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3rd out of 34 books
—
17 voters
Inside Edge: A Revealing Journey into the Secret World of Figure Skating
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 upcomi...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
January 20th 1997
by Anchor
(first published 1996)
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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...more
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...more
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 male fi...more
A little dated (Tara Lipinski was 12 and Michelle Kwan 14 in the last scenes of the book), the book was best in its chapters on Brian Boitano (mostly told from his coach’s point of view), Peggy Fleming, and Janet Lynn. She points out that the whole move-away-from-home to skate thing isn’t new with Tara Lipinski. The book was written at the height of TVs infatuation with professional skating events, and she didn’t seem to particularly like Dick Button. There was good insight into how skaters are...more
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 bit more at international skaters than it did, as it did focus more often 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...more
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...more
Definitely entertaining, although the book is written in a first person style. I don't know if Christine Brennan was working directly with skaters and their coaches or if she had transcripts of events. I did like some of the direct quotes from people involved in the sport, in addition to the sections on Paul Wylie and Katarina Witt. Ms. Brennan also tells of the difficult story of the late Christopher Bowman, a troubled athlete with much talent but not much focus. May he rest in peace.
I found this book most enlightening in regards to why the best skater and the best performance does not always win the medal. It is a very corrupt way of judging and in my opinion things need to change. I no longer look forward to watching ice skating like I did because of this book. Thank you to the author for writing this book and opening my eyes, and hopefully the eyes of others.
Jun 30, 2010
Surreysmum
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
figure-skating,
owned
This book was much maligned amongst figure skating fans for its heightened, occasionally slightly giggly tone, and by general consensus the author did not know quite as much about figure skating as she thought she did. Nonetheless, the interviews she did, the attitudes she revealed, the anecdotes she related have passed into skating history.
A journalist delves into the inside story of figure skating from Peggy Fleming to Michelle Kwan and everyone inbetween. I was especially interested in the Oksana Baiul/Nancy Kerrigan competition at the Olympics and the explanation of their scores.
Jan 12, 2011
Allison Gleaves
added it
I really liked this book. I thought it was incredible how much time and effort this girls put into the sport figure skating. It was really inspirational, it makes me want to get out there and chase my dreams.
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...more
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...more
An exellent book for the figure skating fan!!!I loved it!!!!
Does a good job of describing the politics within the sport.
Biased and poorly researched.
Although figure skaters aren't known to take steroids there is some sabotage that goes on to get the upper edge (damaging the blades of your competitor's skates or wacking their knees so they can't jump, etc.) In this book, the author reveals the ugly side of this sport in a way that's straight forward. It was a good book and despite all the negativity, I still believe that figure skating is one of the most beautiful sports there is.
Good inside look at the world of figure skating, average writing.
May 16, 2013
Alexia
marked it as to-read
Apr 29, 2013
Valeria Echeverri
marked it as to-read
Apr 27, 2013
Shannon
marked it as to-read
Apr 23, 2013
Eva Ester
added it
Apr 06, 2013
Sara
marked it as to-read
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Mar 21, 2012 10:32am