9780062308696
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Cycle of Lies audiobook

  • By: Juliet Macur
  • Narrator: Carrington MacDuffie
  • Length: 11 hours 31 minutes
  • Publisher: HarperAudio
  • Publish date: March 18, 2014
  • Language: English
  • (1773 ratings)
(1773 ratings)
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Cycle of Lies Audiobook Summary

The definitive account of Lance Armstrong’s spectacular rise and fall.

In June 2013, when Lance Armstrong fled his palatial home in Texas, downsizing in the face of multimillion-dollar lawsuits, Juliet Macur was there–talking to his girlfriend and children and 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.

At the center of Cycle of Lies is Armstrong himself, revealed through face-to-face interviews.

But this unfolding narrative is given depth and breadth by the firsthand accounts of more than one hundred witnesses, including family members whom Armstrong had long since turned his back on–the adoptive father who gave him the Armstrong name, a grandmother, an aunt. Perhaps most damning of all is the 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 betrayed him. They were the ones 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.

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Cycle of Lies Audiobook Narrator

Carrington MacDuffie is the narrator of Cycle of Lies audiobook that was written by Juliet Macur

Juliet Macur is an award-winning reporter at the New York Times, whose work has been anthologized in Best American Sports Writing. This is her first book.

About the Author(s) of Cycle of Lies

Juliet Macur is the author of Cycle of Lies

More From the Same

Cycle of Lies Full Details

Narrator Carrington MacDuffie
Length 11 hours 31 minutes
Author Juliet Macur
Publisher HarperAudio
Release date March 18, 2014
ISBN 9780062308696

Additional info

The publisher of the Cycle of Lies is HarperAudio. The imprint is HarperAudio. It is supplied by HarperAudio. The ISBN-13 is 9780062308696.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

Goodreads Reviews

Ceilidh

October 25, 2014

A gripping and extensively researched documentation of one of sporting's greatest scandals. Macur goes back to the very beginning and is merciless in her takedown of Lance Armstrong's exhaustively detailed narrative, one that positioned him not only as a winner but a hero and inspiration to cancer survivors the world over. He lied, he cheated, he bullied and he ruined lives, and Macur wants everyone to know that. There's a touch of the "dancing on his grave" about the book, which may sit uncomfortably with some, but if like me you are utterly fascinated with Armstrong's downfall you'll enjoy every moment. I would have liked more focus on the wider picture surrounding Armstrong - the sponsors who undoubtedly shielded him, the cycling authorities who turned a blind eye in order to keep their sport's idol in place - because they helped keep him clean from scandal for far longer than he could have been in order to save their own skins. Still, if you want an insight into just how dirty Armstrong got, this is your book.Full review here:http://bibliodaze.com/2014/10/review-...

Nicholas

January 12, 2016

This is a riveting account of Lance Armstrong’s meteoric rise and even faster fall, exploring the intersection of physicality, ambition, and deception. A must-read for all sports fan.

C.M.

March 09, 2014

Cycle of Lies is an amazing account of just how far back the deception in the Armstrong myth goes (childhood it would seem). It’s just one jaw-dropper after another. Big props to Macur for not letting go of this epic tale and for managing the divergent stories. We’d all still be clueless about Lance if not for journalists like her. Thanks also go to a long line of embittered people betrayed over the years—it’s a tragicomedy in that sense. I can’t imagine where the screenwriters will begin, there’s almost too much material.Macur’s disdain for Atheism is clear; Christians are the good guys and non-believers the baddies, suggesting that because Lance didn’t believe in an afterlife he was free to misbehave in the here and now. But of course the vast majority of agnostics out there aren’t sociopaths. We’re simply going about our lives best we can for the exact reason that this might be all the life we get. Ironically this whole sordid tale reveals the blindness of belief and humanity’s illogical tendency to follow its messiahs without question. A little agnosticism would have served fans well.As a cyclist and amateur competitor I couldn’t find a place in the narrative that really captured the pure joy of cycling. But perhaps only a bike and some open road can do that. It does however delve deeply into cycling as an escape for boys whose upbringings were rough. The Zabriskie story in particular is heart-breaking.Bottom line? If you are at all interested in Lance, the politics of professional sports or our American hero-making machinery, you gotta read Cycle of Lies.

