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Between the Lines: The Autobiography
Hardcover
,
333 pages
Published
September 13th 2012
by HarperSport
(first published September 1st 2012)
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Community Reviews
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Donald McRae made this a reasonable read. It did show a rather disturbed character of Victoria, from the dominant father, to lack of meaningful friendship at school or work. through self harming until she meets Scott Gardner. Should this relationship work her life may change. It does display an aspect of the male dominated cycling world that is absent on the surface. The narrative is a little repetitive with the various fractions of a second quoted, almost to distraction. Some details of the act
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This really was not easy reading. It should have been so much more; we had interminable accounts of virtually identical events, with identical characters who were barely coloured in for us at all; cardboard name tags appearing and disappearing, with a won/lost entry put on them as they left the page. Nothing regarding the events ever developed beyond one dimension. That left me with little empathy for the character that was Victoria. Her revelations about the male oriented structure of the sport
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I haven't read an autobiography before, so can't compare it to anything. It was an easy read and interesting but descriptive in places and disjointed at times. I was hoping for more insight into the training regimes and diet etc but there was none of that. What came across clearly was the complexity of VP's character and lack of support in a male dominated sport
A very good autobiography which perfectly captures the contradiction between the determination needed by great cyclists with the inner turmoil of an emotionally fragile young woman.The book is painfully honest about many issues including her relationship with her father,coaches,rivals,self harm, and lack of self belief,but this is also someone who on the track is in physical confrontation at scary speeds with physically stronger rivals from eastern Europe,Australia and China and beating them. My
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This book took me two weeks to complete because of not only my need to maintain "real life" but also because it is a book that I was really drawn into, not only as a reader but a person too.
"Between The Lines" follows Victoria "Queen Vic" Pendleton from her beginnings in Stotfold, through the ranks of amateur cycling supported by her father, Max, into the highs and lows of professional cycling.
Whilst I've read other sporting biographies and biographies in general, the must be the most human one ...more
"Between The Lines" follows Victoria "Queen Vic" Pendleton from her beginnings in Stotfold, through the ranks of amateur cycling supported by her father, Max, into the highs and lows of professional cycling.
Whilst I've read other sporting biographies and biographies in general, the must be the most human one ...more
This book is without a doubt the best autobiography I have read.
Having watched Victoria Pendleton at the Beijing and London Olympics and having watched the BBC documentary on her shortly before the 2012 games I was intrigued enough to pick up this book. And what I read was a brutally honest warts n' all account of life behind the scenes of the sport with the fastest growing profile in Britain. Like (I assume) most people I only really get into cycling during an Olympic games and the Tour de Fran ...more
Having watched Victoria Pendleton at the Beijing and London Olympics and having watched the BBC documentary on her shortly before the 2012 games I was intrigued enough to pick up this book. And what I read was a brutally honest warts n' all account of life behind the scenes of the sport with the fastest growing profile in Britain. Like (I assume) most people I only really get into cycling during an Olympic games and the Tour de Fran ...more
Amazing what she went through and the huge difference in treatment and funding of men's/women's cycling, and even track/road cycling. Interesting and incredible to go through that because she had natural talent rather than a passion and drive to win. Well-written.
Fascinating if you've been a fan of her cycling (as I have) and even if not as a glimpse into the world of elite sports. Dave Brailsford and his team do not come out of it well in my eyes. Nor her father. amazing to see how vital the sports psychologist's role can be.
I would give this book 3 stars. she's a fantastic cyclist no doubt about it. But her constant whining left me feeling depressed, she's hard work.
As someone who follows cycling avidly I was really looking forward to reading this book. What followed is a fascinating and definitely emotional insight into the cycling and personal life of Victoria Pendleton. The parts on her early life were particularly interesting to read how she became involved in cycling and her journey from this. As people might know her journey has not been the easiest of journeys and that is partly why it is so emotional. For me the most emotional moments are when she r
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Well it definitely wasn't all roses for Pendleton, she talks openly about difficulties self-harming, family history and coping with the pressure of becoming a cyclist come athlete come celebrity - a women who is clearly very competitive and self-driven has so many doubts about herself and her ability. I think the story is simple, not complex, but open and honest. If you are interested in understanding the minds of the worlds most successful athletes its worth a read. If you are not interested in
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I have often struggled with biograhys but I really enjoyed this on and found it very interesting.
