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6th out of 31 books
—
23 voters
Evel
From New York Times bestselling author Leigh Montville, this riveting and definitive new biography pulls back the red, white, and blue cape on a cultural icon—and reveals the unknown, complex, and controversial man known to millions around the world as Evel Knievel.
Evel Knievel was a high-flying daredevil, the father of extreme sports, the personification of excitement a...more
Evel Knievel was a high-flying daredevil, the father of extreme sports, the personification of excitement a...more
Hardcover, 398 pages
Published
April 26th 2011
by Doubleday
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“Evel” by Leigh Montville, published by Doubleday.
Category – Biography/Motor Sports
This is one of the most fascinating biographies that I have read. True, it may not be about a great ruler, scientist, or discoverer. It is about Robert Craig Knievel, or as he is better known, “Evel Knievel.
Evel Knievel may well have surpassed P.T. Barnum as the greatest con man that ever lived. Evel was born in Butte, Montana and from his earliest days displayed a temperament that would last throughout his life....more
Category – Biography/Motor Sports
This is one of the most fascinating biographies that I have read. True, it may not be about a great ruler, scientist, or discoverer. It is about Robert Craig Knievel, or as he is better known, “Evel Knievel.
Evel Knievel may well have surpassed P.T. Barnum as the greatest con man that ever lived. Evel was born in Butte, Montana and from his earliest days displayed a temperament that would last throughout his life....more
One of the best biographies I've read in a long time. Truth be told, I had low expectations. I was delighted to be wrong. The author did his homework on this book, and after completing the book I felt I had a sense of the man and his many facets. Evel, warts and all, comes alive in this book. Evel Knievel came onto the scene at just the right time. There was no internet, cable TV, video games, etc. What one could do was watch Wide World of Sports, listen to pre-jump interviews with Evel, and kee...more
This will likely be among the more creative and compelling biographies you'll read. The rich subject matter blends perfectly with Montville's magazine-style prose, and this big book is filled with scene after memorable scene starring young floozies, Knievel’s walking cane loaded with Wild Turkey bourbon and employees verbally trampled by the man’s unpredictable behavior. The author recounts stories with eye-popping details, including Knievel’s failed jumps over the fountains of Caesars Palace in...more
Apr 14, 2012
Ian Duncan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
biography,
laugh-out-loud
An extremely entertaining, well-written biography of an outlandish daredevil, a man as unconventional and ostentatious as the 70's themselves. Page after page of fascinating anecdotes: Knievel was so assured of his godlike invincibility after surviving numerous death-defying feats, he once told an escort she could treat him "like a normal, mortal man." Another: to every jump he brought a felt-lined attache containing dozens bright steel parts. When questioned, he explained they were replacement...more
The book was a bit longer than probably necessary, but you can't argue with the fact that the author certainly had a wealth of content at his disposal. I grew up in the shadow of his fame during the 80's. I recall the buzz around his name and recall seeing his son Robbie jump on occasion. But for the life of me, after reading this book I can not understand how this guy made such a name for himself and achieved the level of fame he did. Evel lucked out with a perfect storm of timing between what...more
1/19/2012
I don't know what to think of this book. Evel was a real shady character and a hypocrite from the sounds of it. He was like the bad Shepherd and his friends & followers of the time should maybe try looking inward for being pathetic enough to stick around nibbling at his crumbs... and there were lots of them from the sounds of it.
Well written, but not recommended. Made me feel miserable and dirty for looking through the window to the end.
1/5/2012
Beginning to think a lot of the inform...more
I don't know what to think of this book. Evel was a real shady character and a hypocrite from the sounds of it. He was like the bad Shepherd and his friends & followers of the time should maybe try looking inward for being pathetic enough to stick around nibbling at his crumbs... and there were lots of them from the sounds of it.
Well written, but not recommended. Made me feel miserable and dirty for looking through the window to the end.
1/5/2012
Beginning to think a lot of the inform...more
Evel: The High-Flying Life of Evel Knievel: American Showman, Daredevil, and Legend by Leigh Montville.
My sisters had the Beatles and my older brother had Hendrix but I…I had a scrap wood ramp and a Huffy bike … with these I would jump over anything, anywhere (sometimes I even made it). My brother and sisters may have had rock stars to idolize but I had Evel Knievel! Any kid who grew up in the seventies who didn’t try to be Evel at one time or another wasn’t paying attention. And, as this book d...more
This book is a blunt instrument to crush the illusions of youth. Highly readable and a complete telling of Evels story
As someone who still owns their childhood toys of Evil, it was difficult to come face to face with the knowledge that Evil was a despicable human being. Simply put, he had no honor.
The most important factor of this book is how the media can sell an image. It is something they have gotten better at overt the years and really adds a level of skepticism to everything you read or w...more
As someone who still owns their childhood toys of Evil, it was difficult to come face to face with the knowledge that Evil was a despicable human being. Simply put, he had no honor.
