Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong

Before I get to the reasons why you should read this book, let me say I agree with a previous reviewer that this book could have done with more judicious editing. At times it becomes breathless and confusing. It reads as tho' some of it was written too hastily or to a newspaper deadline. Perhaps Walsh is by now too close to his material, tho' I find it easy to forgive him for his occasional repetitions and confusions 'cos I have only admiration for his ethical clarity, persistence, and courage. There's an immediacy and indignation in this book that I find compelling. Before reading this, I was more than convinced that Armstrong was a doper. But, to my shame, I hadn't thought through the implications of that. I had no idea of the harm he has done to cycling specifically, sport in general, and to many people--not only those who are upright and innocent, but fellow doping cyclists. Walsh has convinced me not only of Armstrong's doping, but of the individual and collective costs of doping. I am astonished at the brazenness of Armstrong and those around him, the apparent obsequiousness and cowardice of pro-cycling's governing body, and what can only be described as the appallingly craven attitude of the majority of the press. And Walsh's bromides at the UK libel laws are well aimed. I once viewed Armstrong as merely the most successful in a long list of cycling cheaters who competed with a nod and a wink on a more-or-less level playing field. I now have an idea of the dangers and costs of doping. Walsh left me with a vision of Armstrong as a sociopathic, bullying, criminal whose continuing denials can only mask a desperately sad person. This is a fascinating portrayal of an extremely sordid world.

David Walsh lived and breathed the Lance Armstrong story for years--years when he reported (into a headwind!) facts that few wanted to know. He was abandoned by his fellow writers, ignored by most cycling fans and vilified by LA and his entourage of fanboys and lawyers. In reading this book, I got the sense that the story gushed out of David Walsh's tortured soul onto the page. So, I think he can be forgiven for writing this book in a rush immediately after the USADA report was released, even though I agree with other reviewers that the writing is sloppy in places.This is an absolutely fascinating story yet troubling on many levels. It is not that hard to understand the cheating itself: in a culture where cheating is rampant, the watchdogs are looking the other way (even helping out), and there's a culture of omerta, it's almost hard to see how anyone could resist the temptation. What makes this story so deeply distressing is the combination of arrogance and viciousness (Lance), conspiracy (Weisel et al, UCI), gullibility (fans) and sycophancy (media) that allowed it not only to happen but to go on for well over a decade before the bizarre web of lies and cruelty finally blew up. Ultimately this story isn't about a guy who cheated to win a few races, it's about some very dark aspects of human nature: the desire to "win" at all costs, the corrupting power of money and influence, the strange need to turn flawed humans into heroes, and the fear of telling the truth when the truth is unpopular.

The book he thought he'd never get to write !!Despite all his doubters, all the adversities, the UCI's vested interests, the discrediting public put-downs and legal threats by Armstrong and his cronies, David Walsh battled on. Knowing he had the support of his friend and outspoken anti-doping journalist Paul Kimmage, and the committed support of a small group of close friends who had once been at the heart of the Armstrong camp but who had long-since seen enough, Walsh proved himself one of the most courageous journalists in refusing to walk away from his suspicions, refusing to shy away from the risky path he'd chosen....He tenaciously persisted in going to the bone to lay bare the facts behind Armstrong's 7 successive Tour victories. Facts that were borne out in the eventual testimonies of Armstrong's former team mates in the USADA investigation.This is a great book.........The achievement of Lance Armstrong in fighting his way back from advanced cancer to become a top cyclist again is incredible.........is so admirable that that in itself is a feat we should all be amazed at and which would sustain his Livestrong charity for the rest of his life.......But no, not good enough for Lance.......He had to win a Tour.......eventually 7 in a row.....to become the greatest...... And he could not do that without doping..........To join him in that mission, you couldn't be a part of his team unless you were prepared to do likewise........It's simple... you wouldn't be able to keep up with your team leader in training or in a live race without doping as well.Excellent detailed account by David Walsh.....I read it end to end in a day !!

What an interesting book this is and what a difficult time the author had when trying to get people to believe that Armstrong was taking drugs. His suspicions were aroused early in Armstrong`s career and David Walsh spent many years getting information and facts and writing newspaper and magazine columns telling of his suspicions.During that long, and difficult task, Armstrong became more and more famous and thus was more and more protected by the people around him. He also became enormously powerful and used this to try and stymie any individual to whom he took a dislike. He used people when it suited him and cast them aside when they were no longer needed. He wrecked people`s businesses and careers. He was a very vindictive individual.As we now know, all of the above is true. David Walsh I think, should be congratulated on winning the long battle he had. He too had some horrible difficulties in his life, but overcame them to write this fascinating biography.

