Ice Skating: From Axels to Zambonis - Hardcover

Grade 5-10?An encyclopedic work on ice skating or, more accurately, on figure skating. Gutman chronicles its history and traces how it became the organized sport/art form we know today. The evolution of skates is discussed as are the development of techniques and the current stress on astonishing combinations. Well-known jumps are described and diagrams are provided to help clarify the moves. A backward glance is given to the early stars of the sport and there is a section on the superstars of the 1990s. Average-quality black-and-white archival photos and reproductions appear throughout; an eight-page insert of glossy, full-color action shots falls at the center of the book. Listings of Olympic, World, and U.S. champions are appended for quick reference. Gutman's journalistic style makes for quick and easy reading and his inclusion of miscellaneous tidbits adds interest. It is the up-to-date information and the trivia that set this offering apart from earlier selections that have important strengths of their own. Mark Heller's The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ice Skating (Paddington, 1979; o.p.) has excellent coverage of ice skating's history and techniques. Dianne DeLeeuw's Figure Skating (Atheneum, 1978; o.p.) also gives greater detail on techniques.?Renee Steinberg, Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 5^-8. Gutman packs in more than enough information for report writers and presents it in a thoroughly entertaining, enthusiastic style that will appeal to ice-skating fans and browsers alike. From the early history of ice skating to the intricacies of international competition, from descriptions of specific techniques to biographies of famous skaters, he provides solid facts as well as enough intriguing, offbeat, gossipy tidbits to make readers feel they have inside knowledge about the sport. He also supplies a bibliography, a chronology, a glossary, and complete lists of champions for all types of figure-skating competitions through 1994. Illustrations not seen in galley. Chris Sherman