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Evel: The High-Flying Life of Evel Knievel: American Showman, Daredevil, and Legend
Evel Knievel, the father of extreme sports, was a high-flying daredevil. He was the personification of excitement and danger and showmanship, and represented a unique slice of American culture and patriotism. But behind the flash and the frenzy, who was this man in red, white, and blue?
With characteristic flair and insight, Leigh Montville delves into Knievel’s amazing place in pop culture, as well as his notorious dark side, exploring Knievel’s complicated and often contradictory relationships with his image, the media, his own family, and his many demons. With this all-American saga, Montville has delivered another definitive biography of a one-of-a-kind sports legend.
With characteristic flair and insight, Leigh Montville delves into Knievel’s amazing place in pop culture, as well as his notorious dark side, exploring Knievel’s complicated and often contradictory relationships with his image, the media, his own family, and his many demons. With this all-American saga, Montville has delivered another definitive biography of a one-of-a-kind sports legend.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
32 people are currently reading
394 people want to read
About the author
Leigh Montville
20 books27 followersLeigh Montville is a highly respected sportswriter, columnist and author. He is a graduate of the University of Connecticut.Montville is married to Diane Foster and has two children. He lives in Massachusetts and is an ardent supporter of the Boston Red Sox.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
August 30, 2023
Just finished reading.
Evil Knievel was tough and brave as they come, lived life to the fullest, is and will always be one of the most iconic figures of the 1970s but was also a con artist, narcissist, total scumbag, pathological liar, at times a criminal, seemingly a sociopath and definitely a hypocrite hiding behind a moralizing conservative patriotic persona when he was an alcoholic, pillhead that was abusive to his own family among others. Even people that passed through his life that liked him who were interviewed for this book verified all of his negative traits. I think maybe the craziest thing was he was actually wasted out of his mind for the majority of his big jumps. Pretty good book here though.
4 out of 5 stars.
Evil Knievel was tough and brave as they come, lived life to the fullest, is and will always be one of the most iconic figures of the 1970s but was also a con artist, narcissist, total scumbag, pathological liar, at times a criminal, seemingly a sociopath and definitely a hypocrite hiding behind a moralizing conservative patriotic persona when he was an alcoholic, pillhead that was abusive to his own family among others. Even people that passed through his life that liked him who were interviewed for this book verified all of his negative traits. I think maybe the craziest thing was he was actually wasted out of his mind for the majority of his big jumps. Pretty good book here though.
4 out of 5 stars.
April 15, 2012
An extremely entertaining, well-written biography of an outlandish daredevil, a man as unconventional and ostentatious as the 70's themselves. Page after page of fascinating anecdotes: Knievel was so assured of his godlike invincibility after surviving numerous death-defying feats, he once told an escort she could treat him "like a normal, mortal man." Another: to every jump he brought a felt-lined attache containing dozens bright steel parts. When questioned, he explained they were replacement parts for all the rods, plates, and screws already in his body; so that, in the event of a crash, doctors would have the replacement parts on hand.
Well-researched, and authoritative as possible given Knievel's propensity for exaggeration and outright lies, Leigh Montville reveals a man both triumphant and catastrophic, comic and tragic, admirable and abominable. From Knievel's beginnings as cat burglar and con man in Butte, Montana (dubbed "Evil" Knievel while spending a night in jail) to his status as a household name and action-figure hero, to his latter years of obscurity, regret, and repentance, "The High-Flying Life of Evel" easily soars onto my top-ten list of most interesting biographies.
Well-researched, and authoritative as possible given Knievel's propensity for exaggeration and outright lies, Leigh Montville reveals a man both triumphant and catastrophic, comic and tragic, admirable and abominable. From Knievel's beginnings as cat burglar and con man in Butte, Montana (dubbed "Evil" Knievel while spending a night in jail) to his status as a household name and action-figure hero, to his latter years of obscurity, regret, and repentance, "The High-Flying Life of Evel" easily soars onto my top-ten list of most interesting biographies.