Also includes some stuff about Lance Armstrong.There's a couple of things I didn't like about this book. Firstly, most cycling books are interesting and fun to read, full of entertaining characters and stories. The way this one is written and edited make it dull, rambling and boring. If you didn't already know about doping in cycling, this book wouldn't help as you'd probably stop reading it before you got halfway through.The second issue I had was this is a book that is mainly about the author. This could be fine, except he doesn't come across as a particularly likeable person. He goes to great lengths to try to show that he and those on his team are the 'good guys', and that Lance Armstrong in particular is the devil incarnate. The result is the author spends most of the book insulting everyone who doesn't agree with him, dismissing them as idiots or cowards, even having a go at the actor Robin Williams at one point for no good reason. At the same time he attempts to portray his friends and allies as perfect saints, even though they are mostly ex dopers or were complicit in doping. There's also some interesting items that are mentioned but never explored - the author is stated to have paid his sources for their stories, which seems significant, but this is only mentioned once and then never discussed.You're left with the overall impression of a vindictive and obsessive man, much less likeable than the people he's endeavouring to expose.Ultimately the issue of doping was exposed by other authors and riders and despite the authors best efforts to talk up his role in this up he comes across as bitter and frustrated by his failure. There's plenty of other books about doping and cycling which are far more entertaining than this one.

I read this book after watching the film "The Program" on [Amazon's] Prime Video, which is based on the book "Seven Deadly Sins". This is the story of Lance Armstrong's rise and fall from the point of view of a journalist who, initially impressed with Lance when he met him a few years before he doped, and subsequently refused to believe he was not doping. He was right about this, as Lance finally revealed many years later. Of course, many other riders were doping, but Lance applied an almost demonic professionalism to his approach and was paid very large sums of money. David Walsh and others suffered abuse and intimidation by Lance Armstrong, who used bullying tactics to restrict access only to the believers. Read the book and watch the film.Lance Armstrong also raised money for cancer with his Livestrong campaign, which was a force for good, but, like the Midas touch, it can be difficult to feel that everything he touched is tainted with his relentless pursuit of the yellow jersey and Tour de France victories, of which he was subsequently stripped. Armstrong is not alone in his guilt. The cycling organisations do not come out of it well. I have sympathy for the individual cyclists themselves, whose dreams and ambitions made it difficult for them not to be involved. Fortunately some do have the courage to speak out, but we know from then and from other events outside sport that nobody close to the controversy likes a whistleblower.Afterwards it is difficult for me to believe that there is not doping, in whatever form, in all sports where money is involved. Not all athletes do it, but to succeed, it looks like it is the only way and it does raise the question: "how far can and should you go?" to succeed in sport. After all, once upon a time professional athletes were spurned by the purist amateurs. Amateurs who were sometimes independently wealthy and a privileged few, who distanced themselves from the upstart professionals from the rank and file of the population who had to work 6 days a week or more to feed themselves and their families. It is a debate that will run and run, and I don't know if there will ever be a resolution.

In the absence of an English language version of LA Confidentiel by Walsh and Ballister, this is the best account of Armstrong's cheating alongside Walsh's own story on what (and how) he did to expose it. He unflinchingly casts a light on everyone who colluded with Armstrong without ever being vindictive or overly judgmental. An essential read, not just for fans of pro-cycling but anyone interested in doping, investigative reporting and sports administration.

If like me you follow pro cycling and I have for over 40 years now and have loved the great spectacle that the Tour de France is reading this book is going to hurt and hurt a lot. Throughout the Armstrong era I passionately believed in Armstrong. Yes I'd read and heard rumours of his cheating but just could not believe that a guy who'd gone through what he had could be riding under the influence of drugs. Imagine my disappointment when it all finally came out. I can't really put it into words. My one hope is that these days pro cycling is for the main part clean sadly because of Armstrong there will always be that lingering doubt. I still watch the Tour de France every year and will continue to do so. I live with hope that the Armstrong years have helped to finally helped turn a wonderful sport around. Well for the most part at least. David Walsh's book I believe has done most to bring this about.

So sad about this book. When I was a kid I loved watching the Tour with my Dad, it was an annual must do.We truly believed the drama the super human efforts and the amazing inspiration that Lance was.When the news finally broke I didn't want to believe it, there were high profile 'bad tours' where riders were busted and you just thought they were one offs but gradually as I've got older I stopped believing and stopped watching the tour.So I finally read this book years later when I was ready to accept it and learn the truth, it truly is shocking, whats worse than the lie is that it details that he was just better at cheating than all the other cheats in cycling at that time and if you were't cheating you weren't competitive.Don't read it if you still love the tour as you may never watch it again after you do.