madameroyale 's review for:

The Secret Race by Tyler Hamilton, Daniel Coyle

4.0

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This was much better (ghost)written than most famous atheletes' memoirs I've tried before. It was a propulsive read and I burned through it very quick. The book gives you a really good sense of what it was like to be surrounded by this kind of constant drug use, being done everywhere by seemingly everyone, and how it would become increasingly difficult to resist the pressure as you saw every person around you perform better with just a little help that only felt like "being smart" (Hamilton's words) and not actually cheating. It's interesting to see Hamilton's perspective on drug use—how felt like he wasn't "worthy" of it at the beginning, because it was only for the best riders on the team, and the idea that while most people think of doping as a cheatsheet for those who can't hack it, for the most part it's used by people who are already working ridiculously hard, in order to try and work that much harder. "Dope is not really a magical boost as much as it is a way to control against declines" is a really useful way of framing the effects it has on the body and on performance, as are the discussions about whether it would have been possible to win clean during this era (only single-day or weeklong races, apparently). 

 

For all the fascinating peeks behind the curtain, there are a number of self-serving moments in this book that come off as extremely tone deaf, particularly in the latter half of the book where Hamilton is gunning to get Armstrong convicted for the exact same crimes he himself perpetrated while at the same time acting the victim. Even more egregious are the times when Hamilton holds up his wins as legitimate successes of his own strength and power against all comers because he finished first in races where, and I quote, "everybody has equal opportunity". I genuinely laughed out loud reading that. My man, you were doping!!

My only note on the audiobook production itself is that it's mentioned early on that the book is "written" by Hamilton and that Coyle will pop in now and again to offer context, but in audiobook format it is extremely difficult to tell when the perspective switches, as there is no signposting in the text or a voice/narrator change. The only way to know is if Coyle mentions Hamilton by name, which doesn't always happen.