Product Description
Covers the life and achievements of the Olympic champion figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. ... Read more

Product Description
Profiles the lives and careers of Chris Edwards, Matt Mantz, Fabiola Da Silva, and other professional in-line skaters who perform ariel flips, spins, and jumps. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The biographer hates his subject
This so called biographer seemed to have one goal in mind:portray Scott Hamilton as a crazed lunatic.The book consists mainly of episodes that cast either Scott or members of his family and entourage in a bad light.

The author glosses over the years of work and obstacles overcome inorder for Scott to make it to the Olympics.He harps constantly on hisperception of Scott's 'shallowness' and also his bouts of bad temper.

Igot the impression that this was written by someone who was disgruntledwith Scott Hamilton.The author obviously had no respect for his subject. ... Read more

Product Description
Covers the life and achievements of the Olympic speed skater Bonnie Blair. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

michelle kwan book
i loved easy to read book book about michelle kwan because one of my favorite
figer staters of all time. ... Read more

Product Description
Written for young readers and featuring lots of glossy photos, The Best on Ice is a behind-the-scenes look at skating's most famous stars. This is also a book about the hopes and dreams of champions, and how their amazing inner strength and perseverance helped them overcome obstacles on their way to the top. Whether they dream of one day becoming champions themselves or just enjoy watching competitions, kids will be inspired by these real-life stories of today's skating superstars. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A great read for all skating fans
This Book was fantastic, I bought a copy for myself but aftertaking it to the local rink it was discovered that more than one copywas needed.This book was filled with quality pictures of all the popular skaters (great if you want to copy a costume) Ifound this book a great read, and the kids love the pictures. This book isdefinitely worth its price. ... Read more

Product Description
The ultimate unauthorized guide for fans of the teenage heartthrob and skateboarding star of MTV’s Life of Ryan…

Pro-skateboarder and star of the MTV reality series Life of Ryan, 18-year-old Ryan Sheckler has become a mainstream sensation and a teen heartthrob. The New York Times calls Ryan “the latter-day Ricky [Nelson], with skateboarding as a more likely cool-kid talent than ballad crooning.” Now, in this unauthorized book that features 100 photos of Ryan, fans will get a closer look at this skating extraordinaire and tv personality. Both color and black and white images show Ryan in all his glory— from on his board to the red carpet to behind the scenes at award shows. This book is sure to be a must-have for all his fans. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Useless black and white compilation of freely available content
Very disappointing.

Most photos are BLACK AND WHITE (except for 8 pages of about 100), and also most photos are available (color) freely online.The black and white style might work for the 70 year old admirers of a World War 2 celebrity, but not for today's young generation -- for which it just screams "cheap printing".

There is also very little text content, mostly irrelevant tabloid style information, and again compiled from online sources and from TV (as the extensive bibliography confirms).

As I've never been part of Ryan's circle of friends, I was hoping to gain some meaningful insight into who he really is by reading the book.Unfortunately, all I found was an uninteresting compilation of what anyone with even a moderate interest in learning about Ryan has already seen for free online or on TV.

To me, the book is nothing but an outsider's attempt to make some undeserved money by piggybacking on a great kid's success, and I consider the money I spent on the book to be more than a waste -- a misuse.I can only apologize to Ryan and to his fans for not having had the patience to wait a bit more for the release of an official biography of his.

Sweet, big-hearted skater who happens to be a hottie.
My daughters just worship this young man and after reading this book, I don't mind them having a little crush on such a sweet big-hearted young man.Family comes first in his life and he even contributed his own car for a worthy cause.My almost 9 year old asks me to sit while she reads me the book and shows me the up close and amazing photos. He is an absolute incredible prodigy of a skater. Great pictures of him doing stunts. You will definitely enjoy this book and I must admit he is a little hottie with those piercing eyes. ... Read more

Product Description
A 10-year-old relates her experiences as a skater. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Wonderful book!
I read this book back in 1980 when I was in junior high. I remember being very impressed with young Katherine Healy reaching the junior skating level at the tender age of ten, and mastering those awful school figures -- something I could relate to as I took skating myself and struggled on chilly Saturday mornings to perfect my figures! It clearly showed her dedication to both her skating and ballet, and the love and support of her parents.