July 14, 2011
One of the best biographies I've read in a long time. Truth be told, I had low expectations. I was delighted to be wrong. The author did his homework on this book, and after completing the book I felt I had a sense of the man and his many facets. Evel, warts and all, comes alive in this book. Evel Knievel came onto the scene at just the right time. There was no internet, cable TV, video games, etc. What one could do was watch Wide World of Sports, listen to pre-jump interviews with Evel, and keep fingers crossed as he made motorcycle jumps that were often horrifically miscalculated. When we talk of folk heroes such as Johnny Appleseed, Casey Jones, and others, I almost want to add Evel Knievel to the list. Did any man ever look better in a cape and crotch-hugging bell bottoms?
August 8, 2017
If I had known going into this book what Evel Knievel was really like behind the scenes, I would probably have never bought a copy. But that would have been a mistake.
Leigh Montville is a master story-teller and he picked the perfect subject. Knievel's life is immensely enjoyable to read about - the stories are fantastic. And the way Montville writes makes you feel like you are sitting in a car with him listening to his stories.
The chapters on the Snake River Canyon jump alone are worth the price of the book.
Leigh Montville is a master story-teller and he picked the perfect subject. Knievel's life is immensely enjoyable to read about - the stories are fantastic. And the way Montville writes makes you feel like you are sitting in a car with him listening to his stories.
The chapters on the Snake River Canyon jump alone are worth the price of the book.
December 27, 2012
I finished this book, but just barely. The basic take away is Evel Knevil is a TOTAL ASSHOLE and an absolute douchebag, and this writer really enjoys using literary devices instead of telling a story - it's like she was trying to write a tall tale. I stop counting how many paragraphs began with "A story" because it made me want to go on a murderous rampage. Skip the 400 book, just read a Wiki article about him instead.
August 14, 2014
This is what a biography should be: a well-researched, well-written examination of where a person comes from and what makes his or her life worth examining. Evel Knievel was a bona fide superhero to me and my generation as we were growing up, but we didn't know the whole story. Montville expertly tells the rise and fall of self-made man Robert Craig Knievel, the moral of which is this: admire Evel's achievements but don't admire the man.
July 22, 2019
Evel: The High-Flying Life of Evel Knievel: American Showman, Daredevil, and Legend. Like many a long-winded tagline, this one foreshadows whacky hi-jinx, and for sure there are a few chuckles early on at the expense of Evel's harebrained schemes. I got to reminisce about equally idiotic stuff like building ramps in my drive-way and jumping over flaming puddles of lighter fluid. But as I read further into the book, it became apparent that Evel was no barrel of laughs. In fact, he had almost no redeeming qualities. Basically a mean-spirited, abusive asshole who was enabled by other, equally reprehensible assholes questing for cash. I know where the author wanted to go, but I don't think there's any way to reconcile the antics with the awfulness of the man.
November 24, 2019
While not as good as Montville's biography of Ted Williams (which is the best sports biography I've ever read) this is still a more than competent retelling of the daredevil's career. It's no surprise that Evel was a creep - even as a kid in the 1970s I could sense that something about him was not on the level - but the extent of his lawbreaking and conniving even in his pre-fame days was a revelation. Details about his family life however are sketchy as it appears Montville did not speak to either of Knievel's wives or any of his children.
April 29, 2025
"I created the character of Evel Knievel and he sort of got away from me"
Truer words were never spoken, what a life.
Truer words were never spoken, what a life.
September 2, 2024
A biography of Robert Craig Knievel, from his rise to being the most popular stunt performer that has ever lived, to his fall from grace in the 80's and up to his 2007 passing.
Evel Knievel was many things, he was a polarizing, fearless, somewhat crazy adrenaline chaser. He was also a pathological liar, an abusive husband and absent father. He never touched a drug other than alcohol, but money and women were his weaknesses. This is a man who robbed a bar in his hometown of Butte, MT, only to break back in a month later to return what he had stolen, plus an additional $500 for the inconvenience caused. He was a chronic gambler, his ego cost him as much as $20,000 per round of golf. He never paid his debts, he owned 8 yachts, several sports cars, jets and homes, but all were taken away because he never paid for any of them.
