|
Evel Knievel: An American Hero | 
 enlarge | Author: Ace Collins
Publisher: St Martins Pr
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
Buy Used: $2.31
You Save: $21.64 (90%)
New (4) Used (18) from $2.31
Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 1209390
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 222
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 0.8
ISBN: 0312243901
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.75092
EAN: 9780312243906
ASIN: 0312243901
Publication Date: November 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Hardback. Ex-Library with usual id, otherwise unmarked. Spine tilt, significant edge wear.
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Robert "Evel" Knievel is one of the most unique heroes to earn a place in the collective psyche of this country. A high school dropout, an award-winning athlete, a petty thief, a motorcycle racer, and a political activist, Knievel earned his nickname because of his unlawful activities early in his life but rode that name to fame by consistently tempting death in the public eye. With a showman's panache and a madman's daring, he has risen-along with the likes of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe-past mere celebrity to the exalted level of American icon. Today, at sixty-two years of age, Evel still makes headlines, proving that the appeal of daredevil never dies. From his recent liver transplant to his son Robbie's jump of the Grand Canyon to his very public support of mandatory helmet laws, Knievel remains foremost in the minds of his millions of fans. Evel Knievel stands as a truly perfect example of a certain uniquely American aesthetic, one in which pride and heart can overcome any circumstances at all.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 But the PICTURES are good! December 6, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The biography is detailed, interesting, and there are many pictures. I don't know what "lazy writing" means, but my focus was on the man, not the author.
Clearly Evel knew his faults, but he found a way to make a living knowing his physical health would suffer and he'd be in pain for the rest of his life. His last stunt was taking a baseball bat to his promoter, who was also his lawyer, a mistake he would regret for the rest of his life. (The lawyer is going after what remains of Evel's estate.)
 Even if you like Knievel, you won't like this book! July 8, 2004
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I agree with a previous reviewer who said this was a completely lazily-written book. Whether or not you approve of Evel's behavior, his life was anything but boring. Yet the tedious and poor writing style of this author tells Knievel's story in a way that's about as interesting as reading the White Pages upside down. It's unbelievable that a national publisher would print a book this sloppy. In addition to being poorly-written, it appears as though no one even proofread it. Repetition and typos abound. And it seems to be based on not much more than re-hashed facts from a few feature articles written about Knievel in big magazines in the 1970s (and maybe the foggy recollection of the hokey Evel Knievel biopic from 1971). Grammatically, this is possibly the most poorly-written book I have read in my adult life. As far as telling a story in general, it gets even worse marks. I can't believe someone got paid to write this. It really is THAT bad. And I LIKE Evel Knievel!
Should have named himself "Conceded Knievel" September 15, 2001
1 out of 9 found this review helpful
I can't say the writing is bad, just the subject. An American Hero ? A womenizing, boozing, petty thief and con-man a hero, I don't think so, probably a fun guy to hang out with.. but no hero.
Vapid puff piece March 20, 2000
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
Nobody's demanding Boswell's Life of Johnson here, but Collins has fashioned a hazily-remembered, lazily-written biography of one of the 1970s most singular public figures. Where's the index or bibliography? Where's the list of sources? Who proofread this book (the word "athlete" is misspelled -- on the back cover, yet!)? I never thought I'd utter this phrase in public, but: Evel Knievel deserves better.
A Hero for ALL of US December 30, 1999
2 out of 15 found this review helpful
Evel Knevel has written a lively and engaging book that tells about his halcyon days stealing money from people cracking safes in the 1960s.The cops knew I did it, he says, but never caught him. Now he and his son charge the culturally deprived a lot of money to see motorcycle stunts. What a country! What a hero!
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