The most important factor of this book is how the media can sell an image. It is something they have gotten better at overt the years and really adds a level of skepticism to everything you read or w...more
I didn't really know very much about Evel, so I figured I'd give this book a try. I felt like the author did a fairly good job weeding through the "tall tales" of Evel's life and because of that you see him for who he really is, the guy you love to hate. Also, the kinds of people who helped promote him were interesting, especially when Vince McMahon Jr. had an interest in him doing an event and talked his dad into helping promote Evel back in the day (for those of you who like pro wrestling). It...more
My brother gave me this book for Christmas, and I kinda rolled my eyes when I opened it. That said, when I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. I'm old enough to remember some of Evel's Wide World of Sports' jumps, and remember the drama around Snake River Canyon as well. The actual inside story of Snake River is fascinating, and was a complete surprise to read how it all really went down.
In the end, a pretty sad portrait is painted of man named Bob Knievel, but it must've been a hell of...more
In the end, a pretty sad portrait is painted of man named Bob Knievel, but it must've been a hell of...more
To an American boy in the early 1970s, Evel Knieval was a member of the Trinity. He, along with the Fonz and Steve Austin (the six million dollar man), defined awesome for my generation. His Snake River jump in 1974 remains as indelible an image my mind as the moon landings.
As this biography shows, he was not the man we 8 year old boys thought he was. He was kind of a jerk. Still, Montville manages to show why he was so compelling, despite all his flaws. He embodied a certain ideal that middle...more
As this biography shows, he was not the man we 8 year old boys thought he was. He was kind of a jerk. Still, Montville manages to show why he was so compelling, despite all his flaws. He embodied a certain ideal that middle...more
This book reads like a night of drinking, swapping stories that seem obviously embellished/improbable. Once finished, it felt like a bit of a blur, my head hazy, wondering did that really just happen. An incredible work by Montville. His style is so unique and engaging.
Great book. I grew up watching the stuntman on t.v. as a child. And I even had the toy motorcycle. The book tells "all"; the good, the bad and the ugly. I borrowed the book from the library (e-book version). Read it!
This book was amazing. I forgot how much my 8 year old self worshipped Mr. Kneivel. This tome was very enlightening about his life. Also says a lot about the entertainment consumption of the American public. Even if you weren't a fan, read it. Tells lots about our culture.
I finished this book, but just barely. The basic take away is Evel Knevil is a TOTAL ASSHOLE and an absolute douchebag, and this writer really enjoys using literary devices instead of telling a story - it's like she was trying to write a tall tale. I stop counting how many paragraphs began with "A story" because it made me want to go on a murderous rampage. Skip the 400 book, just read a Wiki article about him instead.
This is an incredible story about someone that I frankly didn't have too much interest in---it turned out to be one of the best biographies I've ever read!
I'm torn. On the one hand, the author takes almost 400 pages to say what I can say in five words: Evel Knievel was a dick. On the other hand, it's pretty entertaining to read about the extent of the guy's dickishness (and about his stunts).
Probably only worth reading if you were a kid in the 1970's.
Probably only worth reading if you were a kid in the 1970's.
Well written and interesting, but I think I liked him better before I knew this much about him. Especially enjoyed the stories about Butte, MT...was there when reading and was able to get some more "background" story from Ezra's grandpa.
Fascinating and repellent. Clearly some sort of personality disorder--narcissistic, amoral, egomaniacal. Supposedly found God in the last year of his life. Let's hope so.
I guess I should have expected a bit of grit with this guy. I had to stop due to language and sexual content.
One crazy biography oubout one crazy man himself! This book is definatly something I would read. I grabbed this book and couldnt stop reading. It turns out Evel is not what most people think he is. Also there are many surprises in the night that you would not expect from the man. Overall I would probably recommend this book to anybody who is a fan of evel because there are many things you may not know.
Another cherished childhood idol down the drain! A lying, thieving, wife beating narcissist!
Was really looking forward to this one, but I feel like this bio. only scratched the surface.
The facts, mixed unevenly with bits of snark.
Excellent, insightful read into the life of the famous daredevil. The guy was a complete mess, and I enjoyed reading about every chapter of this sociopath's life.
Got the audiobook version and its driving me nuts. The author's style is rambling and devoid of a great deal of facts. He loves to describe the same thing in ten different ways. He is especially fond of giving Evel Kenieval hundreds of titles and tag lines. The story of Evel's life is interesting, it is just taking forever to get through it. The big event is understandably the Snake River Canyon jump, but he spends entirely too long building up to the event. This book could be about 1/2 its leng...more
An awful human being with a fascinating story.
Interesting but kind of slanted toward the negative. Overall it's a pretty interesting read that I enjoyed.
well written book!
Picked this book up randomly, not really knowing a thing about Evel Knievel except for the name. This was a very good book about a very bad man. I absolutely loved the writing style that kept this a page turner for the most part (very conversational and sensational in tone, a perfect match for its subject). Probably the best biography I have read to date.
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Leigh Montville is a highly respected sportswriter, columnist and author. He is a graduate of the University of Connecticut.Montville is married to Diane Foster and has two children. He lives in Massachusetts and is an ardent supporter of the Boston Red Sox.
More about Leigh Montville...
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