Although there were successful stunts, it was his failures, (Trying to jump the fountains at Caesars Palace to his failed jump across Idaho's Snake River Canyon) that made him the popular person he was in the mid to late 70's. His name sold over $100 million dollars in toys during his heyday and he was viewed as a hero by young boys who watched him. He also broke every bone in his body at least once, suffered over 40 concussions, had multiple hip and knee replacements, it was said that he spent 4 years of his life in hospitals. He carried around a case with all of the replacement rods, bolts and pins that were in his body in case he needed to have them replaced again. He cheated on his wife probably over 1000 times in 38 years of marriage and promoted his brand in such a manner that even Vince McMahon thought he was over the top. He spent 6 months in prison after beating his ex- manager near to death with a baseball bat. He was a racist, predominantly anti-semitic and gave himself a lot more credit for his impact on the world than his actual contributions.
My favorite story was during his ill-fated Snake River Canyon jump, noted handicapper Jimmy the Greek Snyder was asked about what odds he would place on this stunt being successful. His response was: "The only odds that I would lay is 3 to 1, Knievel is ceazy."
Evel Knievel was many things, he was a polarizing, fearless, somewhat crazy adrenaline chaser. He was also a pathological liar, an abusive husband and absent father. He never touched a drug other than alcohol, but money and women were his weaknesses. This is a man who robbed a bar in his hometown of Butte, MT, only to break back in a month later to return what he had stolen, plus an additional $500 for the inconvenience caused. He was a chronic gambler, his ego cost him as much as $20,000 per round of golf. He never paid his debts, he owned 8 yachts, several sports cars, jets and homes, but all were taken away because he never paid for any of them.
Although there were successful stunts, it was his failures, (Trying to jump the fountains at Caesars Palace to his failed jump across Idaho's Snake River Canyon) that made him the popular person he was in the mid to late 70's. His name sold over $100 million dollars in toys during his heyday and he was viewed as a hero by young boys who watched him. He also broke every bone in his body at least once, suffered over 40 concussions, had multiple hip and knee replacements, it was said that he spent 4 years of his life in hospitals. He carried around a case with all of the replacement rods, bolts and pins that were in his body in case he needed to have them replaced again. He cheated on his wife probably over 1000 times in 38 years of marriage and promoted his brand in such a manner that even Vince McMahon thought he was over the top. He spent 6 months in prison after beating his ex- manager near to death with a baseball bat. He was a racist, predominantly anti-semitic and gave himself a lot more credit for his impact on the world than his actual contributions.
My favorite story was during his ill-fated Snake River Canyon jump, noted handicapper Jimmy the Greek Snyder was asked about what odds he would place on this stunt being successful. His response was: "The only odds that I would lay is 3 to 1, Knievel is ceazy."
June 1, 2021
Great book, written in a Tom Wolfe-ish tone that I really enjoyed and very different from his more refined voice used in ‘Ted Williams.’
Exhaustively researched - warts and all- but the book was probably 50 pages too long. Enjoyable all the same.
Exhaustively researched - warts and all- but the book was probably 50 pages too long. Enjoyable all the same.
March 20, 2017
I really enjoyed this biography. I grew up watching Evel Knievel jump. His most famous jump (the failed Snake River Canyon jump) occurred when I was 11. I anxiously followed it on the news on 9/8/74 (it was only broadcast on closed-circuit tv, the forerunner of pay per view) and then watched it the following Saturday on ABC's Wide World of Sports. I remember watching his final jump live on Wide World of Sports. I owned an Evel Knievel stunt cycle and made my own little wooden ramp and used to jump it over my Matchbox cars. I wish I'd held onto it because those things are worth a lot of money today!
The author treats Knievel very even-handedly, giving him credit where credit is due but not attempted to make Knievel into something he was not. Robert Craig (Evel) Knievel was not a good man. While he portrayed American values to the public, he was a known liar, cheater, adulterer, and many other things. He was a master showman and manipulator. Ultimately the fame he so desperately sought and achieved was taken away by his own stupidity when he beat up a former publicist who wrote an unflattering book about him, and really thought he could get away with it. He lived his final years in bad health and without much fame and died quietly. They say before he died that he found Jesus. I hope his conversion was genuine.
The author treats Knievel very even-handedly, giving him credit where credit is due but not attempted to make Knievel into something he was not. Robert Craig (Evel) Knievel was not a good man. While he portrayed American values to the public, he was a known liar, cheater, adulterer, and many other things. He was a master showman and manipulator. Ultimately the fame he so desperately sought and achieved was taken away by his own stupidity when he beat up a former publicist who wrote an unflattering book about him, and really thought he could get away with it. He lived his final years in bad health and without much fame and died quietly. They say before he died that he found Jesus. I hope his conversion was genuine.
