Review of "Barbara Ann Scott"

I always will take a look at least the synopsis of a book on an athlete I never heard of before.  That was the case with this one on figure skating Olympic gold medalist Barbara Ann Scott and I am glad I picked it up as it was an informative and quick read.  Here is my review of this biography of her. 

Title/Author:

“Barbara Ann Scott: Queen of the Ice” by Ryan Stevens

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (Very good)

Review:

Barbara Ann Scott made sports history when she became the first Canadian woman to win an Olympic gold medal at the 1948 Winter Olympics.  This biography by Ryan Stevens not only tells the story of how she overcame some struggles to earn this honor, but also how after her victory she became a national hero and inspiration to many Canadians.

Scott’s family had some financial difficulty during her childhood and her father Clyde, while a good athlete in his time, he continued to participate as best he could after being wounded in World War II.  He and her mother Mary were supportive of Barbara Ann’s skating from her first figure tests at seven years old up to and including her amateur career.  Barbara Ann also was inspired by the legendary skater Sonja Henie whom she eventually met.

Something that should be noted about this book is a line that Stevens writes in the introduction.  He states that this book is intended for readers who are “figure skating people.”  If one is not familiar with the sport, they will not find any explanations or definitions. While I will not call myself an expert and can easily distinguish between different jumps, for example, I consider the book good for those with at least a moderate amount of knowledge and interest in the history of the sport.  It is an enjoyable and fairly quick precisely because of this lack of technical jargon.

Stevens, with his knowledge of the sport and through good research, also gives the reader a good picture of Barbara Ann’s life off the ice, both during her childhood and after she retired from skating after turning professional and performing in several ice shows. He doesn’t pry too much into her personal life with details. Instead, Stevens concentrates more on items like Barbara Ann’s popularity among the Canadian citizenry and the many other activities in which she participated.

As mentioned above, this book is not for readers who have little to no knowledge or interest in figure skating, but for those readers who enjoy the sport, even if just every four years during the Olympics, it is an enjoyable read in which they will learn about Canada’s first “Queen of the Ice." 

I wish to thank Mr. Stevens and Book Sirens for providing a copy of the book.  The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: Amazon.com: Barbara Ann Scott: Queen of the Ice eBook : Stevens, Ryan: Kindle Store

Review of "One Jump at a Time"

 As one who only watches figure skating during the Olympics, I had known the name Nathan Chen only because he won the gold medal in the last Winter Olympics games in 2022.  So, I was curious to see how his memoir would read and it was pretty good.  Here is my review. 

Title/Author:

“One Jump at a Time: My Story” by Nathan Chen

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: The best way to describe Nathan Chen’s journey to the Olympic gold medal in men’s figure skating is if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.  That is exactly what he did to achieve a goal he had since he first set foot on ice as a toddler in Salt Lake City, when that city hosted the Winter Olympics, 20 years before Chen won his gold.  All of the ups and downs in his road to gold is told in this memoir.

It doesn’t follow the typical memoir in that there is very little of Chen’s personal life described by him.  Yes, he talks about family and his upbringing. This is especially true as his mother was one of his coaches, both for training and for emotional support.  But overall, the book is about his skating and his training.  He talks a lot about his various coaches and other people involved.  This includes Vera Wang, who agreed to design his costumes.

For the range of emotions in the book, there are certainly lows as well as the highs – and both came during the Olympics.  After a disastrous short program in the 2018 Olympics, he considered leaving because there was no way he would gain enough points to be in contention for a medal. But then he put on a great show in the free skate and gained more confidence as he prepared for the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

However, the COVID pandemic did put a major detour into Chen’s plans, and here is where the book, and Chen, turns to a little too much negativity.  This is mainly because, by Chen’s own admission, he was very concerned about being infected with COVID and that would affect his training and school schedule (he was taking classes at Yale while training for the Beijing Olympics) as well as during the Games themselves.  It’s understandable but at times a felt to be a little too much while reading it.