Cherryl

April 07, 2015

When Lance Armstrong publicly admitted to doping, I thought, wow, this is big. It wasn't until I read this book, that I realized what a first, class, self-centered jerk Mr. Armstrong was and still is. If his so fans knew the real person, they would not be sadden, he wasn't and isn't the hero every thought he was. I loved the book and would highly recommend it.

Bob

January 29, 2019

An excellent telling of his story which is a true tragedy because he brought the end on himself by not stopping while he was still conning us all.A malignant narcissist destroys those around them, yet they can constantly find new souls to feed on. And each new person thinks: he won't do this to me.But then he does.Years ago I once mentioned on social media that he was a cheater and was viciously attacked. Most people cited his cancer charity and my point was that if he was honest about the drugs he was taking, it would help cancer researchers as much as his money. Since the money was a byproduct of the cheating as well as the cancer.It often takes many years before people like this fall; and in that time they wreak a path of destruction to everything they touch.

Catherine

March 10, 2014

For those who have followed this story closely, there is not much new here, but if you'd like a good overview this is a great place to start. My only complaint is that there did not seem to be much of her hours of interviews with Armstrong himself.

Navarra

April 20, 2014

Cycle of Lies, by Juliet Macur, is one in an ever-growing series of books concerning post-confession Lance Armstrong, famous cyclist, cancer survivor, philan-…oh, you know all this? Well, let’s just get to the meaty stuff, then, shall we? If the public keeps buying books belonging to this burgeoning one-man sports fraud revelation industry, he keeps getting enough money to keep paying his very remarkably wealthy lawyers (who have done well regardless of Lance’s lost revenue, fled sponsors, and hemorrhaging proceeds). Juliet Macur covers previously well-travelled ground with two distinct differences. Juliet isn’t lobbing soft balls at Armstrong, and she offers the most realistic description of what's really happening in the sport of professional cycling. No only are there no soft balls here, but Macur is firing speedballs of 100mph straight at Lance's delusional mythos. She recounts the life of Lance Armstrong from his parentage and birth, wiping out a fable (something nearly all fame-hungry athletic stars create) that Lance and his mother formulated of his life. It made a great story, one that inspired so many people, gave hope to those who needed it, and provided a certain “warm fuzzy” for the rest of us.Allow me an important preamble to this book review in order to provide context for my perspective on Lance and cycling. I:- am a recent recreational triathlete and cycling enthusiast, who formerly was a long-time natural amateur bodybuilder (but one who was very aware of the strong drug culture around me, and left me deeply cynical)- first learned of Lance Armstrong from my husband, a Tour de France fan, in 2005- couldn’t care less about Lance’s deception with regard to drug use simply because I thoroughly believe that any sport that has that much money on the line will be swimming in performance-enhancing drugs and still is- think Lance is a world-class p***** for his behaviour, which includes using up and spitting out his “friends,” unless they have a higher Q score than he formerly had (e.g. Mathew McConnaughey and Robin Williams, but excepting Sheryl Crow), and employing legal, athletic and personal intimidation to embarrass, discredit or destroy the lives of people who challenged him, but who probably at one time were not really a threatIf you still have some respect or liking for Lance Armstrong and want to keep it, don’t read this book! It takes only a few paragraphs to realize that Juliet is taking a very hard line, and I fervently hope that other reviewers of her book do not fall back on ugly timeworn descriptors such as “shrill” or “shrewish,” simply because she isn’t being “nice.” That said, I did feel that there was a certain amount of vitriol that felt a little personal, if not undeserved (it was). Now, for more some disclosure on my part…most of what Juliet wrote here was not only not a surprise, as I have read a lot about Lance Armstrong over the years both laudatory and critical (mostly laudatory), but some hypotheses I had related to my husband and others turned out to be confirmed. None of these are spoilers and include the notions that:- Lance couldn’t compete against other admitted or caught drug users, win and not be using- he was arrogant, vengeful and petty; and that he should have kept his head down after his first retirement or it would cost him dearly- he should never have pushed people so far that they would have nothing left to lose including having either paid Floyd Landis off or “found” him a job after he was accused of doping, but yet tried to continue on in the sportThe book was very well researched, and covers a great deal of history. It includes new tidbits that I will not spoil here. Macur was honest and forthcoming about her persecution by Lance, but did not delve much into how that motivated her in writing the book; however, a look at the acknowledgements explain what led her to writing about cycling participants and her New York Times bio explains her connection with journalism and sport. Her feelings about Lance and his actions are really only revealed in her personal interviews with him, and the reader is left in no doubt of her contempt. The rest of the book is investigative detail or takes on the voice of the person who is narrating their part in the story. At times, this is a little disconcerting and confusing, as I questioned her naiveté of a statement about cleaning up the sport, until I realized she was speaking as the voice of someone else.As stated before, if you want to believe in wonderful fairytales of people who can succeed in any professional sport against the odds, rising from the ashes of a ragged, disappointing childhood (that may or may not be real) or some egregious devastating circumstance (and Lance’s cancer was devastating; his recovery remarkable) to become pre-eminent in a sport with millions or billions of dollars of endorsement and profit, then don’t read this, as it will lead you to a cynicism at which others have already arrived. If you want to understand the motivations, pressures, and truths of professional sports and no longer be “snowed” by the publicity or the less gentlemanly sportsmen and women, then by all means, lift the cover. It’s an enthralling read that, should you have any interest in the sport of cycling, you will likely not put down.