December 21, 2013
This book has two niches--one as a document of American hucksterism, similar to a book about PT Barnum or Col. Tom Parker, and one as a riveting historical document to whoever happened to be an adolescent boy in the 1970s. I fall into the later group. My interest was further picqued because I recall so little of actual Evel Knievel. I caught him a time or two on Saturday afternoon TV, but I didn't know how to see the jump over (into) Snake River or some of his more famous stunts. That didn't stop Evel from being a daily topic of conversation, especially with any buddy who happened to own their own Evel stuntcycle. So the play by play of the Snake River jump is probably boring minutiae to most--I was on the edge of my seat. That Evel turns out to be a boor, misogynist, hypocrite, felon, etc, is of little consequence--he mainly lived in our minds as a little rubber figure who had no fear.
February 17, 2012
To an American boy in the early 1970s, Evel Knieval was a member of the Trinity. He, along with the Fonz and Steve Austin (the six million dollar man), defined awesome for my generation. His Snake River jump in 1974 remains as indelible an image my mind as the moon landings.
As this biography shows, he was not the man we 8 year old boys thought he was. He was kind of a jerk. Still, Montville manages to show why he was so compelling, despite all his flaws. He embodied a certain ideal that middle America, scarred by the Vietnam war, frightened by the counter-culture movement and feeling betrayed after Watergate, desperately craved.
The adult in me can sadly shake his head at the fallen icon, but the boy in me still misses playing with the Evel Kneival action figure on his Skycycle with rev-up action.
As this biography shows, he was not the man we 8 year old boys thought he was. He was kind of a jerk. Still, Montville manages to show why he was so compelling, despite all his flaws. He embodied a certain ideal that middle America, scarred by the Vietnam war, frightened by the counter-culture movement and feeling betrayed after Watergate, desperately craved.
The adult in me can sadly shake his head at the fallen icon, but the boy in me still misses playing with the Evel Kneival action figure on his Skycycle with rev-up action.
August 27, 2017
Evel Knievel was one of my childhood heroes. This biography was hard to read at times, because it was a warts-and-all depiction of a very flawed man. Montville does an excellent job of showing every facet of this complicated public figure, charting his rise from small-time hustler and petty criminal to worldwide superstar of the '70s, to the self-destructive aftermath of losing his fame and fortune. A page turner that is hard to put down.
April 6, 2023
RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: 5% OF THE PEOPLE WANT TO SEE ME DIE… 45% DON’T WANT TO SEE ME DIE, BUT WANT TO BE THERE IF I DO * 50% ARE PULLING FOR ME.
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Anyone who lived through the heyday of Robert Craig “Evel” Knievel, knows of the excitement this self-invented daredevil created on the world’s stage. I remember that people loved him or hated him and some simply disregarded him. Besides the absurdity of his proposed acts… some of which he attempted and succeeded… some of which… he attempted and failed… and many of which… he talked and bragged about Ad Nauseam… and never attempted. The public at large knew he was bombastic… and not too high on “class”… from the rough and tumble mining town of Butte, Montana. The author, Leigh Montville does a masterful job of unveiling the real “Evel” Knievel… with more “warts and all” than the average citizen or fan may have known about during his heyday.
I found it tremendously educational as to the inherent lifestyle of the average families in the mining town of Butte in the 1800’s and 1900’s. The accepted outlook of a short life expectancy in unsafe and unhealthy mines… described in such detail… that at times the reader would be excused if he gasps for breath. The life outside the mines which included bar after bar after bar… and prostitute after prostitute after prostitute… and the daily conclusion that your husband or brother would not see another day as they went off to work. It was from this rough hewn world that Evel became what can only be described as a despicable individual… despite his “Captain America” uniform and his million dollar payments for the seemingly never ending list of toys in his image that became a staple of youth at the height of his popularity.
