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Andrew Tilin

The Doper Next Door: My Strange and Scandalous Year on Performance-Enhancing Drugs Hardcover – June 1, 2011

by Andrew Tilin (Author)

3.7 89 ratings

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What happens to a regular guy who dopes? Surprised to learn that pro athletes aren’t the only ones taking performance-enhancing substances, journalist Andrew Tilin goes in search of the average juicing Joe, hoping to find a few things out: Why would normal people take these substances? Where do folks get them? Does the stuff really work?

But these controversial drugs often silence their users, and so his queries might have gone unanswered had Tilin not looked in the mirror and succumbed to curiosity. Soon wielding syringes, this forty-something husband and father of two children becomes the doper next door.

During his yearlong odyssey, Tilin is transformed. He becomes stronger, hornier, and aggressive. He wades into a subculture of doping physicians, real estate agents, and aging women who believe that Tilin’s type of legal “hormone replacement therapy” is the key to staying young—and he often agrees. He also lives with the price paid for renewed vitality, worrying about his health, marriage, and cheating ways as an amateur bike racer. And all along the way, he tells us what doping is really like—empowering and scary.

Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Counterpoint
Publication date

June 1, 2011
Dimensions

6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

1582437157
ISBN-13

978-1582437156
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for The Doper Next Door

"Tilin [enters] the shady world of the "anti–aging" industry, populated with past–their–prime jocks and fading beauties, "Dr. Iffys," hucksters, and much confusing and contradictory information on the effects, positive and dangerous, of rubbing testosterone cream on one's private parts and injecting other drugs in search of better performance on the road, in bed and in the mirror. Tilin is an engaging writer, and even though he wades into an arena ripe for mockery, he provides mostly gentle portrayals of the people he meets during his testosterone–boosted year." —San Francisco Chronicle

"A good book—timely, engaging, honest and well–researched . . . it raises excellent ethical questions about hormone replacement, supplementation, anti–aging and drug abuse." — Peter Brown Hoffmeister, author of The End of Boys

"Timely, engaging, honest, and well–researched." —The Huffington Post

"For the voyeur." —Bicycling magazine

"Andrew Tilin took on a risky, difficult assignment when he decided to act as his own guinea pig—in a clandestine study of the powerful effects that supplemental testosterone can have on a weekend athlete and family man. The result is amazing: an incredible thrill ride through the back alleys of sports doping, hormone replacement, and anti–aging medicine. The Doper Next Door is participatory journalism at its best."
—Alex Heard, editorial director at Outside magazine and author of The Eyes of Willie McGee

"Andrew Tilin plunges fearlessly into a culture that we hardly new existed, one in which a hopped–up citizenry's high hopes and false heroes trump all else, and enlists in a first–hand reckoning with the real questions we should be asking about performance enhancing drugs. There are no easy answers—just the challenge of deciding who's cheating whom."
—Eric Hagerman, co–author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

"Andrew Tilin's story is as complex and challenging as the issue he tackles head on—the modern, and unfortunately ubiquitous, scourge of performance–enhancing drug use."
—Bill Strickland, editor–at–large of Bicycling magazine and author of Ten Points

"In The Doper Next Door, Andrew Tilin personally explores the astonishing powers and frightening side–effects of performance–enhancing drugs. The result is an eye–opening, eyebrow–raising, immensely troubling, and yet often hilariously funny sports memoir. In the tradition of George Plimpton, this is a sterling work of participatory journalism—a carefully reported and deeply experienced book that takes us behind the hot outrage of the headlines and into the very bloodstream of the modern sports world."
—Hampton Sides, editor–at–large Outside magazine and bestselling author of Hellhound On His Trail

"The Doper Next Door is a brain–enhancing drug of a book: harrowing, powerful, freaky, wondrous, and wise. I couldn't put it down."
—Daniel Coyle, bestselling author of Lance Armstrong's War and The Talent Code

About the Author

Andrew Tilin has written for many publications, including The New York Times, Wired, and Yoga Journal. He was a senior editor at Business 2.0 and Outside magazines, and is a contributing editor for Outside. He is the co–author, with Reed Timmer, of Into the Storm. He lives in Oakland, California.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Counterpoint; F First Edition (June 1, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1582437157
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1582437156
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.28 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,103,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #14,365 in Popular Culture in Social Sciences

Customer Reviews:
3.7 89 ratings

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Christopher

Didn't capture my attention

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 5, 2012

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First is the subject matter. I would have loved to hear about all the different sorts of things people do to dope in cycling, as well as what they do to get away with it. This book was very limited in that area. Basically the author goes to the doctor and gets testosterone. The first half of the book is about his research for finding sources of testosterone and the types of doctors that prescribe it. The second half is a story about himself getting stronger, having guilty feeling about getting stronger, and concerns about contaminating his family. --And it is worth mentioning that the author had low testosterone to begin with, so the getting stronger part is really not surprising. Also, the dose he was taking is well below (probably ten times lower) what body builders are known to take. So, the "doper" part is a little bit of a stretch in my mind. Google body builders and cycles. You'll get a more interesting story; filled with anti-cancer drugs and stories of real side effects.

