- Paperback: 262 pages
- Publisher: Clerisy Press; illustrated edition edition (Nov 27 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 157860334X
- ISBN-13: 978-1578603343
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 13.7 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 363 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#803,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #52 in Books > Sports > Winter Sports > Ice Skating & Figure Skating
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
As the U.S. Figure Skating team prepares take center ice at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, competitive figure skater and journalist Nichols takes a soft look at the sport's pivotal moment in this reverential tribute to the 18 skaters (plus friends, family and coaches) who died in 1961 when their plane crashed en route to the world championships in Prague, eliminating the U.S.'s hope for a successful 1964 Winter Olympics and setting into motion a rebuilding process that rushed young skaters into the top echelons of international competition. Nichols's account of the rivalry between Laurence Owen, the daughter of Olympic figure skater Maribel Vinson who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated the very week of the crash, and Stephanie Westerfeld (both died in the crash) is the extent of scandal readers can expect to encounter here. Nichols does little to disguise her admiration for the team and is primarily concerned with maintaining a legacy, perhaps explaining her naïve and timid writing. Skating enthusiasts will want to add this to the shelf.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
On February 15, 1961, all 18 members of the U.S. World Figure Skating Team were killed in a plane crash, along with 16 coaches, officials, and family members. "Frozen in Time" takes readers inside the lives of the young skaters who died in the crash, revealing their friendships, romances, rivalries, sacrifices, and triumphs. The dramatic focus lingers on two families of powerful women: the Owens and the Westerfelds. Maribel Owen, the most famous woman in figure skating at the time, relentlessly drives her two young daughters--pairs champion Mara and the spectacular Laurence, who graced the cover of "Sports Illustrated" on the day she died. Myra Westerfeld, meanwhile, loses her marriage while guiding her daughters Sherri and Steffi to the pinnacle of the sport. Along with the bittersweet personal stories, author Nikki Nichols recounts the U.S. skating program's lengthy struggle to rebuild after this devastating accident.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Frozen In Time,
By
This review is from: Frozen in Time: The Enduring Legacy Of the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Team (Hardcover)
This is a fabulous book. I really enjoyed reading it. I felt bad for the americans loosing so many great skaters and coaches.This is a book for any figure skating fan to enjoy. The authour of the book did a really good job reasearching the story and then publishing the book. I hope that anyone who picks up this book will take the time to read it it will amaze you also.
5.0 out of 5 stars
WOW What a book this was. This is the 1st in depth book on t,
By Jessica A. Bruno "I am an avid reader/cd/dvd ... (Near NYC on the NJ side of it USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Frozen in Time: The Enduring Legacy Of the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Team (Hardcover)
Recemmed everyone to read even if you aren't a fan of the sport because this was very tragic on all aspects of this. Thank you.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars (31 customer reviews) 7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Triumph over Tragedy,
By Carol M. Cunningham - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Frozen in Time: The Enduring Legacy Of the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Team (Hardcover)
You don't need to be a figure skating fan to become engrossed in reading this compelling human interest story. The author effectively breathes life into the tragic loss of the U.S. team making them real and memorable to generations that might only know them by name or historical event. This book is a tribute to the young athletes, at the peak of their performance and poised for greatness, and their family members and coaches, who become "unfrozen" long enough for us to come to know them. Skating terms and judging criteria are clearly explained and many well chosen photographs support the text. I highly recommend this book as an example of triumph over tragedy.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not just for skaters.....,
By T. Cass - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Frozen in Time: The Enduring Legacy Of the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Team (Hardcover)
I bought this book as a gift for a friend who is a huge skating fan--always looking forward to her annual pilgrimage to the US Nationals. I knew she would enjoy reading about such a critical event in US skating history. But, I certainly didn't anticipate that I, a non-skater who enjoys watching the sport but has never shelled out dollars to do so, would find this book so fascinating. The author choose to focus on two particular skaters and their families, and by so doing, makes this true story read like a novel, not the possibly dry news report I expected. I felt particularly drawn into the lives of those two families, which set the context for the other characterizations. I also found the book surprisingly suspenseful, considering that, like the Titanic, I was well aware of how the story ends. The book benefits from the author's experience as a skater, providing good technical information but even better insight into the emotions of the sport. The photos are wonderful--my complaint is that there weren't enough.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Long Overdue Look At Some Promising Athletes,
By James E. Bagley "Jim Bagley" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Frozen in Time: The Enduring Legacy Of the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Team (Hardcover)
Nikki Nichols did a fantastic job in researching the stories of each the 18 figure skaters - and their family members - that were on the ill-fated 1961 flight that crashed in Belgium on its way to the World Championships in Prague. Little has been written over the years on the lives of these talented athletes and it is wonderful to see their stories fleshed out far beyond just being a morbid statistic. Special attention - and deservedly so - is giving to the Owens family: Maribel Sr. (the many times National champion in singles and pairs whose students had included Tenley Albright and Frank Carroll), Maribel Jr. (the reserved, newly crowned pair champion with her boyfriend Dudley Richards), and Laurence Owen (the 16 year old, vivacious singles skater who was poised to succeed Albright and the lovely Carol Heiss as queen of the ice).The loss of this young skating team and many of its top coaches obliterated US skating internationally for years and Nichols effectively captures the void this accident left on the sport. It would be three years before an American would medal at a major event - young Scott Allen's bronze at the '64 Olympics - and a World champion would not emerge again until 1966 when Peggy Fleming won the ladies title. My only complaint with the book is that Nichols includes fictional conversations attributed to the victims based on their known personality traits and the actions that transpired leading up to - as well as their time on - the airplane. For me, it crosses the line from biography - and Frozen In Time is a good biography - into romance novel cliche when she occasionally takes this dramatic license. |
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