The author’s in depth research paints a picture of a womanizing, alcoholic, lying, thieving, braggart. Part of Knievel’s mantra was what a great wife he had in Linda, and how he loved her so much. Yet he constantly and unrepentantly cheated on her with anything in a dress. He showed so little regard for his wife as a person, that he would pick up women right in front of her. Evel would lie to friends and acquaintances alike about payments that would either never be given… or would be given with phony checks. In addition to the surprise of what a truly abhorrent character he was… it was also shocking to find out how little detailed research and practice was put in, in preparation for some of his life threatening jumps. It’s hard to believe that his attempted Rocket cycle jump at Snake River not only never had a full launch test… but some of its main components were bought for a hundred dollars in salvage yards. Yet somehow he became the darling of “Wide World Of Sports” and many other venues. Even with the millions he earned… after buying literally a fleet of boats and yachts… luxury car after luxury car… more jewels than your average princess… he wound up broke and even spent time in jail for a cowardly attack on a writer with his “lead-pipe” walking stick. (Not to be confused with his walking stick stocked with Wild Turkey.)
By the end of this book, regardless of your age, and whether you had been a fan of Evel during his lifetime… or simply played with his toys… you’ll want to wash your hands to get the filth off. Additionally… as my Grandfather used to say: “If BS was music… Knievel would have been a brass brand!” The author did a great job with a less than savory character.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyone who lived through the heyday of Robert Craig “Evel” Knievel, knows of the excitement this self-invented daredevil created on the world’s stage. I remember that people loved him or hated him and some simply disregarded him. Besides the absurdity of his proposed acts… some of which he attempted and succeeded… some of which… he attempted and failed… and many of which… he talked and bragged about Ad Nauseam… and never attempted. The public at large knew he was bombastic… and not too high on “class”… from the rough and tumble mining town of Butte, Montana. The author, Leigh Montville does a masterful job of unveiling the real “Evel” Knievel… with more “warts and all” than the average citizen or fan may have known about during his heyday.
I found it tremendously educational as to the inherent lifestyle of the average families in the mining town of Butte in the 1800’s and 1900’s. The accepted outlook of a short life expectancy in unsafe and unhealthy mines… described in such detail… that at times the reader would be excused if he gasps for breath. The life outside the mines which included bar after bar after bar… and prostitute after prostitute after prostitute… and the daily conclusion that your husband or brother would not see another day as they went off to work. It was from this rough hewn world that Evel became what can only be described as a despicable individual… despite his “Captain America” uniform and his million dollar payments for the seemingly never ending list of toys in his image that became a staple of youth at the height of his popularity.
The author’s in depth research paints a picture of a womanizing, alcoholic, lying, thieving, braggart. Part of Knievel’s mantra was what a great wife he had in Linda, and how he loved her so much. Yet he constantly and unrepentantly cheated on her with anything in a dress. He showed so little regard for his wife as a person, that he would pick up women right in front of her. Evel would lie to friends and acquaintances alike about payments that would either never be given… or would be given with phony checks. In addition to the surprise of what a truly abhorrent character he was… it was also shocking to find out how little detailed research and practice was put in, in preparation for some of his life threatening jumps. It’s hard to believe that his attempted Rocket cycle jump at Snake River not only never had a full launch test… but some of its main components were bought for a hundred dollars in salvage yards. Yet somehow he became the darling of “Wide World Of Sports” and many other venues. Even with the millions he earned… after buying literally a fleet of boats and yachts… luxury car after luxury car… more jewels than your average princess… he wound up broke and even spent time in jail for a cowardly attack on a writer with his “lead-pipe” walking stick. (Not to be confused with his walking stick stocked with Wild Turkey.)
By the end of this book, regardless of your age, and whether you had been a fan of Evel during his lifetime… or simply played with his toys… you’ll want to wash your hands to get the filth off. Additionally… as my Grandfather used to say: “If BS was music… Knievel would have been a brass brand!” The author did a great job with a less than savory character.
May 4, 2019
I was in one of those moods where I didn't want to read any particular subject or genre and I flipped this book open and it captured me immediately. Montville has a funny and swift opening detailing how John Milius was hired to write a movie about Kneival for George Hamilton in the early 1970s. And while the book cannot sustain the pace of that open it never lags either.