This was a fairly easy read and gave some insight into the world of a top class athlete, the demands placed on anyone performing at that level. VP clearly has some issues, and the role of the team psychiatrist features heavily. The 2012 Olympics part is fairly brief. There is a little too much of "race 1, I was ahead, she went ahead, I tried harder, it was close I won..." (to paraphrase). I am interested in cycling, and you couldn't have a book on her without some of that detail, but i think the
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Ok, as a fan of Pendleton I may be a tad biased, but this really was a good read! Apart from explaining how she came to be a multi gold medal winning cyclist, it is also a lucid account of the deep insecurities she has had to overcome in order to be the best of the best. Sharing these deep insecurities has only increased my respect for Pendleton's gritty determination. The book is also very revealing of the extreme environment top athletes are subjected to; if they didn't choose that life, one c
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This book gives interesting insight into the way British Cycling functions as well as the personality of Victoria Pendleton. She comes over as a delicate and easily damaged person, far from the tough aggressive image of a track sprinter. It does seem the way support staff found it so hard to deal with her relationship with another member of staff lacked professionalism. They could have helped her more than they did. She took female competition on sport to new heights and her legacy should be jus
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Well written account of both the personal and professional pressures that come with being an elite cyclist. The insight into her mindset and frequent moments of weakness put into perspective the amazing achievements throughout her career. With a programme as finely tuned, open and invested as her male counterparts she would have dominated more than one discipline.
Insightful and interesting in places, it was let down by cliched writing in an attempt to convey Pendleton's fragile emotions throughout her career. That fault lies with co-writer Donald McCrae but Pendleton's self obsession is her own and her hunger for media attention and selfish attitude shines through. I admire her as an athlete but not as a person.
A decent read, but I felt depressed all week while reading it. It may have been just me but for every good bit there were several negative bits. What Victoria achieved is amazing but was hoping for a more positive autobiography. It was good to read about all the hardship she went through but for me this dominated too much of the book.
This is the first autobiography I've read and of such an interesting character. There was so much more going on inside the mind of one of team GB's finest ever athletes than what you'd ever imagine. A fascinating insight into elite sport and the challenges female athletes still face, even within their own team. Highly recommended!
Mar 02, 2013
Clare
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
cycling fans, young women struggling through depression and self-depreciation
I really adored this book, her story has some really hard times and many that mirror times I myself have gone through. If I didn't see her as a positive role model before reading this, then by god I did by the end. Learnt that myself and the Golden Girl of the Velodrome aren't so different in so many way.
I enjoyed this book. All is far from rosie within British Cycling despite it's image of success and cohesion. Very interesting! Victoria Pendleton annoyed me immensely in Strictly Come Dancing but this has helped me to understand her more.
Very much a book of the moment. Unlike many autobiogs that ive read, theres more here than just the 'i did this, won that', that you'd normally expect. Written with honesty, gives a good picture of the pain that remarkable people often suffer...
It was entertaining and really easy to read, sometimes a bit too easy - although I think that's more to do with the style of sports biographies! I found it refreshingly honest and blunt, a real eye-opener into the work of British Cycling.
Easy to read but very descriptive, with lots of people and names, sometimes hard to keep up. so took me a while to read. Good if you are interested in cycling. Not the best autobiography I have read, but it's far from the worst.
Adore her! Adored the book! Really hard to put down once you have started. Victoria Pendleton is a really interesting character and her story and rise to greatness is well worth reading about, cycling fan or no.
This was interesting, with a genuine love story running alongside, and a candid glimpse into the world of the champion.
First Autobiography of a Lady I've ever read, an emotional account of success sought only to please other people.
really interesting read, and talks a lot about mental health, not much detail about track cycling
hard to put down
hard to put down
Would have given it 3.5 if I could. Good portrayal of an interesting girl.
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“Steve [sports psychiatrist] had already taught me to try and stop worrying so much about pleasing everyone. We knew that this was one of my most draining flaws and he again used three groups to clarify my thinking. There would always be some people, Steve said, who would care about me and love me. In contrast there would also be a select group of people who would never warm to me - no matter what I did. And in the middle came the overwhelming mass who were largely indifferent to any of my failures or triumphs. I needed to understand that most people didn't really care what I did or said. All my anguish about how they might perceive me was redundant. Steve helped me realize that I spent too much time trying to please those oblivious people in the middle or, more problematically, the small group who would never change their critical opinion of me. I should concentrate on the people who really did show concern for me.”
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