It is helpful for a reader to understand the different technical aspects and descriptions of the jumps and movements of figure skating. His discussion on the programs and various movements suggested by coaches are very detailed and technical.  Not being too familiar with some of the jumps, such as the difference between a lutz and a Salchow, I had to look up some of these.  That can be both good and frustrating – the latter because of needing to put the book aside to look up terms, but good in that a reader who isn’t familiar with the sport will learn a lot.

Overall, fans of the Winter Olympics and figure skating will really enjoy this book and even if not, it is a good way to learn more about this sport that many watch only once every four year.

Link: Amazon.com: One Jump at a Time: My Story: 9780063280526: Chen, Nathan: Books

Review of "The Role I Played"

While I have learned a lot about women's hockey and come to appreciate how good the game is played by women, I had never heard of Sami Jo Small before obtaining this book.  Yes, I knew about the stars of women's hockey such as Cammi Granato and Hayley Wickenheiser, but not Sami Jo Small.  Therefore, I was very curious to see what her role was on three Canadian teams and this book is a very good look at that very topic.  Here is my review of "The Role I Played"

Title/Author:

“The Role I Played: Canada’s Greatest Olympic Hockey Team” by Sami Jo Small

Tags:

Ice Hockey, memoir, women, Winter Olympics

Publish date:

September 29, 2020

Length:

260 pages

Rating:

4 ½ of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Women’s hockey has grown exponentially in the past 25 years, thanks in no small part to the sport being part of the Winter Olympics in that time frame. The two most dominant teams during that time have been the United States and Canada.  One player who was part of the first three Canadian teams, goaltender Sami Jo Small, has written a memoir sharing her experiences at those three Olympics and brings the reader inside the life of a hockey player.

The format of the book is not the typical memoir in that Small will often take the reader back to her youth when a moment during practice with Team Canada or a break in one of the games at the Olympics will connect with something that happened during her formative years. One such occurrence was when she was handling her goalie equipment while on the bench.  The next chapter starts when she mentions her equipment when playing hockey with the boys as a young girl.  The transition there is fine but the reading of the book seems to be interrupted in these parts, especially when the flashback is done and the narrative returns to the game or practice with Team Canada.  There are also some sentences thrown into a paragraph that don’t feel like they belong. One example – when talking about teammate Sari Fisk during a game against Finland, Sari takes a pass from the defense. The next sentence talks about her young daughter running around the rink waiting for Mommy to finish practice.  Then in the next sentence Fisk makes a pass to a teammate.  How does the sentence about the daughter fit into a nice hockey play?  This was the only quibble I had with this book that is otherwise filled with great stories.

It should be noted that while Small was a part of the first three Canadian teams at the Olympics in 1998, 2002, and 2006, she saw playing time in only 2002 as she was listed as the third goalie the other two times and therefore was not officially on the roster for playing nor were third goalies allowed to be on the medal stand should the team win a medal.  Canada did win a medal in all three years – silver in 1998 with a heartbreaking loss to the United States in the gold medal game, and gold in 2002 and 2006.  Despite the relatively little playing time, Small writes about her time with the national teams with an upbeat, positive vibe and the reader will learn much about the inner workings of a hockey locker room and the routines of a backup goaltender.

Playing with goaltenders such as Kim St. Pierre, Manon Rheaume and Charlene Lebonte, Small writes with a roller coaster of emotions as she works hard to compete for playing time against her teammates but at the same time will support them when they are playing.  The two Olympics in which Small doesn’t play shows the gamut of emotions.  As a rookie with the 1998 team, Small is thrilled to simply be a part of history as the first women’s Olympic tournament is played.  After seeing playing time and having a gold medal draped around her neck in 2002, she is devastated to learn that she had to serve as the third goaltender once again in 2006.  Credit should be given to her for fulfilling that role admirably and being the biggest cheerleader for Team Canada as they defended their gold medal.

However, this book is not just about Small’s experiences with the Olympic teams. Small played hockey with men in both Canada and at Stanford University where she graduated with an engineering degree.  She also played in the women’s professional leagues that were operating in Canada and even helped ensure the survival of one by doing administrative work for one as well after her Olympic career was finished.  Small also talks about her personal life in just the right amount of text and emotion.  The reader will feel like he or she knows about Small, but without getting too much information to make it feel intrusive.