Katherine also starred in the movie "Six Weeks". She played the bright and talented 12-year-old leukemia stricken daughter of a wealthy cosmetic magnate (Mary Tyler Moore). She and her mother strike up a sentimental friendship with a California politician (Dudley Moore), and as one of Nikki's last wishes, the trio fly to New York City to see the sights. By chance Nicole assumes the lead of Clara in a few scenes of The Nutcracker ballet, after the head of the company sees her dance, but unfortunately dies shortly thereafter.

It is the Nutcracker scenes that reveal Katherine's brilliant ballet talent. She went on to become a stunning principal ballerina with the English National Ballet, the Vienna State Opera Ballet Company, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo and the London Festival Ballet, as well as skating competitively and professionally. Currently, she is married to Peter Burrows and is a choreographer as well as appearing with the Ice Theater of New York and in numerous guest skating events. An outstanding book of the early years of this talented artist! Highly recommended!

A great background!
I read most of the "A Very Young_____" books over and over as a little girl and they all come back to me.In taking ice-skating classes now, I remember a lot of Katherine's story, especially when she talked about how light her "tracings" were on the ice.Anyone who doesn't know skating, will enjoy the introduction, and it will be a great nostlagia venture for older adults.

Very Sentimental!
My late grandparents gave me this book, brand new, in 1979.I was 8 years old and was involved in skating, too! I read it constantly back then.I came across it again two days ago, 23 years later.The book is about a 10 year old skater named Katherine Healy from Brooklyn Heights.At 10, she has already been very successful as a figure and free skater.She talks about her day-to-day experiences, from how her school schedule is rearranged to accomodate her skating schedule and how skating takes up a significant amount of time in her life.She talks about ice shows, exhibitions, ballet classes to help skating, costuming, testing, and especially, skating for fun!She is very ambitious but clearly loves skating and she has a wonderful and loving family who supports her.Her father is a lawyer and she is an only child - her mother devotes a lot of time to Katherine's skating career as well, which is important to note! :)The pictures are beautiful and the story is told to a child from a child which is great.I'm 32 and I liked reading it again.If there were any drawbacks, it would be that Katherine talks about practicing 'school figures' and the difficulty that she sometimes has with them.The reader gets the impression that this is the only part of skating that Katherine doesn't love - practicing school figures.The best part is that figure skating has been revised so that these school figures are no longer a necessary part of advancing through the skating ranks.So many skaters had a negative response to them that they have been eliminated from requirements of testing (I am almost positive about this).Now that I have my own daughter, who is a gymnast, I want to get her the 'Very Young Gymnast' book, which is how I came across this site.I hope she'll treasure it as much as I loved this book 'A very young skater'.It really is a collectible.

A very young skater
Katherine Healy is the young skater in this book written by Jill Krementz.Katherine is ten and already a successful skater.She talks about her skating lessons, her school figure lessons, and her idol, John Curry.Theprivileged Katherine attends a summer class taught by the wonderful Curry,and is invited by this important personage to be in Superskates, a bigskating show held once a year in Madison Square Garden.Follow Katherineas she leads you through her exciting life filled with new skates, prettydresses, ballet lessons, skating competitions, skating shows, wonderfulcoaches, and best of all, a loving and supportive family.This book ispriceless. ... Read more

Product Description
Anyone who has known-or been-a little girl dreaming of becoming a skater, ballerina, or professional athlete will love this comic, heartfelt memoir about what happens after those dreams come true. After years of intensive training, Bertine finally becomes a professional figure skater-and finds herself traveling through South America with 'Hollywood on Ice,' a portable ice rink and an international cast of odd characters in tow. At show time, the costume trailer is transformed into a bizarre half-Disney, half-Penthouse maelstrom of activity as the skaters apply false eyelashes the size of caterpillars and wriggle into ever more revealing costumes-from The Little Mermaid to Flashdance. Some performers dress as farm animals and others are the real thing: an actual cow, duck, and chicken take the ice in their very own skates. But the real show-stopper is the Michael Jackson number, starring a blond, middle-aged Canadian whose beer belly barely fits into his flashy spandex costume. When Bertine realizes that going pro means betraying all her athletic ideals, she plots a daring escape straight out of Mission Impossible-breaking into a safe to steal back her passport between the Barbie scene and the Flintstones on Ice number! A vivid and entertaining account of the darker side of showbiz, ALL THE SUNDAYS YET TO COME is also a poignant and utterly winning story of a female athlete's spirit and perseverance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (37)

