in it。 Dobkin puts us into the mind of Henri Desgrange， Editor of L’Auto， as he decides whether and ultimately how to pull off this feat。 And of course there were the riders， many of whose self-confidence led them to believe that this was nothing more than a couple of weeks of single day events bundled together。 Ultimately， it was maybe more about grit and determination， than pure athletic ability， that would determine who crossed the line first。Take my word for it， this book is not just for pedal heads， WWI buffs， or even non-fiction readers （include me in the “none of the above” groups）。 Dobkin vividly captures a place in time and the people （promoters， cyclists， etc。） who strove to provide relief to a country， if not the whole world， in the aftermath of a global disaster。 With a prose that is concise and at the same time lush， a voice that draws one into the story， and a backdrop that feels eerily prescient on the eve of the 108th TdeF， Adin Dobkin gives us a remarkable story that will entertain the most demanding of readers。 。。。more
Jonathan
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