The Long Program : Skating Toward Life's Victories

Rating:
Summary: Fleming's lack of depth is disappointing
Review: Fleming's autobiography, The Long Program, does a poor and inadequate job of telling a potentially profound story. Fleming's words and descriptions do not give justice to the depth of many of the stories told throughout the novel. Tragedies such as the unexpected death of her coach in a plane crash, and the deaths of her parents are stated in a sentence or two, never getting into the emotions that surely surrounded the experiences. Readers looking for a first-hand recount of Fleming's experience with competitive skating should also beware. She just barely skims the surface of the pressures and glory of being an Olympic medal winner and World Championship title holder. Humorous and detailed stories that often liven up autobiographies are also few and far between. Due to the shallowness and straightforwardness of this book, I would not recommend it for anything higher than purely recreational reading when a few hours can be spared.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic inside look at the life of a true champion
Review: Peggy Fleming is a true champion, in every sense of the word. After reading her book, I was inspired by her dedication to her sport and even more so later to her battle against breast cancer. It was also great to get a real behind the scenes look at her life, including some surprising things like the fact that her mother MADE her costume for the Olympics, and Peggy recently became a Grandma! Great reading.

Rating:
Summary: Insightful But Not Fascinating
Review: When I first started reading this novel. I wasn't keen about reading it because The book seemed to be like A How to Skate book. Who is her favorite skaters and me this and me that. Until I read the chapter about Being Mom and the chapter about her fighting breast cancer. Those chapters were truly inspirational. Then I felt I knew the Real Peggy Fleming. So I'm giving it three stars.