Skate Talk: Figure Skating in the Words of the Stars

Virginia Gillham is university librarian at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Sports journalist Steve Milton has put together a volume that will be
eaten up by figure skating groupies and casual fans alike. Skate Talk
consists of nearly 100 one- or two-page interviews with top North
American and European figure skaters of recent history.

The interviews, which are grouped loosely into nine subject categories,
explore such topics as major competitive moments, relationships and
romantic involvements among skaters, and challenges in their personal
and professional lives. Tracy Wilson and Ekaterina Gordeeva talk about
their relationship to the sport after the deaths of their respective
partners. Elizabeth Manley, Martini and Underhill, and Rudy Galindo talk
about the extraordinary circumstances surrounding their major medal
performances. Kurt Browning talks about the one that got away.
Lesser-known figures who have made important contributions to the sport
are also represented, as are individuals who predate the era of figure
skating on television (and thus its huge popularity).

This volume is an essential addition to the bookshelves of all
followers of amateur competitive figure skating.