The Tour de France cover art

The Tour de France

A Cultural History

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About this listen

In this highly original history of the world's most famous bicycle race, Christopher S. Thompson, mining previously neglected sources and writing with infectious enthusiasm for his subject, tells the compelling story of the Tour de France from its creation in 1903 to the present. Weaving the words of racers, politicians, Tour organizers, and a host of other commentators together with a wide-ranging analysis of the culture surrounding the event—including posters, songs, novels, films, and media coverage—Thompson links the history of the Tour to key moments and themes in French history. Examining the enduring popularity of Tour racers, Thompson explores how their public images have changed over the past century. A new preface explores the long-standing problem of doping in light of recent scandals.

©2006 The Regents of the University of California (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Cycling Europe France Sports History Imperialism Sports Racing
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What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

If the book was written in fresh, engaging English. It reads like the phd thesis of a pretentious cyclist.
If the reader could actually pronounce French! You would have thought that given the subject they would cast somebody who could, for this reading! Who decides who reads what?

What will your next listen be?

Something else about Cycling history

How could the performance have been better?

Reader needs to stop using a declamatory voice tone, sounds very pompous. Ease into the microphone, buddy!

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment that you can render a subject like this boring.

Overly academic, stilted language

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This would have been an interesting book. However, the narrator had an American propaganda from the 1950s newsreel type voice and absolutely mangled the French language and place names. To the extent that it was irritating and ruined the listening experience. ( I am not an American phone, I love America but this did not work)

Awful narration

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A really interesting book absolutely ruined by the french pronunciation. I don’t expect fluency but I do expect the place names to be correctly pronounced. This should be held up as an example of exactly how not to narrate a book. So disappointed!

Horrible Pronunciation

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