Amazing Pace: The Story of Olympic Champion Michael Phelps from Sydney to Athens to Beijing by Paul McMullen
Before he was old enough to have a driver's license, Michael Phelps had a world record. Before he ever took a college class or turned 20, he had earned distinction by winning 8 medals - 6 gold and 2 bronze - at the Athens Olympics, the most in non-boycotted Games. Along the way, he captivated an American television audience and confounded the critics who questioned his ambition. "Amazing Pace" provides the most revealing look at a young man who became a world-class athlete before he had the chance to grow up - by respected "Baltimore Sun" journalist Paul McMullen, who followed Phelps's rise from an obscure 14-year-old to the most scrutinized competitor at the world's biggest sporting event. It details the plotting of his career, from turning professional at age 16, to the management of the first crises he encountered. No Olympian has ever earned 10 gold medals in a career, but Michael Phelps is on pace to achieve that milestone at the 2008 games in Beijing, China.