Sports & Adventure Biography, Entertainment Biography, General & Miscellaneous Biography, Sports & Adventure Biography, Biography Reference
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Overview
Robert "Evel" Knievel is one of the most unique heroes to earn a place in the collective psyche of this country. A high school dropout, an award-winning athlete, a petty thief, a motorcycle racer, and a political activist, Knievel earned his nickname because of his unlawful activities early in his life but rode that name to fame by consistently tempting death in the public eye. With a showman's panache and a madman's daring, he has risen-along with the likes of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe-past mere celebrity to the exalted level of American icon. Today, at sixty-two years of age, Evel still makes headlines, proving that the appeal of daredevil never dies. From his recent liver transplant to his son Robbie's jump off the Grand Canyon to his very public support of mandatory helmet laws, Knievel remains foremost in the minds of his millions of fans. Evel Knievel stands as a truly perfect example of a certain uniquely American aesthetic, one in which pride and heart can overcome any circumstances at all.
Synopsis
Robert "Evel" Knievel is one of the most unique heroes to earn a place in the collective psyche of this country. A high school dropout, an award-winning athlete, a petty thief, a motorcycle racer, and a political activist, Knievel earned his nickname because of his unlawful activities early in his life but rode that name to fame by consistently tempting death in the public eye. With a showman's panache and a madman's daring, he has risen-along with the likes of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe-past mere celebrity to the exalted level of American icon. Today, at sixty-two years of age, Evel still makes headlines, proving that the appeal of daredevil never dies. From his recent liver transplant to his son Robbie's jump off the Grand Canyon to his very public support of mandatory helmet laws, Knievel remains foremost in the minds of his millions of fans. Evel Knievel stands as a truly perfect example of a certain uniquely American aesthetic, one in which pride and heart can overcome any circumstances at all.Editorials
Library Journal
During the 1970s and early 1980s, Evel Knievel was a world-renowned motorcycle showman and daredevil whose performance jumps, both successful and unsuccessful, were seen by millions in person or on television. Some jumps seemed outlandish or suicidal, such as ones over Las Vegas's Caesar's Palace fountains or the aborted leap of Idaho's Snake River Canyon, but these also characterized Knievel's showmanship, promotional talent, and unceasing drive to test limits and challenge risk. That he survives today after numerous body-wrenching crashes is testimony not only to good fortune but also to his tenacity and mysterious strength of will. Collins's well-written account is largely admiring of Knievel and the physical and character traits that propelled him through his unique career, yet it is also honest and critical about the performer's personal problems and failings. What clearly shows is a life lived on the edge, in constant challenge and defiance of the odds--a life that has somehow triumphed over those frequently long odds. A good bet for public libraries.--David B. Van De Streek, Pennsylvania State Univ. Libs., York de Gaulle Anthonioz, Genevi ve.Book Details
Published
April 1, 2010
Publisher
St. Martin's Press
Pages
224
ISBN
9781429972314