 "Inspiring read that, at times, can be annoying" | 2009-08-26 |
| - Reviewed By User: A8VIHBSINAAQ5 |
| Dean Karnazes is a remarkable individual with a strong passion and rare determination. I enjoyed his recount of his journey through running. The fact that he got to his current level of fitness after many years of not running is especially inspiring and gives hope to people of all levels of fitness. I was put off though by his attitude in certain passages of the book. Oftentimes he tended to openly state how crazy he is and how his coworkers and friends thought he was a lunatic, as if to say "everyone thought I was a hardcore". The guy is very impressive and probably a little on the crazy side, but instead of tooting his own horn, it would come across better if he let the reader draw his own conclusions. His actions speak for themselves. This comes across as arrogance and it was slightly annoying. However, overall I would recommend this book because his retelling of his struggles through the races is very inspiring and shows you that even a superman struggles with the same pains and negative thoughts that a mere mortal runner goes through. |
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 "My Dentist's Husband Is Hot" | 2009-07-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: A27E0E89BY5GT7 |
| Julie Karnases, my dentist, once mentioned that her husband ran a lot. She's the understated type and quite beautiful. Good at her work, I might add. My reading generally doesn't run to the athletic feats genre, but out of loyalty to Julie, I bought "Ultramarathon Man" a couple of years after her initial comment. The book kept me fascinated. Ultimately any great human endeavor grips the reader and doesn't let go. If you read "Lust for Life" about Van Gogh or "Ultramarathon Man" by Dean Karnases, you witness passion in its purest form. Ann Seymour, author of "I've Always Loved You." |
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| "Love him or hate him" | 2009-07-28 |
| - Reviewed By cerebrum |
| This book is an autobiography about Dean Karnazes, even though it may look like egocentric at first, his running adventures really keep you reading and wanting to know more, for those who rated the book with 1 or 2 stars because they are already ultra runners and wanted to find recipes and obscure techniques, too bad, this book, I think was for the general audience and wannabe ultra-marathoners (like myself, who has completed 2 marathons and I am for my third this year, I really found inspiration in this book to go for the 50 miles next year). The title was not even his idea, it was from Lessley Anderson from the San Francisco Weekly, he mentions this in the acknowledgments (evidently a sales and marketing strategy), I have not had the honor to meet the man, but in the interviews that I have seen from him, he's quite humble, not with a super ego. All things considered, Dean has been very clever on exploiting his fame and at the same time, he does not do it just for the ego (let's face it, we all have some amount of ego), he's also deeply engaged in charity (something, I have been inspired to do also), |
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 "This book is not about ultramarathoning." | 2009-07-23 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1INMBXRZIUH7W |
I'm a runner, and although I have not done and probably never will do an ultramarathon, I know quite a few ultramarathoners and thought this book would give me a better idea of the sport. But, wow, this book is a piece of crap.
Rarely have I read something by an author so completely self-absorbed, self-worshiping, self-indulgent, and egotistical. He feigns modesty throughout the book, but its insincerity is crystal clear. Yes, Dean, I know that you're an amazing runner (although there are other ultrarunners who are even better, and they get no mention in this book) but I really don't care that you have 5% body fat, that you are "cut like a prize fighter," that "over the course of the decade [you] managed to amass nine more Western States Silver Buckles...dozens of medals, plaques, and trophies" but that although "it's cool to have mementos like these, [you ] didn't have them out on display in the living room."
Also, the writing is just plain bad. Dialogues with other people (all of whom, even his family, are portrayed as completely one-dimensional characters) are unrealistic.
And finally, he's sexist. No mention of the (many) incredible female ultrarunners, but he does send a tampon as a joke to a male friend who'd just finished his first Western States 100. Implying, I assume, that because the guy didn't run it particularly quickly, that he was no better than a woman. No matter that a woman, Pam Reed, beat Dean TWICE in the 130-mile Badwater race, and that she was the first person to run 300 miles continuously.
This book is not about the sport of ultra running. This book is about Dean Karnazes, and an ego the size of Canada. |
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| "Light reading but motivating" | 2009-07-07 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3QH0V4I8TZE52 |
| Read this book and it totally changed the way i work out - I began pushing myself in ways that i had never before. I am a self proclaimed wimp and, from this book, I got this feeling that my body and mind are tougher than I give 'em credit for and so i would push my workouts a little bit more. I am not a jock: I workout to stay fit - that is all. Well, this book helped me to get fitter. |
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 "Great easy reading.. Inspire me" | 2009-06-26 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1OOGOGW6N065F |
| Excelente book.. I'm inspire of the sense of life this guy shows. Family first, running second, job.. He balance a live with the first thing first criteria.. |
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