Rating: 
Summary: If you can't skate yet - buy this book
Review: This book looks like a cartoon, but is actually a detailled instruction manual. No amount of words could deliver the same explanation of what skating feels like and how it works. I bought this book immediately after I started skating, and it proved invaluable for directing my early efforts. It covers all the ground from beginner to intermediate, is easy to read, and very funny. Even my 5 year old enjoys the pictoral humour. Worth every penny (or cent).
Rating: 
Summary: Nice book
Review: This book really looks fun. The only problem is that you will find it difficult to follow the text the same speed you read other books -- it's done too much. It would be better if handwrting is limited inside the cartoon, not all the description, the main text.By the way, I found 2 copies of this book in the public library in SanFrancisco, suppose you might find this book in your public library too.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and down to earth
Review: This is exactly the book you need if you're considering inline skates or want to improve your basic skills. Reading this book before you put on your skates can save you a lot of time and, possibly, pain. It's written as though a friend were talking to you and drawing pictures at the same time. The illustrations are very useful.
Rating: 
Summary: I need my glasses, oh wait progressives...
Review: Well I haven't got that far to say much 'bout the quality of the writing. But main issue is, DON'T buy the e-book version. It's a drawings and freehand writing based book and it was published in B5 paper size so when viewed in a computer screen, you'd be lucky if you got 75% of the page. Trust me. Skip this buy something else.
Rating:
Summary: A really great introduction to inline skating
Review: What could motivate a fairly out-of-shape old guy to try inline skating? My five-year-old kid: if he wants to learn, I have to learn! So, now what? I don't exactly live in a major metropolitan area, with skating instructors readily available, so I had to learn a lot of the basics on my own. Nealy's book is a wonderful introduction to the basics of inline skating. From equipment, to how to get going, to (most importantly) how to stop [on purpose], to some more advanced skills, he covers it all. The text is informative, but the best things are the illustrations. Nealy uses a unique method of showing you how to distribute weight on the skates and change/control your direction; something that might take pages of complex instructions is summed up in one great drawing. [And, of course, the figures in the drawings say, think, and express all sorts of things beginning skaters do! You have to see them to appreciate how on-target Nealy is!] Also very helpful is a glossary of "skater lingo" at the end. Even though I probably won't ever use any of the terms, it's nice to have some idea what the 13-year-olds skating circles around me are talking about! One warning, to those who have a bit of the Church Lady in them: there is a bit of profanity here and there (most notably in the thoughts and words of the beginning skater figures, as described above). There's not a lot more than in the average PG-13 movie, but be aware. [On the other hand, this *is* a book about skating . . . most skaters tend to be younger, and wouldn't blink twice at the language used. And, of course, you probably *will* say some of the same things when you do the inevitable "butt-crunch fall," or are about to skate into traffic!] Overall, an excellent, thorough, and entertaining reference. If you're going to strap wheels to your feet and go flying around town, do it right -- read this book first!
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