While many hockey fans will recognize the contributions to the women’s game by American and Canadian stars such as Cammi Granato, Katie King, Haley Wickenheiser and Danielle Goyette, the contributions of players like Sami Jo Small should be recognized as well and this book will bring a lot of information and enjoyment to hockey fans everywhere.

I wish to thank ECW Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

                                                                             

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)                                                                                                                               

Buying Links:

https://ecwpress.com/products/the-role-i-played?_pos=1&_sid=7475844db&_ss=r

https://www.amazon.com/Role-Played-Canadas-Greatest-Olympic-ebook/dp/B089VFC4SH/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Review of "The Gold in the Rings"

With the current situation of social distancing and staying at home, it means more time to read and learn.  By reading this book, I realized how much more there is to the makeover of the Olympics from an amateur athetic showcase to the glitzy cash cow they are today.  Here is my review of "The Gold in the Rings"

Title/Author:

“The Gold in the Rings: The People and Events that Transformed the Olympic Games” by Stephen R. Wenn and Robert Barney

Tags:

Olympics, business, history

Publish date:

January 9, 2020

Length:

360 pages

Rating: to

3 ½ of 5 stars (good)

Review:

The original concept of the modern Olympic Games was, ideally, to showcase amateur athletes. That has now been replaced with the Games being viewed as a spectacle of commercialism, professionalism and glamour, especially for the hosting city. How this transformation took place and the people behind it is the subject of this book by two well-respected university professors.

As one might expect, this book is written in a style that is befitting a scholarly work with much detail and much research.  It is not one that can be picked up and enjoyed on a lazy afternoon.  The reader will have many different names, acronyms and situations come at him so quickly that it may be very confusing at first.  However, the subject matter is worth the time it takes to carefully absorb the information because it is very interesting.

The reader will learn about the presidents of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from Avery Brundage, who valiantly fought to keep the "purity" of the Games alive and minimize, if not outright ban, any commercialism from creeping into the games.  His war of words and later legal action against a businessman in Los Angeles who used the 1932 games hosted by that city for promoting bread makes for one of the best stories in the book, even better than the biggest one for scandal, the bribery and other events in the saga of naming Salt Lake City as the host of the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Of course, a book on the growing revenue and commercialism of the Olympics has to include the other time Los Angeles hosted the Games, 1984, and the wildly economically successful Games led by Peter Ueberroth.  While that is commonly considered to be a big turning point in the change of the Olympic spirit, it certainly is not the only factor in this swing, and the subsequent chapters up to the current games that will be held in Tokyo now in 2021 illustrate this change.  A reader will just have to make sure that he or she absorbs this slowly and carefully and at that point, it will be realized that the Olympics have gone a profound change in a relatively short amount of time.

I wish to thank University of Illinois Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

                                                             

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Gold-Rings-Transformed-Olympic-Society-ebook/dp/B084NWLQ63/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Review of "Brave Enough"

It is hard to believe that after nearly seven years of writing reviews, I never had reviewed a book on Nordic skiing before getting this upcoming memoir of a young woman who has won an Olympic medal in the sport.  The book covers much more than just the sport, however and was a very good read.  Here is my review of "Brave Enough."

Title/Author:

“Brave Enough" by Jessie Diggins

Tags:

Nordic skiing, Winter Olympics, memoir

Publish date:

March 10, 2020

Length:

296 pages

Rating: to

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

The progress made by women in many sports has been amazing in the past twenty years and one of those sports in which women, particularly American women, have made great strides is Nordic, or cross-country, skiing.  An Olympic medal winner for the United States, Jessie Diggins, writes her memoir in a light, breezy manner that is not only easy to read, it is one that shows the reader every side of this young woman. 

As is typical with any sports memoir, Diggins shares her stories of growing up with her family but with a little more detail than usual.  Growing up in Minnesota, it was fitting that she became active in the winter with her sister and parents and from there, she became involved in skiing early and has kept up a demanding training schedule from seventh grade in the early 2000's to today.

