Being Extreme

I was amazed at reading this book, I felt as though I was in the moment with these extreme atheletes as they were participating in their sports. The way the authors Gutman and Frederick integrated the stories of these incredible athletes into a montage of life and death escapades, was absolutely wonderful. I mean, I thought these guys were just crazy people, but they're not. They are articulate and thoughtful individuals that know as much as one could know within their craft. Excellent read, I totally recommend this book if you have a passion for reading exciting stories.

Most books about high risk, adventure sports seem to focus on a single individual adventure. For this reason, Being Extreme was not only a pleasant surprise, but a highly informative book that gathers athletes from a number of these often death-defying pursuits under one roof to talk about their lives and their sports. To learn about sports such as BASE jumping, sky diving, big wave surfing, freestyle motocross, freestyle skiing and snowboarding, and mountain climbing into the "death zone" was both interesting and compelling. It was made even more fascinating by having the thrills and dangers of each sport described by the athletes themselves. The authors allow the reader to see these athletes as real people who seemingly have a different perspective on life than most of us. The book gets into the "why" of these sports and athletes many times over and will give readers a total understanding of the men and women who put their lives on the line every time they climb, jump, surf, or take up a new challenge. This is a book about sports that are increasing in popularity and one I would highly recommend for both its style and substance.