From Butte, Montana, Evel Kneival was a natural salesman who could have becoming wealthy in the insurance business but it required too many years of discipline and he wanted what he wanted ASAP. This lead him to selling motorcycles and then making small money doing stunts. He created a successful career that had no known path by taking risks others wouldn't do or think of doing. There were other guys who could do stunts but they weren't salesman willing to up the ante to create buzz. Read the story of how he manipulated Caesar's Palace into letting him jump their fountain by creating his own buzz and then how he got a Hollywood director to shoot film of it and you'll understand that he was as much chutzpah as daring. It took both parts to make the legend.
The experience of reading this reminded me of how much Evel captured the imagination of my elementary school friends in the late 1970s. We all had the toy motorcycle that you wind up and let fly. We would create our own ramps and bloody ourselves crashing in the street. Evel was the sports personality when we were 8 years old. A few years later we wouldn't even be talking about him. It was a weird phenomenon. Later we would admire Hulk Hogan, but the Hulk was a personality and we had to pretend he was doing something dangerous. And while so many adults were watching to see if Evel would crash I think we kids were more interested in the achievement. We hadn't broken any bones yet. We had no idea how much pain he was sustaining. That he might be killed doing this wasn't a concrete idea in our heads. That's probably why we were getting all bloody in the streets. We wanted to see the cycle land.
The stunt I remember is waiting up all night because he was going to jump a tank of sharks. They hyped it for at least an hour before revealing that he had crashed during the practice run and there wouldn't be any jump. I think they showed the crash or something. I remember feeling letdown about the whole thing. Then Evel beat up a guy who wrote a book about him and they stopped making the toys and paying him to jump and he just became some obscure character that people gradually forgot.
Leigh Montville says he came at the perfect time. He wouldn't have worked in the black and white 1960s and he wouldn't have been as ubiquitous in the burgeoning cable TV era of the 1980s. Or maybe he was just so outlandish he would have been noticed in any era.
From Butte, Montana, Evel Kneival was a natural salesman who could have becoming wealthy in the insurance business but it required too many years of discipline and he wanted what he wanted ASAP. This lead him to selling motorcycles and then making small money doing stunts. He created a successful career that had no known path by taking risks others wouldn't do or think of doing. There were other guys who could do stunts but they weren't salesman willing to up the ante to create buzz. Read the story of how he manipulated Caesar's Palace into letting him jump their fountain by creating his own buzz and then how he got a Hollywood director to shoot film of it and you'll understand that he was as much chutzpah as daring. It took both parts to make the legend.
The experience of reading this reminded me of how much Evel captured the imagination of my elementary school friends in the late 1970s. We all had the toy motorcycle that you wind up and let fly. We would create our own ramps and bloody ourselves crashing in the street. Evel was the sports personality when we were 8 years old. A few years later we wouldn't even be talking about him. It was a weird phenomenon. Later we would admire Hulk Hogan, but the Hulk was a personality and we had to pretend he was doing something dangerous. And while so many adults were watching to see if Evel would crash I think we kids were more interested in the achievement. We hadn't broken any bones yet. We had no idea how much pain he was sustaining. That he might be killed doing this wasn't a concrete idea in our heads. That's probably why we were getting all bloody in the streets. We wanted to see the cycle land.
The stunt I remember is waiting up all night because he was going to jump a tank of sharks. They hyped it for at least an hour before revealing that he had crashed during the practice run and there wouldn't be any jump. I think they showed the crash or something. I remember feeling letdown about the whole thing. Then Evel beat up a guy who wrote a book about him and they stopped making the toys and paying him to jump and he just became some obscure character that people gradually forgot.
Leigh Montville says he came at the perfect time. He wouldn't have worked in the black and white 1960s and he wouldn't have been as ubiquitous in the burgeoning cable TV era of the 1980s. Or maybe he was just so outlandish he would have been noticed in any era.
