Skating Books- Mary Lu's Reading List

• The Complete Book of Figure Skating by Carole Shulman & Donald Laws
  The Complete Book of Figure Skating, author Carole Shulman combines her vast experience as a former competitive skater, a Master PSA instructor, a professional figure skating judge, and the current Director of the Professional Skaters Association to cover every aspect of the sport with clarity and expertise. Shulman describes the proper techniques for more than 100 skills, from stops, stroking skills, and freestyle moves to turns and footwork—including ice-dancing techniques, spins, jumps, and pairs skating techniques. Also included are advice and guidelines on choosing equipment, conditioning your body, and creating competition programs that will score high marks with the judges. This book is an essential guide to participating and excelling in the sport.
  
  
• Figure Skating : Championship Techniques  (SI Winners Circle Books) by John Misha Petkevich
  This book by Misha gives the very comprehensive description to the basic spins and back spins, jumps from single rotation to multi rotational, and of course the fundamentals of skating, ie edges and stroking. The wonderful thing about this book is that Misha provided the possible faults to the failure of execution of a particular move. So one may treat this book as a 'coach'. I personally liked the illustration of the sketches of the tracing on ice and the precision that is shown by Brian Boitano featured for the jumps and spins.
  
  
• Figure Skating School : A Professionally Structured Course from Basic Steps to Advanced Techniques -
  by Peter Morrissey, James Young  "Figure Skating School" is for people of all ages and abilities. Whatever your level of fitness and sporting ability, you can make great progress with this practical guide. A systematic course of instruction, it guides you from basic steps--skating forwards and backwards--through the most advanced techniques such as double flip and triple Salchow.
  
  
• Choreography and Style for Ice Skaters - by Ricky Harris
  This book has been around for a while but nothing can hold a candle to the depth of artistic and technical content that Ricky Harris has given us in this "must have" book! Her expertise and technical insight is a real gift to us all. One of the best books ever written on the subject to the sport.
  
  
• Figure Skating For Dummies -  by Kristi Yamaguchi, Christy Ness, Jody Meacham, chri Kjarsgaard-Ness, Jody Meachem
  Written by 1992 Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi (with a foreword by Scott Hamilton), Figure Skating for Dummies is a primer for spectators and would-be skaters alike. Learn the lingo, understand the judging practice, and--if you're really committed--embark on a practical training schedule in hopes of performing your own double-toe loops and triple axels
  
  
• The Essential Figure Skater - by Patti Tashman, Nikki Schallehn, Bernie Schallehn
  Here is a complete, fully illustrated guide to figure skating for all ages. Two former competitive-skaters-turned-teachers team up with one mental training coach to provide friendly, klutz-proof instruction for the beginner and beyond, including: * Sections on how to stop and how to fall * Basic maneuver * Beginning freestyle * Clothing and equipment * Finding a coach * Competition and testing * Ice dance * Precision team skating * Compulsory figures * Mental preparation (for all levels) * And much more!
  
  
• The Inner Champion : A Mental Toughness Training Manual for Figure Skaters - by Choeleen N. Loundagin
  A book aimed at helping skaters prepare psychologically for training and competition has been written by Choeleen Loundagin, a former competitive figure skater with a Master Degree in Sport Psychology. Entitled The Inner Champion, the book is clearly written, easy to understand, and organized in a fill-in-the-blank workbook fashion designed to help the skater work through and keep track of his or her goals and progress.
  
  
• Little Girls in Pretty Boxes : The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters  - by Joan Ryan
  A sports reporter investigates the training of girls as professional gymnasts and figure skaters, arguing that the pressure to succeed and to look beautiful results in mental and physical harm, from eating disorders to psychological trauma.
  
  
• Edge of Glory : The Inside Story of the Quest for Figure Skating's Olympic Gold Medals - by Christine Brennan
  Chronicling the year leading up to and including the 1998 Olympic Games, "Edge Of Glory" offers portraits of the famous and infamous athletes, the hopefuls and has-beens photos.
  
  
• Inside Edge : A Revealing Journey into the Secret World of Figure Skating - by Christine Brennan
  Chronicles a season on the skating circuit, intimately portraying the lives of such figures as Peggy Fleming, Scott Hamilton, Nancy Kerrigan, and Oksana Baiul, and identifying their ambitions and challenges.
  