The reader will learn much about the sport of Nordic skiing, particularly the history of the sport for women, where they have made tremendous progress with not only their performances, but also their exposure and publicity.  Diggins talks about her training and her accomplishments in a manner that shows she is still a young woman at heart.  That is one of the more endearing aspects of the book – she writes in the manner that she would talk to someone about her skiing career and her life.

Her life was not all glamor, however, as she spends a good amount of text talking about her dark secret – her struggles to overcome bulimia.  Anyone not familiar with what that disease can do to a person, including noting that it is not just skinny young girls who become afflicted with this disease, will learn a great deal from Diggins' candid account of her struggle and recovery from this eating disorder. She has a great deal of praise for the Emily Program, which was the program that assisted her with recovery.

Diggins shares several amusing and entertaining stories as well as the "dark side" of her disease. One good example is her actions when she and the rest of the American Olympic team was welcomed at the White House in 2014 upon their return from the Sochi Winter Olympics.  She was so overcome with emotion when President Obama shook her hand that she not only cried, but also blurted out she wanted to hug him, something no other athlete had done that day.  Not only did the President hug her, but so did First Lady Michelle Obama immediately afterward, and said a few comforting words to Diggins.  Jessie's account of this moment is just one of many light-hearted and funny tales she tells as well as the seriousness of her sport and her disease.

This book is an entertaining and informative read that anyone who is interested in Nordic skiing, the life of an Olympic athlete or wishes to learn more about eating disorders is encouraged to read.  Jessie was certainly "brave enough" to not only tackle her disorder, but also to become an Olympic medalist.

I wish to thank University of Minnesota Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

                                    

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Brave-Enough-Jessie-Diggins-ebook/dp/B084TFFHK1/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Review of "A Team of Their Own"

When I ride the train to a sporting event, I like to read a book about the sport that I will be seeing. I picked this book up to read on the train to a hockey playoff game between the Islanders and Hurricanes, and while the game was excellent, this book was even better.  Here is my review of "A Team of Their Own."

Title/Author:

“A Team of Their Own: How an International Sisterhood Made Olympic History” by Seth Berkman

 

Tags:
Ice Hockey, Winter Olympics, politics, women’s sports

Publish date:

October 1, 2019

 

Length:

352 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

During the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, some of the most memorable moments were made by a hockey team that didn’t win a medal or even a single game, but made the most powerful statement of unity that could be made.  The Unified women’s hockey team of North and South Korea, together for just over two weeks, showed the world what a unified Korea can look like. The story of this team and many of the inspirational women playing on this team is told in this excellent book by Seth Berkman.

 

The women’s hockey team of South Korea had been struggling to compete in international competitions.  After years of losing by scores that were more common in American football instead of hockey, South Korean sports leaders decided to open up spots on the team to players who are of Korean decent but live elsewhere. Players such as Randi Griffin, Danelle Im and Marissa Brandt, who were American citizens through either emigration or adoption but of Korean descent, were added to the team. Sarah Murphy, a Canadian woman, who was the daughter of a legendary NHL and Team Canada coach, had the formidable task of integrating these players with the veteran players of the team such as goalie Shin So-Jung, who was in net for many of those blowout losses but was clearly the most talented player on the team.

 

Berkman does a wonderful job of portraying these players, the coach and others as the team prepares for the 2018 Winter Olympics, in which they had to prove they would be competitive in order to receive the spot in the tournament that is given to the host nation. This included games in the United States against high school and college teams in which the team grew closer, both in terms of chemistry and scores on the ice.

 

Then, two weeks before the start of the Olympics, with a berth in the tourney secured, the government of both North and South Korea along with the International Olympic Committee, announced that players from North Korea would also be joining the women’s hockey team and they would play as a Unified Korea team.  This led to even more confusion and frustration for the players who have already trained and played together.  For veterans like Shin, this meant they would now have to acclimate to new players twice, having already accepted the “imports” like Griffin, Im and Brandt.  They somehow made it work and even though the team did not win a match during the Games, they were the main story of the Olympics with the support they drew from all Koreans and the emotions they left both on the ice and through their interactions with the fans.  Berkman shines in this portion of the book, making the reader feel like he or she is right there with the team, not only on the ice during the games, but also when they are receiving all the support and adulation from the Korean fans.  At times, it may make readers get emotional themselves.