Second, is the writing. As much as I wanted to just pick up this book and finish it, I couldn't. It just didn't capture my attention and seemed to drag on. In my opinion, the character development wasn't adequate. I just never could identify with any of them. Maybe a little with the author, when discussing bike racing. But, the descriptions were vague, and inadequate to actually visualize yourself in that position.

Story telling is an art. A great story teller should capture your imagination and you should hang, waiting and anticipating the next word. In this sense, the author fails. And that sort of sums up the writing style: vague, lacking adequate visualization details, and a bit wandering. --Having said that, I would describe this book as just average in the writing style/story telling. Neither good or bad, just so-so. I never felt compelled to finish the book, which explains why it took me 2 months to read it.

5 people found this helpful

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Pine Spruce

Wow! Well written source of many answers and plenty of interesting questions

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 8, 2011

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As I read this book I saw many parallels between Tilin and myself. We are at similar places in life (husbands, fathers, weekend-warrior bike riders entering our middle-age years, etc.). One key difference is that I'm not a journalist/author and he is. Maybe that professional calling is what enticed him to embark on this project commitment, immerse himself physically and emotionally in the doping world, and write a stellar book about his experience. I wouldn't have had the, ummm, guts to do what he did - I can't imagine smearing that first dose of cream on my skin (yuck) - and that's why I'm so captivated by Tilin's work here.

What a page-turner!

_The Doper Next Door_ is not really about bike racing per se, and it's not only about the mechanics, science, and economics of doping. It's not only a revealing peak into the Anti-Aging industry and the intriguing characters who inhabit it. This book is more than all that: it's a deeply personal, revealing, journalistic account of the physical, social, emotional, and athletic impacts (positive, negative, and unclear) that result when a mature, responsible, reasonably well adjusted adult with good judgment and healthy skepticism decides to go on the juice.

One need not be a sports fan, a guy, or an endurance nut to be captivated by this well researched and well executed book. Anyone who is interested in a great analysis of a current, hot topic will enjoy the read. I liked the book especially because it raised as many questions as it answered. That some of those questions were uncomfortable for me to ponder - and have no easy answers - enhanced the book's appeal.

One person found this helpful

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HelloAthey

Narcissism under the guise of courage

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 17, 2011

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The book was very honest- and the reader gets a great look at the author's machinery. This is not a man to "look up to," not a man going "against the grain." This is a man who took the safest possible route to performance enhancement, and then wrote a book about the moral struggle it created- while trying desperately to make that struggle significant to his life and applicable to other people.

Tilin's account of his season as a doper reveals exactly what one would expect from the kind of guy who would cheat in competition, then write a book about it: immaturity, an inflated sense of the significance of his purpose, and ridiculous attempts to rationalize bankrupt behavior (then make those rationalizations look objective). That same kind of guy can also, apparently rationalize (with his wife), having an abortion because another kid didn't FIT WELL WITH THEIR LIFESTYLE. Again, not a moral man attempting to prove that immorality doesn't pay- just a cheater rationalizing behavior.

At the end of the experiment, as at the beginning, THERE IS NO CLEAR PURPOSE to his behavior. I think the author expected some sort of enlightenment to occur during the course of his research, but it never did. I think the author then tried desperately to assign significance to what amounted to nothing particularly interesting because he had to justify an entire year of cheating in bike races. This is evidenced by page after page of random, baseless "freak-outs" that attempt to highlight the "inner struggle" that doping created for him. The "inner struggle" ends up feeling forced and whiney.

This book isn't good or bad for cycling- no one cares what some cat 4 does to his inner-thigh. To be frank, the author spends so many pages proving that he didn't have any idea why he was doing what he was doing by attempting to prove that he did. Skip this book. Read David Millar.

3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

James

Well written but boring

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 28, 2013

Verified Purchase

I thought the author was very creative and a good writer, but to be honest I thought the core idea of the book was just too dull. His doping regime is completely unlike anything a pro cyclist like Lance Armstrong or most pro endurance athletes would use (and the author even admits that his drug regime may have done nothing for his performance!). If your looking for a book that goes into the ethics and debate about drugs in sport (or more generally for life-enhancement / anti-aging), you might find this book an interesting read. If you want to read a book from a real athlete's perspective of drug-use for athletic enhancement (as well as the ethic debate), I'd recommend "The Secret Race" by Daniel Coyle.

Flanders57

Great insight

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on August 21, 2013

Verified Purchase

Oh, to dope or not to dope isn't the question, but are you a dope for even thing of such an idea. Great insight in the mind of one such person. Well written and researched on his part. The medical community needs a mirror held up and take a good look at itself. Well worth the time to read.

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The Doper Next Door: My Strange and Scandalous Year on Performance-Enhancing Drugs Hardcover – June 1, 2011

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