What makes some men drive themselves to succeed in their chosen sport, no matter how daunting the odds? And what are the struggles that victory almost inevitably brings? Meet the swiftest and saddest cyclist of his time, a man whose craving for speed was outstripped by a terrible urge toward self-annihilation. 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 Divisioncollege basketball, one of the inner city's great success stories . . . while it lasted ..

When Midwesterner Steve Friedman arrived in Manhattan, the land of the quick and the mean, raring to go and ready to conquer, he soon found pitfalls and pratfalls more numerous and perilous than he had ever imagined. Here is his utterly honest, often hilarious, self-deprecating account of those fateful years, starting with his first job at GQ and his awkward efforts to impress his boss, Art Cooper, and including real and imagined love affairs, disasters at work and play, growing self-awareness with its inevitable bouts of depression and subsequent therapies--all of which fail--and in the end, a wisdom that promises better things to come. In the tradition of B ..

When Midwesterner Steve Friedman arrived in Manhattan, the land of the quick and the mean, raring to go and ready to conquer, he soon found pitfalls and pratfalls more numerous and perilous than he had ever imagined. Here is his utterly honest, often hilarious, self-deprecating account of those fateful years, starting with his first job at GQ and his awkward efforts to impress his boss, Art Cooper, and including real and imagined love affairs, disasters at work and play, growing self-awareness with its inevitable bouts of depression and subsequent therapies--all of which fail--and in the end, a wisdom that promises better things to come. In the tradition of Bri ..

"After a brutal evening trying to network amongst a conference hall of strangers,wrote an email to my Jennifer: "It zapped my energy just trying to maintain such a fa ade.describe myself lately as puny, timid, socially regressive - basically fragile. I've never prided myself as a social butterfly. But latelyfeel more like a social wallflower, unable to hold even basic conversations let alone to strike up a discussion of any depth. br Realizing the depressed tone of my letter and not wanting to scare Jennifer from halfway around the world,tried to reassure her: strong "However,must emphasize, I'm okay. I'm not going off the deep end." But in realityfelt likewa ..