Good Skiing Reads Lately

[riverc0il]

A thread for fellow bookworms. Any one do any reading lately on quality ski books? Looking to hear some feedback on E. John B. Allen latest book "Culture and Sport of Skiing" which I have been thinking about picking up. Also can anyone comment on "Skiing Zen" by Rick Phipps? Looks interesting but not strictly about skiing. Mountaineer Books has a new book on Backcountry Skiing coming out later this month that also looks interesting.

Most recently, I finished a recent release called Instant Karma by Wayne Sheldrake which is a fantastic memoir that really captures something special about skiing that I can relate to (just posted a review on my web page). Also, not to long ago, I read John Fry's History of Modern Skiing which was sensational and required reading for history buffs (met John Fry last season, quite a knowledgeable fellow). Recently read Snowstruck by Jill Fredston which was sensational. Not an avalanche handbook but certainly a book that would get people scared straight about keeping themselves safe. And finally got around to Hal Clifford's Falling Season which was sensational. Great story about an interesting group with lots of tense, moving, and humorous passages.

Any other book worms read anything good lately?

 

[snowmonster]

I read Allen's "From Snowsports to Skiing" last summer. It was a good introduction to the history of the sport in the country from the arrival of Norwegian immigrants in the Northeast and Midwest to the period just before WWII. I liked it because it gave context to this sport (I'm a history buff). I saw "Culture and the Sport of Skiing" in the bookstore and considered picking it up. But, it seems that he covers a lot of the old ground in his new book. If the price was a little lower, I'd get it. But, at $25, it was a little too steep a price for info I already had.

For this winter, I'm considering the Fry book as well as the new book on the history of Sugarloaf and Chris Davenport's picture book on skiing the 14ers. I heard him speak here in Boston and was impressed.

 

[bvibert]

I guess most people here are like me... Mostly just read the captions under pictures in magazine...

Seriously I don't know when I'd have the time to sit down and read a book right now. I can't even sit down and thumb through a magazine or even watch TV without one of the kids demanding my attention...

 

[CapeSkier]

"Not Without Peril" is an excellent volume about various search and rescue operations in the Whites and on Mt. Washington, and of the fates of those who fail to respect the mountains. Not specifically a skiing book, but a great read for anyone who loves the outdoors, or a summer hiker. I have forgotten the author's name, but it is still in print and can be had at Borders or on the bookshelf at EMS.

 

[Grassi21]

Not skiing related but inspiring. I finished Into the Wild a few weeks ago. That book makes me wonder why I let myself spend so many years watching TV and doing jack S. Lacrosse was the only real "outdoors' time I had growing up. My desire to spend more time skiing, paddling, and hiking has skyrocketed. At the same time the book reconfirms how important it is to respect nature and its ability to chew you up and spit you out.

In Into the Wild they have a short section on Everett Reuss. I picked up a book on him as well as a couple written by Reuss.

 

[crank]

Recently read Snowstruck by Jill Fredston which was sensational. Not an avalanche handbook but certainly a book that would get people scared straight about keeping themselves safe.

I met her last year. She came through our local library on a book tour for Snowstruck. I started it but haven't gotten too far. Maybe I'll bring it on a ski trip this year. Her other book "Rowing to Lattitude" is a very good read.

"Ski The Whole Mountain" by Eric and Rob DesLauriers is the best instruction book I have ever read, not that I've actually read a lot of instruction books. I have perused a few though.

I read both the Herman Maier and Bode Miller books that came out a couple season back. Both were ok. Good if you are interested in Herman and Bode.

 

[Grassi21]

I met her last year. She came through our local library on a book tour for Snowstruck. I started it but haven't gotten too far. Maybe I'll bring it on a ski trip this year. Her other book "Rowing to Lattitude" is a very good read.

"Ski The Whole Mountain" by Eric and Rob DesLauriers is the best instruction book I have ever read, not that I've actually read a lot of instruction books. I have perused a few though.

I read both the Herman Maier and Bode Miller books that came out a couple season back. Both were ok. Good if you are interested in Herman and Bode.

I read the Herman one. I really enjoyed it. More so because I didn't know the entire background behind is wreck and recovery.