 

This book was just as good as was the story of the Unified team.  Any reader who likes hockey, especially Olympic hockey, will need to read this book.  One will feel quite inspired after reading the adventures of these young women.

 

I wish to thank Hanover Square Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

Book Format Read:
E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Team-Their-Own-Sisterhood-Sacrifice/dp/1335005536/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-team-of-their-own-seth-berkman/1130040649?ean=9781335005533

Review of "The Boys of Winter"

Many people will agree with me that when the United States hockey team defeated the USSR in the 1980 Winter Olympics, that was the greatest sporting event that will ever take place.  This book that was published in 2005 recently became available on audio, so I wanted to take a listen to relive that game.  It was certainly all that I hoped it would be. Here is my review of "The Boys of Winter."

Title/Author:

“Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team” by Wayne Coffey, narrated by Kirby Heyborne

Tags:

Ice Hockey, Winter Olympics, History, audio book

Publish date:

February 28, 2017 (audio. Print originally published 2005)

Length:

288 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

Any American sports fan will know where he or she was on February 22, 1980.  It was on that date that 20 young men from the United States defeated the hockey team from the Soviet Union in the Winter Olympics. It is considered by many, including this reviewer, as the greatest sports event that has occurred and will not be repeated.  The stories behind this game and the players and Coach Herb Brooks are told in this book by Wayne Coffey.

The book starts and ends with scenes from Brooks’ funeral after he was killed in an auto accident in 2003.  There are short biographies of Brooks and each of the 20 players scattered throughout the description of the action on the ice during that game. The format makes for great reading for the print version and while also excellent for the audio version, the listener will have to pay close attention so that when the narration changes from player story back to the game, there is no disconnect.

The game replay is excellent with not only goals and saves described but each check, each penalty and each steal of the puck by either team relived in great detail. On occasion I will watch a video of the game and get chills, even after all these years.  I had the same reaction when Heyborne was describing key events of the game, such as Mark Johnson’s goal with one second remaining in the first period, spectacular saves by goaltender Jim Craig and certainly the winning goal by Mike Eruzione. 

Any reader who either wants to relive that special game or wants to learn why this team and event is still revered more than 35 years later will want to pick up this book. Even though it was originally published in 2005, the stories and events are just as thrilling to relive now as they were then.

Book Format Read:

Audio book

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1515919234/ref=x_gr_w_glide_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_glide_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1515919234&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/boys-of-winter-wayne-coffey/1100618219;jsessionid=1B81C1D5A78E31FFA5943A2C81398A4B.prodny_store01-atgap08?ean=9781515919230&st=AFF&2sid=Goodreads,%20Inc_2227948_NA&sourceId=AFFGoodreads,%20IncM000004

Review of "Father Bauer and the Great Experiment"

No matter the sport or how big a fan one is of that sport, there is always something new that will be learned by reading books about that game. I had never known that the Canadian Olympic hockey team was not always made up of the best amateur or professional players. The man who came up the idea to create this national team is the subject of this very good book.  Here is my review of "Father Bauer and the Great Experiment."

Title/Author:

“Father Bauer and the Great Experiment: The Genesis of Canadian Olympic Hockey” by Greg Oliver

Tags:

Ice Hockey, history, Winter Olympics

Publish date:

April 11, 2017

Length:

360 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (Very Good)

Review:

It is hard to picture now, but until 1963, Canada’s Olympic hockey was not a collection of the best players, either amateur or professional, as is the case now. The team that won the Canadian Junior championship the previous year was sent to the Olympics and usually the results were positive. However, that was not the case in 1960 when the United States pulled off the upset and won the gold medal.

Meanwhile, Father David Bauer had a dream to create a true national team that would represent Canada in all international hockey competition as well as the Olympics. His dream became a reality and the road that led to the creation of this team, and what happened afterward as well, is captured in this well-researched and well-written book by Greg Oliver.