August 22, 2023
A fabulous book, but, or and, also a very sad one. Near the end, Montville compares Evel to an old pair of platform shoes dug up in the late 90s as 70s kids slouched toward middle age--a piece of old crap, but our crap. (Maybe the pet rock is the best analogy?) When I was nearly 8, Evel Knievel was a toy you wanted your parents to buy you, this jumpsuited guy on a rocket who was going to jump something, and obviously the coolest thing in existence. In real life...hoo boy. He was a liar, thief, drunk, racist, anti-Semite; he abused his wife and children and slept with every woman he could; he ripped off everyone who ever worked with him and beat up a publicist who wrote a book that, it's not entirely clear, maybe mentioned his mother once, which he took amiss. Oh, and he kept preaching to kids on the virtues of the all-American way. And he didn't make it across Snake River Canyon, a jump that went wrong from the start. He's in the great American lineage of P.T. Barnum, the Yellow Kid, Hulk Hogan, Donald Trump, and, I'd argue, Bigfoot, who popped in a similar demographic and geographical area at the same time--a hype, a cheat, a hypocrite who looked worse the closer you got. I don't know how Mountville kept his energy up for 390pp of text, but wow, does he. Some of my favorite sentences: "the more the actor [George Hamilton] saw Knievel in action...the more he became convinced that Knievel himself was the movie. Motorcycles. America. Insanity. Hamilton loved the package." Later: "Women treated him as if he were a rock star. He treated them as if they had damn good judgment." Before the clanked Snake River Canyon attempt: "Frost seemed nonplussed to be asking questions of a man who might be dead in the next five or ten minutes. Knievel talked in solemn tones, which befit a man who might be dead in the next five or ten minutes. It was not the greatest interview in interview history." Not to mention the plan to drop Evel parachuteless out of a B52, with his spleen removed and a targeting device installed to make sure he would land in a haystack instead of splattering on the ground. Whee. Eight-year-old me is sad. Adult me is...kind of relieved?
February 20, 2020
Like a lot of other kids that grew up in 1970's America, I was fascinated by Evel Knievel...or, more accurately, what I thought I knew about Evel Knievel. Crazy jumps over buses on ABC's Wide World of Sports, the star-spangled leather outfit, and my Evel Knievel stunt cycle playset (from the good folks at Ideal Toys) were all I needed to know to recreate the magic...who needs the Snake River Canyon when I could stare death in the face by launching off of plywood ramps, dirt embankments, or any other slightly-raised surface? He was my daredevil idol and he could do no wrong.
Well, he sure as hell did wrong.
Leigh Montville's biography of Knievel documents all of the good, bad, and ugly that I never saw through my 70's childhood Kool-Aid tinted glasses. Reading her book dethroned one of my childhood heroes after exploits of his cowardly attack on Shelly Saltman, unpaid invoices, serial adultery, etc...it was a tough but enlightening book, well-researched and well-written to expose the man behind the Skycycle.
Well, he sure as hell did wrong.
Leigh Montville's biography of Knievel documents all of the good, bad, and ugly that I never saw through my 70's childhood Kool-Aid tinted glasses. Reading her book dethroned one of my childhood heroes after exploits of his cowardly attack on Shelly Saltman, unpaid invoices, serial adultery, etc...it was a tough but enlightening book, well-researched and well-written to expose the man behind the Skycycle.
November 21, 2022
Evel Knievel was a larger than life figure in my early youth in the 1970’s. Like many kids my age, I had the Evel Knievel windup cycle and fondly remember jumping and crashing it over jumps and throughout the house. As Montville details in one chapter, many of us have nostalgic memories of this toy. It was great.
I also read and remember Montville from the Boston Globe.
This biography ably chronicles Knievel’s life — at least the period from his youth through when he was a household name. Really, the only negative thing I can say about this book is that the subject was a lout. Yes, Knievel was brash, an insane risk taker, self-promoter extraordinaire. But he was also a thief, a felon, a philanderer, an anti-Semite and a beast to work for and with.
I enjoyed the book, as Knievel’s life is part of my childhood memories, even if the luster of the true man does not merit my early “hero” worship
I also read and remember Montville from the Boston Globe.
This biography ably chronicles Knievel’s life — at least the period from his youth through when he was a household name. Really, the only negative thing I can say about this book is that the subject was a lout. Yes, Knievel was brash, an insane risk taker, self-promoter extraordinaire. But he was also a thief, a felon, a philanderer, an anti-Semite and a beast to work for and with.
I enjoyed the book, as Knievel’s life is part of my childhood memories, even if the luster of the true man does not merit my early “hero” worship
December 28, 2023
Love this book, was written in a way that gives the reader a well rounded view of Evel. You will get stories about his childhood, adult life, and career as a daredevil. Plenty of stats which I think is an important part of reading about Evel, helps to understand the records he set with the equipment and knowledge he had at the time.