Not just for skating fans!
I discovered Kathryn Bertine's writing in 2007 when she began writing for ESPN about her attempts to make it to the Olympics.I found her writing both funny and well done, and kept coming back on an almost daily trip to check to see what else was going on.Fast forward a year, and I finally ordered her book, and I feel it gives a deep glimpse into the personality of the writer those familar with the ESPN work ought to know.The desire to make the Olympics harkens back to her desire not to quit in her dreams of skating professionally.

Now, as a male who is not a skating fan, I was skeptical that I would enjoy this book.I was drawn to her work originally because I love cycling, and she spoke of that with excellent skill.But Bertine makes the sport simple to understand, and doesn't get stuck on the details.I found her relationship with both parents to be excellent, and her descriptions of her body image to be tragic.

All in all, this book is an amazing coming of age tale, and I would recommend it to anyone who has body image issues, any athlete (especially ladies), and to all those who might have had a difficult childhood or have undergone a difficult period in their own life in which they felt alone.

An excellent book, and well worth the time!

Excellent Expose
This book really engrossed me.I don't know the first thing about skating, and I'm a mediocre runner at best, but I'm an avid armchair traveller, and I loved hearing about what the author went through.It was a nice structure for the book to see her grow up and go from young skater to disillusioned older skater to fulfilled triathelete.Good job!Can't wait to read the next one!

Strrrroooooong!
An absolutely amazing story of a strong athletic girl with amazing talent forced to weaken herself in the name of show.Here we have a beautiful, very talented figure skater with--gasp--muscles of all things!Not anything like a female body builder or such, but a beautiful streamlined athleticism that anyone would envy.Unfortunately, in order to skate professionally, she was forced to lose her muscles, her strength, and dignity as a athlete in order to fit into the preconceived notions that female ice 'professionals' should look like pre-pubescent sticks on skates, pretty much by starving themselves..and to match a specific weight far too low for the performers.Nevertheless, our heroine (with the help of 'Captain Graceful') overcomes the inconceivable tortures that her mind and body had to overcome to become one of the strongest female athletes today.This behind the scenes look at the beautiful/ugly world of professional skating is an absolute must for those who skate, or parents of little girls wishing to fulfill the ice princess dream.Only Kathryn Bertine could tell such a horrowing story, while keeping you laughing.Thank you, Ms. Bertine, for sharing this with us!

A touching memoir of not only a figure skater, but a young woman
Delving into more than just figure skating, All the Sundays Yet to Come poignantly portrays the story of a woman coming to terms with her inner demons as she discovers the type of person she wants to be.Her story demonstrates that things are not as great as they seem when she is accepted into a professional skating tour, her childhood dream.Skaters are not judged by their ability, but rather by their looks.Ms. Bertine's height and muscular build are looked down upon, which spurs her into the dark depths of eating disorders and low self-esteem.She carries you from a world of despair and unhappiness into a world of self-fulfillment and happiness.Anyone who has had a mental disorder of any kind can easily relate to her struggle, and can experience hope for themselves by witnessing her triumphant recovery.Her writing is mixed charmingly with a unique humor as she pokes fun at herself as well as life, keeping the story from becoming too dark.Ms. Bertine shows you that even when one dream dies, another comes to life, and a fulfilling existence is always within reach.Considering her successes in writing and triathalons since her professional skating career, she has made a very wonderful life for herself.

