Review of Inside Figure SkatingSkate Talk - by Alina Sivorinovsky

As far as figure skating books go, this is a great coffee table book. Its large, colorful pictures will captivate young and old readers alike. It is very informative, focusing on the past 20 years of figure skating. Sivorinovsky takes a look at how television and the information age have changed the sport of figure skating, launching it into the world spotlight on numerous occasions.

The book takes us into the personal lives of some of the famous athletes and explores the issues and problems they faced along the way to the top. Along those lines it is a tell-tell of who’s in love with whom and many other secrets of the skating world. It also looks at some of the more controversial moments in judging figure skating such as the Nagano Olympics.

Here’s what one other review recently wrote on Amazon: “Great photography! But it for that alone. The writing is decent. I would imagine Kwan fans will not like the treatment she gets in the Nagano section. Alina covers a lot ground in the book. She keeps the pace moving. A decent short history of recent skating without the tabloid style of a Christine Brennan. A good addition to the library of any skating fan.”

It also looks at the growing importance of Professional Figure Skating and Professional Competitions. Many of the world’s best skaters are now gracing the stage in numerous shows around the world. They choose to perform for the monetary value and the love of skating. With the growing number of top skaters joining shows, the quality and caliber of these shows has improved tremendously. Professional and Pro Am competitions allow them to continue to compete, an opportunity that was not there in the past.

Although not in the same class as “The Official Book of Figure Skating,” this book does have a lot to offer readers of any age. It does discuss briefly some adult topics such as AIDS and Homosexuality, although it would take some digging to find them (in photo captions). It does capture some of the most beautiful moments of figure skating in photography, and those alone, are worth the cost of this coffee table book.

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