Inside Edge

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Figure skating is the most beautiful and mysterious of all sports When the skaters are on the ice, every twitch of a muscle and every slip of a skate blade is visible for the world to see In Inside Edge, Christine Brennan chronicles for the first time a season on the skating circuit, intimately portraying the lives, on and off the ice, of the sport s current and upcoming stars Woven into the narrative are stories of figure skating luminaries past, present, and future including Peggy Fleming, Katarina Witt, Brian Boitano, Scott Hamilton, Kristi Yamaguchi, Nancy Kerrigan, Oksana Baiul, Michelle Kwan, Rudy Galindo, and Tara Lipinski Revealing the backstage conflicts high profile figure skaters face, and the ambition that drives them, Brennan also tells the stories of their families, of improbable rises to the top, and of wasted talents.If skaters are perfect, they can become international heroes But if they fall, if they miss a three revolution jump on a quarter inch blade of steel, the despair is theirs alone This is their life on the edge, where decades of training culminate in little than four crucial minutes on the ice There is no other sport like it There is no other story like theirs.The figure skaters gathered slowly in the mahogany paneled lobby of the majestic Mirror Lake Inn in Lake Placid, New York, flashing no smiles, barely saying a word The collection of gregarious entertainers had been reduced to silent, wide eyed stares The crackling wood in the fireplace made the room s only noise.They had met in hotel lobbies in fancy street clothes hundreds of times in the past, but never for an event as devastating as this On a cold night in late November 1995, they were to travel through snowswept Adirondack mountain roads to a nearby funeral home for a private wake for Sergei Grinkov, their colleague and friend who died of a massive heart attack during a skating practice the day before. New Download Inside Edge [ Author ] Christine Brennan [ Kindle ePUB or eBook ] – kino-fada.fr A few days ago, I was rummaging around the basement for items to include in our upcoming garage sale when I happened upon my baby book Tucked inside the cover were two ticket stubs one from Disneyland, the other from Campbell s Soups 1992 Tour of World Figure Skating Champions Finding this was a coincidence since I was at the same time reading about the inception of the professional show in Inside Edge, which covers the goings on of the skating world in the mid 80s to mid 90s It also confirm A few days ago, I was rummaging around the basement for items to include in our upcoming garage sale when I happened upon my baby book Tucked inside the cover were two ticket stubs one from Disneyland, the other from Campbell s Soups 1992 Tour of World Figure Skating Champions...Biased and poorly researched.So this one is the earlier of the Christine Brennan figure skating books, and it s mainly about the 1994 Olympic quadrenium Talks mostly about Oksana Baiul, Michelle Kwan, and pre emptively snarks on Tara Lipinski because her parents and agent and coaches touted her to be such hot shit early on.And yes, this one, even 4 years earlier than the last, also goes on and on about Michael Weiss s manliness.Dude, a soul patch and a sequined blue button up shirt that rides up your chest when you swivel So this one is the earlier of the Christine Brennan figure skating books, and it s mainly about the 1994 Olympic quadrenium Talks mostly about Oksana Baiul, Michelle Kwan, and pre emptively snarks on Tara Lipinski because her parents an...Wow, could the author have taken apatronizing toneCurrently re reading in celebration of the Olympic season It is interesting to note that Brennan s writing style was actually better in this edition than the Edge of Glory, the sequel that covered the 98 Olympics Interesting to rehash all the hate for the 6.0 judging system in light of the fresh hate for IJS The bright light that was to be Tara Lipinski who turned out to be a flash in the pan, and the AIDS epidemic that was, at the height of the 90s, a very serious health crisis in male fi Currently re reading in celebration of the Olympic season It is interesting to note that Brennan s writing style was actually better in this edition than the Edge of Glory, the sequel that covered the 98 Olympics Interesting to rehash all the hate for the 6.0 judging system in light of the fresh hate for IJS The bright light that was to be Tara Lipinski who turned out to be a flash in the pan, and the AIDS epidemic that was, at the height of the 90s, a very serious health crisis in mal...Brennan has so much bias, she could be a skating judge Oh, I m sorry, did I say that out loud I was expecting the traditional good, dedicated girls vs bad but gifted girls discourse, and Brennan delivered I was not expecting an undercurrent of tension between