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The Tour | 
 enlarge | Author: Dave Shields
Publisher: Three Story Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $8.92
You Save: $6.03 (40%)
New (18) Used (7) Collectible (2) from $5.60
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 123835
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0974849219
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780974849218
ASIN: 0974849219
Publication Date: April 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: new copy ,great burgain ,fast shipping .
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Product Description
Having won the coveted yellow jersey in stage 10, cyclist Ben Barnes continues his quest to win the Tour de France in this sequel to The Race. Despite his attempts to distance himself from the traditional political maneuvering, Ben falls victim to the repercussions associated with his success and comes face to face with outright sabotage and ongoing conflicts with team owners. This treachery, however, becomes insignificant in comparison to the specter of illegal, performance-enhancing drugs. Experiencing extreme pressure to prevail, Ben contemplates how he can be successful amidst challengers who have stacked the odds in their favor. Difficulties with his girlfriend and brutal weather conditions throughout the remaining 10 stages further conspire to derail Ben as he ascends Plateau de Bonsacre and Luz Ardiden, races through Cannes and Bordeaux, and strives to be the first to cross the finish line on the Champs-Elysees.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Thought provoking look at doping in professional cycling March 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Thoroughly entertaining. Insights of the peleton and racing abound. Central to the story is Ben's, the main character's, ethical struggle about doping. This theme is particularly timely given the current state of cycling and the many heroes who have succumb to the promise of power, strength, success and glory through doping. Ben must navigate some very thought provoking, tense, ethically tricky situations. The reader is given the opportunity to examine their own beliefs while gaining some insight into the athlete's strong desire for success and the external forces which can lead an athlete to compromise their ethics. Highly recommmended.
 Read The Race first - then wait two weeks August 11, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Giving only a three star rating to The Tour may be colored by the fact that I read both of the Dave Shields books set during the Tour de France back to back. As a result, The Tour wasn't quite as fresh as it might have been if I had waited a couple of weeks to read it. The first book, The Race, is an exciting quick read (4 stars) about one stage in the Tour de France. The Tour isn't as tight as The Race but it's still a page turner. This isn't great literature but if you like to read, like bikes, like the Tour de France, you'll like The Tour. Each book stands on its own but if you plan to read both, it makes sense to read The Race first as The Tour takes up where The Race ends.
Interesting storyline January 4, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
The storyline is very interesting but I found the writing to be a bit distracting. Lines like "Suddenly, like a flame touching petroleum, the cramp consumed his entire muscle." seem a bit over the top and other examples of this are all over the book. Interstingly enough I found his first novel, The Race, not to have this same style and consequently I thought it was a much better read.
Enter a whole new world with The Tour November 8, 2006
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
I don't generally read sports books, and I know nothing about competitive cycling, so I really wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book. However the characters, the writing and the compelling plot line really drew me in. I was impressed with the intensity of the story, and the way the author weaves a whole bunch of different plot strands - the race, the question of doping, the past history of the participants - together. It was fascinating.
Equally amazing was the way Shields drew me into a world I previously knew nothing about. I *love* novels that, when I finish them, I feel so much smarter and knowledgeable than when I started them (probably because I was raised on Sesame Street and I still expect learning to be fun!) This is one such book. I had no idea, before I read it, that cycling is so complex and such a team sport, full of strategy. During the last Tour de France, I amazed my husband with all my 'inside info' about what was happening. Shields immerses the reader in this world in the course of a compelling and surprising story that centers on a topic always in the news these days.
What really impressed me is how Shields brings out an ambiguity about drug use in cycling. In the media, drug use is presented as an unabashed evil: it's cheating, and it's nasty and it's the downfall of the sport. While Shields acknowledges and to some extent presents this perspective, by putting the reader in the shoes of the athletes riding the Tour, he asks him/her to reconsider big questions - like 'what does it mean for things to be fair or equal anyway?' in light of this issue.
While I'm sure that cyclists will love this book, I would actually recommend it to non-cyclists as well. I think anybody who likes being immersed in another world - readers of historical fiction, for example, or people who like books set in foreign countries - would really enjoy this.
A fast-paced sequel to The Race November 7, 2006
12 out of 14 found this review helpful
Dave Shields maintains his status as a master
story-teller in this sequel to The Tour. Like his
previous work, it's a fast paced sports thriller
that mimics the excitement and tension of the
Tour de France.
For me, the best part about this book was
learning what goes on below the simple-looking
surface of a bicycle race. Before I read The Race,
I never knew anything of the team nature of the
sport or of the careful tactics that go into
conserving the energy of teams' stars. In the
light of current doping scandals in this and
other sports, the timely exploration of the
ethics of doping is extremely thought-provoking.
As with The Race the plot of The Tour is more
complicated than most sports novels, so be
prepared for some surprises.
Lynn Hoffman, author of The New Short Course in
Wine and the forthcoming bang-BANG from Kunati
Press.(ISBN 1601640005)
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