Nick

April 11, 2020

Informative, pretty evident the author doesn’t like lance though. I like lance.

Joe

January 22, 2016

You might have thought that public opinion of Lance Armstrong could not get any more scornful or derisive than after the exposure of his systematic cheating and intimidation. The journalist Juliet Macur, however, sets out in “Cycle of Lies: the fall of Lance Armstrong” to discover what motivated the disgraced ex-cyclist in his decades of cheating and what made him so terrifyingly single-minded in his pursuit of Tour de France glory. Unsurprisingly, “Cycle of Lies” covers a lot of same ground as David Walsh’s “Seven Deadly Sins”, “Wheelmen” by Albergotti and O’Connell, and the superb “Secret Race” by Daniel Coyle and Tyler Hamilton. One would have thought that with the glut of Armstrong-related books over the last 5 years that this would be a well-worn topic, but Macur manages to uncover some revelations that even hardcore cycling fanatics might not know. For example, Armstrong was first introduced to the notorious doping doctor Michel Ferrari by none other than Eddy Merckx - the most venerated and respected cyclist in the history of the sport. Furthermore, Armstong initially agreed to give 10% of his salary to Ferrari in return for the disgraced doctor’s assistance in beating the drug testers. And when one of Armstrong’s teammates, Fabio Casartelli, died in a horrific crash at the 1995 Tour de France, Armstrong’s team persuaded the authorities not to conduct an autopsy on the deceased rider for fear it would reveal evidence of doping.Macur is excellent on Lance’s Texas childhood, showing the adolescent Armstrong to be a brash, obnoxious bully with an upbringing far more pampered than the poverty-stricken background depicted in his numerous autobiographies. “Cycle of Lies” shows how Armstrong’s record of using performance-enhancing drugs stretches back to the very start of his professional career (and that the young Armstrong didn’t need much convincing to go down the path of doping). Macur is also very insightful on how the wives and girlfriends of professional cyclists coped with the doping culture and the lies and hypocrisies this culture forced on them. Indeed, the great strength of “Cycle of Lies” are the hugely detailed interviews that Macur has carried out with the fringe characters who assisted Armstrong in his deceitful successes – and who ultimately felt Armstrong turn on them as his world began to crumble.“Cycle of Lies” reads like an unmerciful, unrelenting kicking to the last shreds of Lance Armstrong’s reputation. Even his charitable works with the Livestrong foundation are viewed by Macur as merely part of a cynical strategy – “Lance’s Cancer shield” – to curry favour with the public and distract from the truth behind his achievements. For a reader like myself (who had considered Armstrong to be a cheating, conniving sociopath long before his public fall from grace), I was left wondering: could Macur not find any redeeming qualities in the guy? But, maybe the conclusion to take from Macur’s meticulously-researched, superby-written book is that Lance Armstrong really is that much of an arrogant, irredeemable bastard. Recommended, both for cycling fans, and for those who long to see monumental hubris get its comeuppance.