  
• Sarah Hughes : Skating to the Stars - by Alina Sivorinovsky, Alina Sizorinovsky
  Figure skating phenom (and now Olympic Gold Medalist,) Sarah Hughes is taking the ice-and the world-by storm. Here, for the first time ever, is the true, unauthorized story of America's newest skating sweetheart as she goes for the gold in the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
  
  
• Figure Skating Now : Olympic and World Champions  by Steve Milton
  This overview of international figure-skating champions combines author Milton's brief biographical sketches with photographer Gerard Chataigneau's striking four-color photos. Of limited reference value--the bios read much like press releases--the book will be enjoyed primarily by browsers, although students writing reports will find essential facts about who won what when. It is the photos, though, that will draw skating fans. Shooting ice skaters in action is no easy trick for a photographer because skating is so fluid a sport, but Chataigneau manages to freeze such stars as Nancy Kwan at their most balletic.
  
  
• The Winning Attitude! : Michelle Kwan What It Takes to Be a Champion  by Michelle Kwan, Laura James
  Figure skater Michelle Kwan shares her commonsense philosophy on goal-setting, discipline, and dedication, explaining how it relates to everything from sports to making friends and getting along with family. Although the advice is solid and helpful, the earnest text is only occasionally relieved by anecdotes from Kwan's life, making the general tone more preachy than personal. Color plates illustrate the volume.
  

• Landing It : My Life on and Off the Ice  by Scott Hamilton, Lorenzo Benet (Contributor) Book
  One of Scott Hamilton's early skating coaches had an ironclad rule: If you fall during a routine, you bounce back up and skate on, smiling. This habit of tenaciousness not only helped Hamilton win Olympic Gold, but kept him going through a chronic childhood illness and, recently, an episode of cancer. His fast-paced memoir will appeal to even the most casual fans of competitive skating. Audio Version CD Unabridged, Audio Cassette Abridged,
  
• Stars on Ice : An Intimate Look at Skating's Greatest Tour - by Barry Wilner, Scott Hamilton (Introduction)
  Scott Hamilton is one of the most beloved figure skaters in the world-not just among his colleagues, but to the sport's countless fans as well. So when the Olympic gold medalist and four-time World Champion launched his "Stars on Ice" tour back in 1986, everyone wished him the best. In fact, the best is exactly what he got. Hamilton's "Stars on Ice" has become the most successful ice skating tour on the planet. In this lively look at figure skating's most remarkable success story, Stars on Ice features full-color illustrations of the graceful skaters who have entertained fans throughout the show's reign.
  
• The Long Program : Skating Toward Life's Victories - by Peggy Fleming, Peter Kaminsky (Contributor)
  In all of her roles -- athlete, wife, mother, role model, and cancer survivor -- Olympic gold medalist Peggy Fleming has relied upon the discipline she cultivated as a young skater. Now in this intimate memoir, she eloquently reveals her fascinating life story and shares her secrets to serenity and success. Hardback
  
• Gold! The Todd Eldredge Story by Alicia Styles
  Biography of Todd Eldredge current to 2001.
  
• Boitano's Edge : Inside the Real World of Figure Skating - by Brian Boitano, Suzanne Harper (Contributor), Peggy Fleming (Introduction)  Brian Boitano was a "daredevil roller skater" in Sunnyvale, California, before his mother took him to an ice show at age 8. After that he laced up figure skates instead, and as any of the sport's growing legion of fans know, his dream to win an Olympic medal came true in Calgary in 1988. Boitano's Edge is an insider's look at competitive figure skating. Filled with photographs and reminiscences spanning the gold-medalist's career
  
• Michelle Kwan My Special Moments by Michelle Kwan
  
• Michelle Kwan (Women Who Win) by Sherry Beck Paprocki, Hannah Storm (Intro)
  
• The Tiny Book Series - These books are less than 50 pages and very tiny 3" x 4".  Great mini coffeetable books or stocking stuffers.
  • Kristi Yamaguchi: Triumph On Ice - by Andrews McMeel Publishing
  • Katia Gordeeva: Solo Flight - by Andrews McMeel Publishing
  • Ilia Kulik: Prince Of Blades - by Andrews McMeel Publishing

More coming soon. Feel free to recommend books, by emailing me off the little yellow envelope in the margin. Thanks!

© Copyright 2002 Mary Wehmeier. Last update: 4/17/02; 12:44:10 AM.