Humor and Heartbreak
Kathryn Bertine's book about life as a professional ice skater is both humorous and heartbreaking.Written in an engaging style that makes you feel like she's sitting across the table from you, sharing a cup of coffee, and giving you the inside scoop on the world of ice skating, ALL THE SUNDAYS YET TO COME, is an honestly written memoir that strips the sugar-coating from a sport that appears to be all beauty and grace and sequins and spandex--and allows us to glimpse how it can be ugly...the constant weigh-ins that force healthy young women to starve themselves so they can look like stick figures, the behind-the-scenes addictions to drugs and sex, the physical violence that happens between couples and is ignored by management.Ms. Bertine doesn't hold back, allowing us to see the beauty and the ugliness, even as she struggles with her own self-esteem which is stripped away by management and their weekly weigh-ins.You'll laugh and you'll cry as you read this amazing book--and you'll never look at the sport of figure skating in the same way you did before. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Semka:the Sammy Skobel Story written by Sammy
I would reccommend this book to ANYONE but especially to parents and their children.This is truly a book for young and old.

I have the privledge of having known Sammy since I was a kid in Mount Prospect, Ill and I have never met a more determined, hard working and dedicated man in my life.I remember the first time I walked into his little hot dog shop across from the middle school that I went to and ordered one of his great tasting dogs and saw him at the grill with his face only inches from the hot surface and I did'nt know untill later that he was legally blind.This book is a story of courage and determination beyond belief and I would recommend buying several and giving them as gifts to family and friends.I talked with Sammy and his wonderful wife about a year ago as he still lives in Mount Prospect and even then I learned things about this wonderful man that was not in his book.This is one of the top 3 books I have ever read and I am 59 and love to read.

You won't believe what this man has accomplished in his life.

Blind Ambition
This is an incredible story of love and determination.Sammy Skobel lost most of his vision at the age of four due to Scarlet Fever.He went on to be a star skater in the Roller Derby during its peak on prime-time television in the late 40's and 50's, until retiring in 1965.Legally blind, Sammy fooled many of his colleagues for years.A great story about overcoming a disability. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Children's Digest, published by Benjamin Franklin Literary & Medical Society, Inc. on December 1, 1994. The length of the article is 1146 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Bonnie Blair.(speed skater)
Author: Judith P. Josephson
Publication: Children's Digest (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 1994
Publisher: Benjamin Franklin Literary & Medical Society, Inc.
Volume: v44Issue: n416Page: p23(4)

Article Type: Biography

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
Figure skating phenom Sarah Hughes is taking the ice-and the world-by storm. Here, for the first time ever, is the true, unauthorized story of America's newest skating sweetheart as she goes for the gold in the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Awesome!!!
It is much better than the other Sarah book by Ruth Ashby! It starts off with Sarah at the 2001 World Championships and chronicles her life better than any other Sarah book could!Then it tells a LOT about her main competitors and ends telling how prepared she is for the 2002 Olympics (which she won!!)
I would definitely give it five stars in my book!!

Awesome First book!
Hi, I saw the book online and so I decided to try and go find it at the local bookstore.I was actually there to see if they had the May issue of International Figure Skating which I was very disappointed to find out they didn't carry.I went ahead and bought the book and I was so happy to get my hands on it, I read the whole thing start to finish in about an hour, stopping to look at the pictures of course :)

The book overall was great! It had her ups and downs thru the years, her fight with her mom's illness, a summer she broke her hand and nearly all her competitions. It had a great look at the skaters Sarah has faced and how she did in her programs.She works so hard and is so dedicated!This is a great book to just sit and read, but its also a wonderful collectors items just like the wheaties I found todayhehe :) Thanks for listening~

Great insight!A superb bio with lots of intriguing info.
This book gives the WHOLE story about her life and competition leading up to the Olympics gold.It tells about private emotional times in her young life and the training and competitions.There's a nice appendix listing all her placings and some web URLs.I'm glad I got this collector's item before they ran out! ... Read more

Product Description
Text and photographs follow the activities of an eleven-year-old aspiring skater from her daily training sessions to her participation in competitions and an ice show. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

great book for young girls
I found this book at a library book sale and bought it.It is a wonderful story about an eleven year old girl named Karen.She lives in Boston and her passion is figure skating.This book is mostly photographs, but has enough text to tell her story of the year she competed in the New England championships and went on to other competitions, as well as joining in her skating club's annual show.The book showcases Karen's daily life as a skater, as well as her little sister's (who also skates), and the involvement of her family.It shows how hard it can be to compete and train, the problems when her coach is ill during an important competition, the fun of meeting famous skaters and putting on an ice show, and the details of learning figures and new choreography.An insightful and entertaining look at what figure skating was like in the 1970s. ... Read more

