The Agony Of Victory: When Winning Isn't Enough

The Story

Meet the swiftest and saddest cyclist of his time, a man whose craving for speed was outstripped by a terrible urge toward self-annihilation. See the greatest bowler who ever lived, a high-school dropout who could never measure up to his father. Try to understand the most accomplished high-school runner in American history, whose long-distance records still astound and who, a few years later, abruptly abandoned his wife and three small children. Read of the briefly glorious life of the leading scorer in Division I college basketball, one of the inner city’s great success stories . . . while it lasted. This superbly written, insightful book follows the paths of thirteen ravaged champions in solitary crafts such as cycling and running, bowling and boxing, hiking and golf. These men work at and master their sports, driven only by a burning need to prove themselves. Movingly detailed here are their painful journeys to grace and their eventual realization that no victory or athletic achievement brings lasting happiness. In short, the human experience, told in seconds and miles, scorecards and records.