The Art of Suffering: Capturing the Brutal Beauty of Road Cycling.
By Kristof Ramon.
July 2024. 288p. illus. Laurence King, $50 (9781399606905). 770.
“If it is all beauty,” Belgian photographer Ramon writes of competitive road cycling in this superbly presented collection, “then what’s the story? There are far more forms of misery!” Misery and beauty in their kaleidoscopic aspects in the lives of these professional bicyclists are presented here in dozens of arresting color and black-and-white images—taken over a span of several years, countries, and races—from torturous weather conditions to accidents sustained to glorious landscape settings to massive entourages of fans and press and racing teams to near-total physical collapse by these singular athletes in the face of long, countless, relentless stages in high-stakes races, including the Tour de France. There is, for example, a powerful succession of post-race, grime-caked riders’ faces and a stunning double-page image of riders in the twenty-first and final stage of the 2019 Tour de France passing beneath the Arc de Triomphe at sunset. Brief, succinct photo captions cite year, race, subjects’ names, and perhaps an observation or two on the circumstances behind the photos. A fine collection of photos that will hit their mark, even with casual observers.
—Alan Moores
The Black Widow.
By Jeanette Lee and Dana Benbow.
Aug. 2024. 256p. illus. Triumph, $30 (9781637273999); e-book (9781637275610). 794.73.
In her introduction, Billie Jean King writes this is one of the most inspiring life stories you will ever read, and she is correct. With sportswriter Benbow as coauthor, Lee shares her remarkable ascent from rebellious teenager to picking up a cue stick at age 18 and, within a few years, becoming a famous professional pool player, earning the nickname “The Black Widow.” Lee was ranked the number-one female pool player worldwide during the 1990s and was featured in ESPNs “30 for 30” in 2022. Growing up was difficult for the daughter of Korean immigrants in Brooklyn; she felt abandoned by her father and then, at age 13, had her first of many surgeries for scoliosis. Despite suffering from debilitating pain most of her life, Lee helped to increase the visibility of the sport while she earned national and international titles. Outside the pool hall, she discusses her blended family (adoption, IVF, surrogacy), being misunderstood as a sex symbol, and her unwavering Christian faith. One can sense an urgency in the pacing of the book, likely
