Bode: Go Fast, Be Good, Have Fun
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
“I don’t master the mountain, I master speed.” Coming from Bode Miller, this isn’t boasting, it’s just the way he lives: fast, honest, and wide open. In this candid book, the two-time Olympic medalist and champion skier shares his story, the secret of his success, and his philosophy of life.
Born and raised “off the grid”–without electricity or indoor plumbing–in the cabin built by his father in the woods near Franconia, New Hampshire (pop. 850), Bode is unconventional to the core. The strong values of his simple upbringing, where he and his family had to “invent, grow, or carry in” all the essentials have made Bode unique among today’s top sports stars.
Bode’s approach to life is straightforward: “Get a plan, stick to it, and trust your instincts . . . and almost anything is possible.”
And practically since birth, the iconoclastic Bode has been achieving the impossible and laying down tracks for others to follow. He revolutionized his sport by adopting new and crossover technologies, such as “shape” skis. He drives his tradition-bound European rivals to distraction, skiing and winning by instinct. His outsider status, killer smile, and outspoken yet laid-back persona have earned him a reputation as the Michael Jordan of skiing. Men’s Journal named Bode the second greatest athlete in the world. And in the 2005 season, Bode may have moved up a notch by becoming the first American to win the Overall World Cup Alpine championship in twenty-two years.
In short, he is the kind of person everybody wants to know and hang out with. In a book loaded with insight, good humor, and eye-opening stories about the world of competitive skiing, Bode, as always, holds nothing back.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
What gives a twenty-something Olympic ski racer the right to write an autobiography? In Miller's case, it's a life lived far beyond what his 28 years would imply, and the frequently reported fact that Miller doesn't seek approval for much-in sport or in life. Disgruntled by his misrepresentation in the press ("Do a Google search on 'Bode Miller' and 'Outhouse' and see how many hits you get."), Miller spent his off-season attempting to set the record straight-by writing it himself. The American press, as unfamiliar with his sport as they seem to be with his back story, often paints Miller as a home-schooled hippie raised in the wild woods of New Hampshire who calls his parents by their first names and is more concerned with having a good time than being a good sport. He is, in fact, all of these things, and proudly so. But, he says, "Anything I've ever done is because of my upbringing, not in spite of it." His mantra ("It's not mantra, really."), "Go fast, be good, have fun," permeates the book, which is peppered with Bode-isms (think: Yogi Berra with an attitude) and stories of friends, fun and fast times. "I live exactly the life I'd choose for myself if I could go to the hardware store and buy one off the shelf," Miller writes. And by the second chapter, you already believe him. Photos.
