Review of Bigger Stronger Faster* (2008) by Urim T — 10 Dec 2011

It is a good piece in many ways: 1. Telling the issues from an athlete's POV gives it credence; 2. Laying out the facts from the perspectives of a user's brother/mother brought legitimacy; 3. Giving the issue both sides of the argument made a fair(er) documentary. Perhaps the greatest strength of all, is that he didn't draw a conclusion -- a temptation that the likes of million-dollar journalists often could not resist.

It brought up the important dilemma of a lack of scientific research: no one would conduct a controlled research on Anabolic Steroids b/c its use is illegal outside of medicinal use. Yet, as he pointed out ... politicians set the rules in stone (the law book) before researching what the majority of the users are.

This is why, despite any number of shortcomings that one might dream up (that the author is not a doc, nor a scientist, nor an anthropologist, nor public policy maker ..) it is a good piece. He has heart, he has a moral struggle, he set out to analyze the issue in many number of ways and he brought us along so we may benefit from it. What a great guy. Honest, human, & full of soul searching.