Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong

Juliet Macur

3.91

2,672 ratings by Goodreads

9781483005928: Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong

ISBN 10: 1483005925 ISBN 13: 9781483005928

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers and Blackstone Audio, 2014

[Read by Carrington MacDuffie]

Cycle of Lies by New York Times reporter Juliet Macur is the definitive account of the rise and fall of the most famous athlete of our generation, Lance Armstrong, through unprecedented access to the key players in his life and the investigation into the allegations of systemic doping. Relying on previously unpublished documents, Cycle of Lies reveals how Armstrong managed to perpetuate his myth for so long, the fortress he built to protect his image and upend anyone who got in his way, and why he fell so quickly. Spanning fourteen critical years in Armstrong's cycling career, Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong covers his comeback from cancer to the business deals that would make him a millionaire many times over, right up until the moment he stepped down as the chairman of his Livestrong charity. The story features key characters such as disgraced Tour de France champion Floyd Landis; Armstrong teammate George Hincapie; and Kristin Richard, Armstrong's first wife and possible doping accomplice. The history of one of the most precipitous and unceremonious falls in the history of sports, Cycle of Lies delves into exactly who was complicit in keeping Lance Armstrong's doping a secret from his legion of fans.

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From the Back Cover:

In June 2013, when Lance Armstrong fled his palatial home in Texas, downsizing in the face of multimillion-dollar lawsuits, Juliet Macur was there—listening to Armstrong's version of the truth. She was one of the few media members aside from Oprah Winfrey to be granted extended one-on-one access to the most famous pariah in sports before and after the scandal.

Macur gives the unfolding narrative of Armstrong's life depth and breadth with the firsthand accounts of more than one hundred witnesses, including family members whom Armstrong had long since turned his back on. Perhaps most damning of all is taped testimony of the late J. T. Neal, the most influential of Armstrong's many father figures, recorded in the final years of Neal's life as he lost his battle with cancer just as Armstrong gained fame for surviving the disease.

In the end, it was Armstrong's former friends, those who had once occupied the precious space of his inner circle, who dealt Armstrong his fatal blow by breaking the code of silence that shielded the public from the grim truth about the sport of cycling—and the grim truth about its golden boy, Armstrong.

Threading together the vivid and disparate voices of those with intimate knowledge of the private and public Armstrong, Macur weaves a comprehensive and unforgettably rich tapestry of one man's astonishing rise to global fame and fortune, and his devastating fall from grace.

About the Author:

Juliet Macur is an award-winning reporter for the New York Times whose work has been anthologized in the 'Best American Sports Writing' series. A graduate of Columbia Journalism School, she grew up in New Jersey and now lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, daughter, and Labrador retriever.

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