Product Description
A biography of young skater who won a gold medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics. ... Read more

Product Description
Reveals the hard edge of this skating star. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A STUNNING BOOK
As one of the critics says; this i s indeed a pageturner... However, there are numerous faults facts in this book. Among them includes that the film IT`S A PLEASURE was a Fox film. Wrong, it was produced by International and released by RKO. Several critical comments on her films are stolen from among others Leslie Halliwell, a notable filmcritic and the ONLY bible for moviebuffs until internet movie database came along. Stories of Sonja and Tyrone are also way over the top; the talk they had in the dressingroom - how did Leif Henie and Raymond Strait get hold of t h a t? Leif was still in Norway at the time. However. There are several items that distinguish this biography; the stories by Sonja`s secretary Dorothy Stevens in particular... It is true that in creating the ice-skating star Sonja Henie, her father created a monster. But in the long run Sonja suffered from it. She was never taught to be a normal person. And indeed: She gave Norway a place in the sun and donated with her third husband Niels Onstad the Henie-Onstad ArtGallery near Oslo. U should visit it if u came to Norway. All of Sonja`s medals and trophies are in a well-guarded room and photos etc from her films are displayed in a huge basement. It must never be forgotten that she gave our nation a great deal - indeed giving the community of Bærum a home for retired people. U WILL see this reading this book that she was a trouper - a woman who was taught to fight and be competetive. And everything she tried her hands on - became lucrative.

Hell on Ice
I know and have known quite a people who worked with Sonja or were as close a friend as she would permit and this book seems to confirm all thatI've heard over the last 40 years. I met Sonja in 1963 in Pittsburgh at theopening of the Pittsburgh Arena.Despite all her shortcomings as a person, there was something about her that fascinates me as a skater and as aperson.Anyone interested in skating should read this book.

Facinating book!
For those who loved to watch Sonja Heine, this book is a must, showing her amazing rise to fame, volatile temperment and unbelievable perserverance. You won't be able to put it down from start to finish. ... Read more

Product Description
The author describes her life and evolution into one of the world's most famous ice skaters. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Very revealing!
This is a lengthier and more in-depth biography than that written by Peggy Fleming, another skating great.This is also dated and was published before many tumultuous events, professional and personal, in Miss Hamill's life.However, this is an excellent read and very revealing of the author's journey to her Olympic gold medal and world championship in the days when competitors' mothers still made their skating costumes.The book does give a glimpse into the rivalries and jealousies that admittedly plague this beautiful sport.One very terrifying experience recounted by Miss Hamill was brought to my mind years later when Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed in the knee by associates of rival figure skater Tonya Harding after completing a practice session for the Nationals (resulting in a field day for the media, both tabloid and mainstream), prior to her silver-medal finish in the Olympics.

One of the Best Biographys I have Read!
I am 11 years old I read this book for my book report. "On and Off the Ice" had plenty of funny stories about Dorthy Hammil's skating career. The only problem with this book is that it barely talks aboutDorthy Hammil's life "off the ice." In the end I got points takenoff on my book report because I only told about her life as a figureskater. Some of you will be interested in the fact she married Dean MartinJr. son of Dean Martin who she met through Desi Arnez Jr. (Little Rickyfrom I Love Lucy) Overall I loved this book and I think that most peoplewill like it. ... Read more

Product Description
Come into Michelle Kwan's world in this personal photo album. In her own words, Michelle takes you behind the scenes--both on and off the ice-revealing the answers to the questions she is asked most. What is it like on the road all the time? Does she have time to date? What was it like meeting the President? From training to competing, family to free time, Michelle will take you through her favorite photos and memories. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great souvenir for fans of a great champion!
Skating champs come and go, but Michelle will be remembered long after she hangs up her skates. Dignified in victory and gracious in "defeat" (since when are Olympic silver and bronze medals a loss????), she exemplifies the word "Champion" both on and off the ice.A must-have for Michelle's fans and for fans of the sport. ... Read more