Eye8Pudding
My Sergei: A Love Story by Ekaterina Gordeeva / Inside Edge by Christine Brennan / Edge of Glory by Christine Brennan
My Sergei -- "In the former Soviet Union, the sports establishment, charged with producing winners for the greater glory of the empire, had almost unlimited power over the athletically gifted. Children as young as five or six were identified, sent to special schools and given rigorous training in the sports in which they were expected to excel. Two such youngsters were Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov, paired as skaters by their teachers when they were 11 and 14, respectively. Throughout their training and into the start of their competitive careers, each thought of the other only as an athletic partner, partly because the four-year difference in their ages meant they had few friends in common. But as time passed and their joint career led to international championships, they fell in love and married. Their success culminated in Olympic gold medals in 1990 and 1994. And then, suddenly, Grinkov died of a heart attack in 1995 at age 28." -- from www.amazon.com
I was in high school when Sergei Grinkov died and I remember how horribly sad it was...I was a big fan of figure skating at the time (along with my parents and a lot of my friends) so this was something that everyone talked about for quite awhile. A very touching and honest memoir.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inside Edge -- "Figure skating is emerging as a major force in worldwide professional sports. Get the inside edge on the events and personalities of the professional figure-skating circuit. Profiles on stars such as Nancy Kerrigan, Peggy Fleming, Scott Hamilton, and Oksana Baiul are interspersed with the author's impressions and research from a year on the tour, including analysis of the major competitions, the judging process, and the emotional and physical toll the sport takes on young athletes." -- from www.amazon.com
Edge of Glory -- "The author of Inside Edge updates the behind-the-scenes saga of professional figure skating to include the results of the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Beginning with the 1997 U.S. championships in Nashville, Brennan chronicles the ambitions, achievements, frustrations, and personal hurdles for the American skaters in a pivotal year that culminated with the Olympics. The year's drama is palpable, including highlights such as the competition between the two top-rated women, Michelle Kwan and Tara Lipinski, along with the ever-increasing athleticism of the men. Along the way Brennan makes detours to check up on recent favorites from the past such as Tonya Harding, Nancy Kerrigan, Oksana Baiul, Brian Boitano, and Scott Hamilton. And always rinkside are the stories of coaches, choreographers, parents, and fans who have transformed figure skating into one of the world's fastest-growing professional sports." -- from www.amazon.com
If you're looking for one woman's opinion of figure skating and all it's ups and downs, then these books are for you. However, if you are looking for an unbiased and well-rounded look at the world of figure skating, then you had best keep looking. There is a lot of detailed information about the inside world of skating but it is extremely obvious which skaters are the author's favorites by how she handles writing about them. Skaters she doesn't care for are either dismissed or constantly criticized for their mistakes while her favorite skaters are praised and every mistake they make is chalked up to the "overwhelming personal pressure" of their lives. I learned some new information about some of the skaters, but honestly, I would not recommend these books.
My Sergei -- Started: Feb. 1, 2011 Finished: Feb. 1, 2011
Inside Edge -- Started: Feb. 3, 2011 Finished: Feb. 5, 2011
Edge of Glory -- Started: Feb. 6, 2011 Finished: Feb. 13, 2011
My Sergei: A Love Story by Ekaterina Gordeeva / Inside Edge by Christine Brennan / Edge of Glory by Christine Brennan
My Sergei -- "In the former Soviet Union, the sports establishment, charged with producing winners for the greater glory of the empire, had almost unlimited power over the athletically gifted. Children as young as five or six were identified, sent to special schools and given rigorous training in the sports in which they were expected to excel. Two such youngsters were Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov, paired as skaters by their teachers when they were 11 and 14, respectively. Throughout their training and into the start of their competitive careers, each thought of the other only as an athletic partner, partly because the four-year difference in their ages meant they had few friends in common. But as time passed and their joint career led to international championships, they fell in love and married. Their success culminated in Olympic gold medals in 1990 and 1994. And then, suddenly, Grinkov died of a heart attack in 1995 at age 28." -- from www.amazon.com
I was in high school when Sergei Grinkov died and I remember how horribly sad it was...I was a big fan of figure skating at the time (along with my parents and a lot of my friends) so this was something that everyone talked about for quite awhile. A very touching and honest memoir.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inside Edge -- "Figure skating is emerging as a major force in worldwide professional sports. Get the inside edge on the events and personalities of the professional figure-skating circuit. Profiles on stars such as Nancy Kerrigan, Peggy Fleming, Scott Hamilton, and Oksana Baiul are interspersed with the author's impressions and research from a year on the tour, including analysis of the major competitions, the judging process, and the emotional and physical toll the sport takes on young athletes." -- from www.amazon.com
Edge of Glory -- "The author of Inside Edge updates the behind-the-scenes saga of professional figure skating to include the results of the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Beginning with the 1997 U.S. championships in Nashville, Brennan chronicles the ambitions, achievements, frustrations, and personal hurdles for the American skaters in a pivotal year that culminated with the Olympics. The year's drama is palpable, including highlights such as the competition between the two top-rated women, Michelle Kwan and Tara Lipinski, along with the ever-increasing athleticism of the men. Along the way Brennan makes detours to check up on recent favorites from the past such as Tonya Harding, Nancy Kerrigan, Oksana Baiul, Brian Boitano, and Scott Hamilton. And always rinkside are the stories of coaches, choreographers, parents, and fans who have transformed figure skating into one of the world's fastest-growing professional sports." -- from www.amazon.com
If you're looking for one woman's opinion of figure skating and all it's ups and downs, then these books are for you. However, if you are looking for an unbiased and well-rounded look at the world of figure skating, then you had best keep looking. There is a lot of detailed information about the inside world of skating but it is extremely obvious which skaters are the author's favorites by how she handles writing about them. Skaters she doesn't care for are either dismissed or constantly criticized for their mistakes while her favorite skaters are praised and every mistake they make is chalked up to the "overwhelming personal pressure" of their lives. I learned some new information about some of the skaters, but honestly, I would not recommend these books.
My Sergei -- Started: Feb. 1, 2011 Finished: Feb. 1, 2011
Inside Edge -- Started: Feb. 3, 2011 Finished: Feb. 5, 2011
Edge of Glory -- Started: Feb. 6, 2011 Finished: Feb. 13, 2011