the gay and straight men involved in skating, but she delivered that too, plus the standard BS rhetoric about artistry, costum...This book was not quite what I originally expected It read a bit like gossip But the material was very interesting and there was quite a bit of the story behind certain skaters lives I do wish she had looked a bitat international skaters than it did, as it did focusoften on American skaters, and on the few international skaters of great interest to Americans Katarina Witt, Oksana Baiul It did touch on some other skaters, but it didn t get into nearly the depth as it did of the This book was not quite what I originally expected It read a bit like gossip But the material was very interesting and there was quite a bit of the story behind certain skaters lives I do wish she had looked a bitat international skaters than it did, as it did focusoften on American skaters, and on the few international skaters of great interest to Americans Katarina Witt, Oksana Baiul It did touch on some other skaters, but it didn t get into nearly the depth as it did of the American skaters I don t necessarily think this is bad the skaters featured definitely deserved the praise and focus she gave and I suppose that the scope of the book did need to have a narrowing to really get into the detail it did But I think it should have said American at some point in...I had fun with this book, because I watched figure skating with my mom when I was growing up, and those are fond memories I enjoy now that she has passed The years I was a fan are pretty much the same ones chronicled in Inside Edge, so it was a treat to be reminded of names I d forgotten, competitions that were huge back in the day, and all those evenings spent in front of network television with Mom, eating her homemade chocolate chip cookies and rooting for the same skaters I didn t learn as I had fun with this book, because I watched figure skating with my mom when I was growing up, and those are fond memories I enjoy now that she has passed The years I was a fan are pretty much the same ones chronicled in Inside Edge, so it was a treat to be reminded of names I d forgotten, competitions that were huge back in the day, and all those evenings spent in front of network television with Mom, eating her homemade chocolate chip cookies and rooting for... Inside Edge is a solid piece of sports journalism that uncovers the politics and plain oddness involved in competitive figure skating Christine Brennan weaves technical detail into an engaging people driven narrative, making the book an enjoyable, crossover read that anyone could pick up.However, it must be noted that Brennan s real job as a newspaper reporter shows in the book Inside Edge is very fragmentary we get bits and pieces about a number of male and female skaters, ones that made Inside Edge is a solid piece of sports journalism that uncovers the politics and plain oddness involved in competitive figure skating Christine Brennan weaves technical detail into an engaging people driven narrative, making the book an enjoyable, crossover read that anyone could pick up.However, it must be noted that Brennan s real job as a newspaper reporter shows in the book Inside Edge is very fragmentary we get bits and pieces about a number of male and female skaters, ones that made it and ones that didn t, but the book lacks any real structure or overall cohesion.Disappointingly, pairs skaters and ice dancers get short shrift, crammed together in the fin...Written by a sports journalist, this book had all the earmarks of a well researched document However, don t think for one minute that this makes the book boring or an unexciting read Brennan does a wonderful job of bringing figure skatings best loved and most difficult talents to life as well as important competitions and performances I was hesitant to read this because it was recommended as a book that goes inside the judging and lifestyles of well known figure skaters I have always liked t Written by a sports journalist, this book had all the earmarks of a well researched document However, don t think for one minute that this makes the book boring or an unexciting read Brennan does a wonderful job of bringing figure skatings best loved and most difficult talents to life as well as important competitions and performances I was hesitant to read this because it was recommended as a book that goes inside the judging and lifestyles of well known figure skaters I have always liked the fact that I didn t know ALL the insider stuff about skating My family has been involved in figure skating since I was a very young child My mother was a judge for a number of years and my family all took lessons My father was even in senior ice dancing competitions for seve...

Inside Edge
  • English
  • 22 November 2017
  • Paperback
  • 352 pages
  • 0385486073
  • Christine Brennan
  • Inside Edge