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The Doper Next Door: My Strange and Scandalous Year on Performance-Enhancing Drugs
by
Andrew Tilin (Goodreads Author)
What happens to a regular guy who dopes? Surprised to learn that pro athletes aren’t the only ones taking performance-enhancing substances, journalist Andrew Tilin goes in search of the average juicing Joe, hoping to find a few things out: Why would normal people take these substances? Where do folks get them? Does the stuff really work?
But these controversial drugs often...more
But these controversial drugs often...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
June 1st 2011
by Counterpoint
(first published May 25th 2011)
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This book surprised me in a number of ways. First of all, the cute illustrations on the cover made me think, This book is going to be light and funny. But this was no lighthearted read. Secondly, with the words ‘doper’ and ‘scandalous’ in the title, I thought that this book would deliver the moral lesson, Kids, don’t do drugs. But that didn’t happen either.
Instead, Tilin spends his year on legally-obtained testosterone and DHEA unpacking his feelings about masculinity, his father’s gayness, and...more
Instead, Tilin spends his year on legally-obtained testosterone and DHEA unpacking his feelings about masculinity, his father’s gayness, and...more
I think I disliked this book so much because it didn't at all match up with what I thought I was getting. I somehow expected a pop sci book, full of anecdotes and statistics, interviews with doctors and current, former and potential performance-enhancing drug users from all walks of life. That is the book I wanted to read, so it was that much harder for me to like the book I did read, which was basically a memoir of a year in the life of a guy who may or may not be having a mid-life crisis.
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Really this would have been a fine magazine article if Tilin had wanted. Instead it is a 367 page book that is easily 150 pages too long.
I was vaguely interested in this because of the cycling connection, but that aspect is pretty weak. In fact, the idea that there might be broad interest in the subject of average athletes taking performance enhancing drugs seems doubtful.
Other reviews used the word "whiney" and while that isn't very kind, that's what much of this is.
There is a model for this...more
I was vaguely interested in this because of the cycling connection, but that aspect is pretty weak. In fact, the idea that there might be broad interest in the subject of average athletes taking performance enhancing drugs seems doubtful.
Other reviews used the word "whiney" and while that isn't very kind, that's what much of this is.
There is a model for this...more
The only reason I gave it 3 stars is that the writing was decent and I'm always interested to read books about a sport I love. That said, I'd be curious to see what people that have no interest in cycling would think of it. I'll have to pass it around at work and find out. Also, I was surprised at how the author was able to derive so much satisfaction from his "good racing results" knowing full well that he was cheating. You'd think that his best friends reaction would have been enough to sober...more
From first seeing the cover on my editor's desk, I knew I would like this book, and I did. I read The Doper Next Door so quickly. Completely enthralled.
Tilin is crazy to use himself as the story subject (on purpose). I wouldn't take that step. He's like a Gonzo journalist without trying to overhype himself though, and I like him more than Hunter S. for that very reason. He's honest, raw, and unsentimental. He never tries to make himself look better than he is, and he tells a great story along th...more
Tilin is crazy to use himself as the story subject (on purpose). I wouldn't take that step. He's like a Gonzo journalist without trying to overhype himself though, and I like him more than Hunter S. for that very reason. He's honest, raw, and unsentimental. He never tries to make himself look better than he is, and he tells a great story along th...more
Disclaimer: I received this book from the Goodreads First Reads program.
This is also a preliminary review that will be edited when I finish the book.
I have now finished the book and the update is at the bottom.
This is the yearlong adventure of a print journalist as he takes hormones. It is his attempt to find out the truth about them. His first attempt was to try to find an amateur athlete that was willing to go on the record about the experience. When he cannot find that willing person he decid...more
This is also a preliminary review that will be edited when I finish the book.
I have now finished the book and the update is at the bottom.
This is the yearlong adventure of a print journalist as he takes hormones. It is his attempt to find out the truth about them. His first attempt was to try to find an amateur athlete that was willing to go on the record about the experience. When he cannot find that willing person he decid...more
Anerew Tilin spends way too many pages describing his own whiney upper-middle class lifestyle than actually analyzing the pro and cons of testosterone replacement therapy (doping). After reading his book, the worst thing I could see that testosterone did to him was make him a little bigger dick than he already is. On the other hand, it did make him hornier, stronger, faster, and feel younger. Pretty good trade off if you ask me - sounds like a miracle drug.
Poor writing and a lot of boring life stuff that isn't at all interesting. Almost like reading someones diary. The stories are really only interesting to them. Also the guy is a total wuss and his whining and apologizing is grating. Well I gave it 3 stars cause it was interesting the first hand account of taking T but could have been done easily in 100 pages.
I couldn't stop reading this book. I knew nothing about PEDs before reading this book, so I really ended up learning a lot!
It helps to give you insight to the mental struggles that someone on T goes through as an athlete, and the paranoia that you go through having a family that you need to protect from your drug use.
I did have some trouble with the pregnancy issue of the book, it was difficult to read that section...
I loved reading his story, learning about his life, the world of cycling, and...more
It helps to give you insight to the mental struggles that someone on T goes through as an athlete, and the paranoia that you go through having a family that you need to protect from your drug use.
I did have some trouble with the pregnancy issue of the book, it was difficult to read that section...
I loved reading his story, learning about his life, the world of cycling, and...more
I lost interest partway through, but finished it anyways. I'm not that interested in sports and there was a lot in here about bike racing, which just wasn't that interesting to me. I also read a book called Unstuff, which is about turning away from materialism. This book just seemed really shallow after that.
Jan 07, 2012
Sydney
added it
An incredibly honest book. And I'm really, really, really glad that I'm not married to a cyclists.
The information contained in this book would have made an interesting journal article. But instead the story is bulked up with too many details about the author's life, resulting in a book in need of editing. Tilin overanalyzes events in trying to identify effects of his testosterone use, such as his behavior while coaching his son's little league team and his training rides and racing. His descriptions of bike races are excruciatingly tedious.
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Born in San Francisco, Andrew Tilin is an award-winning journalist and author. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Wired, Outside, Slate, Backpacker, Business 2.0, and Yoga Journal. Like writing and editing, endurance sports have been a major theme in his life. A passionate amateur cyclist, he has raced triathlons, mountain-bike races, road-bike races, and marathons. His debut memoir "THE...more
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