As a reader and one who grew up seeing Evel in the spotlight, I learned things about him I don’t necessarily like but it is who he was. The ending was well written and tied his life together, there was enough good with what he did and enough stories and stats that he left behind to outweigh the bad parts of his life. We all have bad parts, so I focused on what I was interested in, his early life, the jump stats, and how his popularity exploded over the years. Cool story.
As a reader and one who grew up seeing Evel in the spotlight, I learned things about him I don’t necessarily like but it is who he was. The ending was well written and tied his life together, there was enough good with what he did and enough stories and stats that he left behind to outweigh the bad parts of his life. We all have bad parts, so I focused on what I was interested in, his early life, the jump stats, and how his popularity exploded over the years. Cool story.
August 17, 2019
Closer to 4.25/4.5. It gets a little "writerly" at times and a tad repetitive, plus the story kinda sputters out after Snake River, but it was well worth reading. Evel Knievel was a real asshole, whose drinking, womanizing, recidivism and anti-Semitism was just below the surface of who kids of the 1970's looked up to as a real American hero. There are also so many stories that are stranger than fiction, touching people as varied as Vince McMahon, George Hamilton, John Milius, Joe Louis, Linda Evans and the Czechoslovakian national men's ice hockey team. Well worth it, if you're looking to read about a legend, not a hero.
May 24, 2024
We have very little choice about our life. The only thing really left to us is a choice about our death. And mine will be glorious.
Regardless of who you are or what you have been, you can still become what you may want to be.
“If I keep making these jumps I’m going to wind up dead. And I just don’t want to wind up dead … I haven’t come down this road by accident. I’m here.”
Fuck anyone who thought he was going to die. Fuck anyone who wanted to tell him how to live.
If the battle had been between life and death, success and failure, this somehow felt like a tie. Maybe even worse.
Regardless of who you are or what you have been, you can still become what you may want to be.
“If I keep making these jumps I’m going to wind up dead. And I just don’t want to wind up dead … I haven’t come down this road by accident. I’m here.”
Fuck anyone who thought he was going to die. Fuck anyone who wanted to tell him how to live.
If the battle had been between life and death, success and failure, this somehow felt like a tie. Maybe even worse.
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March 6, 2023i don’t write many reviews on this site but I just want to make everybody i’m friends here with aware of one fact: this book is absolutely fucking crazy. dude was a real-life kenny powers, equal parts legend and villain.
it’s a genuine thrill ride from start to finish, and one can only hope that we get some crazy enterprising bastard in the film industry to do this story justice (george hamilton and john milius tried but hey, we can do so much more now).
it’s a genuine thrill ride from start to finish, and one can only hope that we get some crazy enterprising bastard in the film industry to do this story justice (george hamilton and john milius tried but hey, we can do so much more now).
June 21, 2019
When I was a kid, I loved Evel Knievel. The man had guts up the yazoo! (or something) Reading Leigh Montville's bio can be a little depressing, especially if you, like me, liked Knievel. The guy portrayed in this exhaustive book is likeable as hell, but also a mean and uncouth narassist. I will always admire his moxie, but have a lot less respect for his character.
November 21, 2021
This was a great book. When I was a kid. I remember watching Wide World of Sports every Saturday and getting Evel Kniievel toys for my Birthday and Christmas. He was a hero like Ali to all kids growing up in the 70's. My favorite sound bit comes from an interview of Evel on the Jim Rome Show, Jim asked if you had a 50/50 chance and could die why would you do it, Evel responded, "Do You Know How The Hell I Am" Evel Knievel RIP
November 27, 2022
As you'd probably suspect, Evel Knieval was all hat and no cows. Everyone who met him hated him. A lier and a cheat. A pure narcissist before people knew what that word meant. He was Trump before Trump. He left misery behind wherever he went.
April 26, 2018
Took a while to get through because I was so busy, and because I so truly detested its subject, but Montville does a great job making an entertaining story out of a terrible man's ridiculous life.
August 6, 2019
Great read, unbevelable story. Only in America!
August 20, 2019
His life is nuts, and didn't realize just how popular he was at his peek. Found it hard to pick up and read at some points but he def was unique and slightly crazy
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