Jerry

January 28, 2019

I'm not a fan of Armstrong. Never was particularly, not for any reason and I didn't dislike him either as an athlete. Of course I don't know him personally. It's just that I always found cycling to be so obviously and hopelessly tainted by drugs that I never found the protagonists in the frame of the Tour de France to be particularly worthy of attention. Arrogant of me I accept.This book paints Armstrong in a very unflattering light: arrogant, self absorbed, bullying, cheating etc. Most of this has become apparent since his fall from grace and therefore isn't a surprise to the reader. It is interesting though, that his dominance of the team, and his desire to by the champion was indeed all consuming and if you stood in his way, look out.I enjoyed the book and it seems very well researched. LA seems to be as unlikable as they come. I wonder though, if his personality isn't simply true of all these hyper competitive athletes? Was Michael Jordan the same? Maybe there is something particularly loathsome about LA (as loathsome he undoubtedly is, according to this account) but this wasn't addressed and is probably outside the scope of this book anyway. It is a naturally biased account but there is some attempt at balance. Is it cheating if everyone's doing it? This seems to be LA's argument when he finally admits it but is not really developed as far as I would have liked in the narrative.In my view it is cheating and I hate the fact that so much top level sport is ruined by PEDs. Casual acceptance that it's ok if everyone does it is cheating the true fans of he sport who deserve much better than that, and deserve much better than Armstrong in my opinion. I accept this is a difficult one - how many of us would have said no to taking drugs if that was perceived as being the only way? I'd like to think I would but I suspect not. So, as bad as this story seems, there is an organizational element that can't be ignored that allowed Armstrong's cheating to survive and thrive.A good book even for the non-cyclists among us. Detailed and well written with lots of personal conversations and well structured timelines.

Sarah

April 25, 2016

I listened to the audiobook and, wow. This is a truly scathing portrait of Armstrong and all he did to cover his drug use during his career. It would be hard for anyone to convince me that the author didn't take some measure of pride in being able to expose who Armstrong really was. Despite that obvious slant, it never came across as withholding of any truth that might make the reader feel sympathetic toward him.My impressions were: 1) What's the moral/ethical foundation for government agencies banning doping in cycling if, in fact, everyone really is already doing it? If the issue is a level playing field then why not just allow and regulate PEDs? In that regard, I can understand Lance's argument that it isn't cheating if everyone is doing it. I don't condone it, but I understand that mentality; 2) Lance was the fall guy for a whole system of dopers because his hubris never allowed him to stop being a jerk and just tell the truth. He's a real-life Icarus, who met a similarly unsavory end.

Cia

May 09, 2014

"Cycling is a drug sport, that's it. It will always be a drug sport." This Juan Pelota was a pathological liar who used all his money and power and had no qualms about crushing those who disagreed with him; an arrogant bully who turned his back on those he had no use for anymore. He took the hit for all the sport's sins because he was in the public eye, but he still would not let himself be humbled. He used Livestrong and his cancer survivor story as both shield and weapon even when the American public couldn't find the heart to chase down its sports hero. A most fascinating read about the Fall of Icarus. Highly recommended.

Re

June 07, 2015

Wow, you will not believe nd dangerous sport of cycling. This book covers the culture of professional cycling, from the 1960's to the present. Through the years, cyclists have gone to bizarre and dangerous extremes - using every kind of drug imaginable and intricate doping schemes (to get around mandatory testing) - to win.Lance Armstrong took for granted the cheating and doping as part of the sport and the path to victory.I always thought it highly unlikely for one person to win the Tour de France three! Four!!! Five!!! Times.. it was done with an almost sci fi. level of cheating.

Leftbanker

January 03, 2016

This book is an excellent bit of reporting with a dogged pursuit of the truth. One thing we can all take away from this episode is not to believe in fairy tales. We should also stop revering athletes the way we do but writers have been complaining about this since the ancient Greeks. In the end we learn that cheating will get you ahead in this world. Armstrong will always be rich no matter how many law suits he loses.

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