Amped: How Big Air, Big Dollars and a New Generation Took Sports to the Extreme

Rating:
Summary: Tony Hawk is my kids' Elvis Presley
Review: And Browne has written a "Last Train to Memphis" for their ramped revolution. Overall, "Amped" is the story behind the ongoing individualization of heroism from the Army to Apple, from the Yankees to Tiger Woods, from entire countries in the Olympics to whoever's on the cover of Thrasher this month. Readers seeking "internal edginess" are advised to stick with Hawk's library, but those yearning to learn the inside scoop on how Xboarding evolved from the sidewalk to the boardwalk will find much to hammer here. Browne is comfortable with the parallels between polyrhythms and polyurethene, from the bus tours to the CD release schedules (the Playstation is the new record player) to the slavish imitation of hair and clothing styles by fans. But "Amped" is really the backstage study of the marketing machinery behind the 21st century's golf, only without balls and sticks (skateparks waste less space than 18 holes, too). Great job, dude.