The events that led up to the creation of the national team are covered in full detail and the reader will learn a lot about why there was no true national team before 1963.  It is important to read about this as it will illustrate to the reader why Father Bauer’s work to convince the powers-that-be to create this team was so crucial to the sport.  This was now a true national team and represented Canada well, despite not earning a medal due to a change in the determination of the final standings in the 1964 Olympics. Oliver’s writing will take the reader back to that time and he or she will feel much sympathy for the team.

The story doesn’t stop there, as Oliver chronicles the later decision by Canada to stop participating in international tourneys and Olympic Games, only to make a return in 1980. Father Bauer’s involvement with the team and the sport through this period is also covered and before this, Oliver does his best work in the book by writing about Father Bauer’s career in hockey at St. Michael’s College. The chapters on his coaching career and the turns it took is well worth the time to read and the reader will come to know the man and how important a role he plays in the sport.

This is a very good book that is recommended for any reader who wants to learn more about the history of Canadian international hockey or about the life of the man who made the country’s national team truly national.  Readers who are not familiar with the history of this team will learn a lot and will see just how important the sport is in the lives of all Canadians, not just fans and players. But most important, the reader will learn how much Father Bauer meant to the game and why he is a beloved figure to all of those who played for him.

I wish to thank ECW Press for providing a copy of the book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying links (pre-order at time of posting):

https://www.amazon.com/Father-Bauer-Great-Experiment-Canadian/dp/1770412492/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482370435&sr=1-1&keywords=father+bauer

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/father-bauer-and-the-great-experiment-greg-oliver/1124519354?ean=9781770412491

Review of "The Fall Line"

Admittedly, I pay very little attention to skiing aside from the Winter Olympics. However, that may change after reading this book as I have a new-found respect for these athletes. After reading about the training they must do as well as what they do to prepare their equipment and handle life, they certainly deserve a lot of respect no matter where they may finish when all the times are calculated at a World Cup event.  Here is my review of "The Fall Line." 

Title/Author:

“The Fall Line: America’s Rise to Ski Racing’s Summit” by Nathaniel Vinton

Tags:

Alpine skiing, Winter Olympics, history

Publish date:

January 4, 2016

Length:

400 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

While the biggest attention is given to alpine skiing during the Winter Olympics, this does not mean that the sport takes a break nor does it not have its share of personalities and issues. This excellent book by Nathaniel Vinton will take the reader deep into the world of ski racing and brings to life some of the lesser known intricacies of the sport. 

Even the title brings out this trait of the book. Vinton explains for the non-fan or casual fan what the fall line is: “The path an object would travel if it were free to move on a slope only under the power of gravity.” This is the main goal of the racer – to maintain this fall line through all the bumps, leaps and gates on the course.  The racer’s equipment is critical and Vinton explains why in an easy-to-understand manner.

Equipment and the endorsements by top skiers can cause controversy, and that is only one of a few issues that Vinton covers that the United States Ski Team would face during the run to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.  Vinton covers a wide range of topics that affect the sport, from warm weather to safety netting and fencing to equipment requirements, they all play a factor in helping a racer shave hundredths of seconds off his or her times.

The book is not only a great source of technical information and action on the slopes, it can also read like a character novel, with the two main characters being Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn, the two top skiers on Team USA in the 2010 Games. However, Vinton also writes about other top Americans like Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso. There is also very good writing on the history of the sport and how it has become a national obsession in Austria.  In fact, the book starts off with an excellent recap of Franz Klammer’s exciting downhill win in the 1976 Olympics.

Just reading that passage had me hooked and I could not put this book down. It is one of the most complete books written on the sport. The detail into all aspects, including the psychology of the two main stars, Miller and Vonn, make for terrific reading that no matter how much or little interest a reader has in ski racing. Whether the reader wants drama, facts, or just a good sports story, this is a book to check out.

I wish to thank W.W. Norton & Company for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Format Read:

Paperback

Buying links:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Fall-Line-Americas-Racings/dp/0393352692/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fall-line-nathaniel-vinton/1121986354?ean=9780393352696