SKATING FOR THE GOLD

Rating:
Summary: An Ok Skating Book
Review: ...as I do, this book would make a fair addition to your skating collection. The book was not bad -- it was an interesting read, but it didn't really tell me much that I didn't already know about both skaters. Tara and Michelle's individual autobiographies give you a far better look into their lives and their emotions throughout the especially eventful 1996-1997 skating season. The photos were good and it was a good overview of both skaters and their careers, but if you want the real story of these skaters as well, you should definitely pick up Triumph on Ice and Heart of a Champion to get the whole story.

Rating:
Summary: Not fiction nor fantasy, but a very helpful book.
Review: I am a figure skater, I have been for 4 years now, and I am not reading this book, I am studying it. I think there is excellent advice and quotes that help me to realize why I skate, not to win, but have fun. Skating is as much physical as it is mental. I think this book really helps people to see the pressure skaters face before competing and how many people are depending on them to win. This book itself should take home the gold.

Rating:
Summary: An Ok Skating Book
Review: I liked this book. It's about skating. This book really tells about skating for gold from 12 years old and on. It tells the challenges Michelle and Tara went through. I liked especially how Michelle started and the tricks she pulled on her father. This is a golden book.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: I personally thought this was a great book. It did have a lot of technical things, but there was a glossary as well. It had a lot of narration, but it also had some stuff in the skaters' eyes as well. There was just enough writing, but some pictures as well. There were featured chapters on each skater, but ones with them together. This book is a great buy if you want to find out about a competitive skater's life, or just find out about Tara Lipinski and Michelle Kwan's lives.

Rating:
Summary: A Gold Medal of Excellence for this Work
Review: I was quite impressed with the deep metaphor used throughout the novel. The author used the metaphor of the ice skate to symbolize how we must shape the world for the better. Just as the blade of the skates skims across the cold and unaccepting ice of the rink, mankind must skim across the world, leaving a trail of happiness edged by cold hard steel. The zamboni that cleans off the ice, symbolizes negative forces that serves to erase all that we have created. Our dreams of gold and silver as shattered, just like Nancy Kerigan's knee years ago. I love the Olympics and I love how the author integrates these wonderful games into his work. The only problem with this book are the two main characters. The author has gone too far with these characters. They do not seem realistic. Sometimes authors can be too creative, this is apparant in the characters of Tara and Michelle. However, I recommend this book as a guide for everyday life.