 

[bvibert]

"Not Without Peril" is an excellent volume about various search and rescue operations in the Whites and on Mt. Washington, and of the fates of those who fail to respect the mountains. Not specifically a skiing book, but a great read for anyone who loves the outdoors, or a summer hiker. I have forgotten the author's name, but it is still in print and can be had at Borders or on the bookshelf at EMS.

I've read that book and it is an excellent read, especially if you're considering a trip to the Presi's.

 

[Warp Daddy]

Read picabo's book it OK
I collect vintage ski books , its a modest collection. We lookat library book sales, garage sales and old book stores when i can

I have Morten Lund's collection of essays from old skiing publications featuring many skiing legends Freidl Pffefier , Fred Pbabst, Alex Cushing , Dick Durrance, the Kaiser, Karl Schrantz etc etc. Also have a collection of Vintage Skiing Coffee table Books as well as older instructional books

Don't ask me titles at thei point ---- Each year AS one of our HOLIDAY DECORATIONS i create three SKIING VILLAGES with Lift systems , skiers etc in our Built-in Bookcases and hutch as a favorite display for my grandkids when they arrive

All these books are used as an underlayment for the "SNOW" ( sheets of cotton ) i put down to creat teh ski hills

YEP ----- I'm NUTS , but hey everyone enjoys it -- but then again they're all ski nuts too

 

[riverc0il]

The publishing industry recently seems to really love the autobiography of top skiers but they usually get pretty junky reviews. That said, I still would like to read Picabo's and Bode's books if I can scope them up really cheap.

 

[severine]

I'm reading Ski Like A Diva: From Fear to Fun in 86 Pages by Jennifer and Jeff Bergeron. It's light reading, but a nice refresher. In my former life, this would have been a 1-2 hr read. But like Brian said, with the kids, it's hard to read anything these days.

 

[crank]

The publishing industry recently seems to really love the autobiography of top skiers but they usually get pretty junky reviews. That said, I still would like to read Picabo's and Bode's books if I can scope them up really cheap.

I borrowed the Bode book from the Library

 

[riverc0il]

I borrowed the Bode book from the Library

Probably the number one thing I miss about metro area living.... big libraries and HUGE interlibrary programs.... our town library, quite frankly, sucks. My tax dollars hard at work...

 

[crank]

If the trade off is living in ski country it's probably worth it

 

[snowmonster]

Rivercoil, I stand corrected on "The Culture and Sport of Skiing." I looked at it again in the bookstore and, unlike the earlier book, it tackles the history of the sport around the world and not just in America. Definitely a good follow-up to Allen's earlier book. I'm currently reading Fry's "The Story of Modern Skiing." Definitely a good read and thank you for the recommendation. It's just slightly jarring to read the author in the book (e.g., talking about NASTAR and suddenly you get an "I" as in "I started it." etc.). But, he was an active participant with a front-row seat. Can't beat that.

I'm getting a bunch of coupons from the bookstore so I may just use those to get a few more titles like the DesLauriers book. I have several instructional books at home (Elling's "The All-Mountain Skier," Tejada-Flores' "Breakthrough on the New Skis" and di Piro's book on moguls). I find that it's easier for me to read up on ski techniques then execute them rather than just follow an example. I guess it's because of my academic training. It may not be for everyone but for me, it's a good substitute for taking a lesson.

 

[thinnmann]

Don't ask me titles at thei point ---- Each year AS one of our HOLIDAY DECORATIONS i create three SKIING VILLAGES with Lift systems , skiers etc in our Built-in Bookcases and hutch as a favorite display for my grandkids when they arrive

All these books are used as an underlayment for the "SNOW" ( sheets of cotton ) i put down to creat teh ski hills

YEP ----- I'm NUTS , but hey everyone enjoys it -- but then again they're all ski nuts too

Hey WD - Please send us some photos of that!

 

[thinnmann]

Probably the number one thing I miss about metro area living.... big libraries and HUGE interlibrary programs.... our town library, quite frankly, sucks. My tax dollars hard at work...

you might need a Kindle
http://tinyurl.com/ysxh6h

Skiing books available for it
http://tinyurl.com/2c8528

 

[riverc0il]

you might need a Kindle
http://tinyurl.com/ysxh6h

Skiing books available for it
http://tinyurl.com/2c8528

As someone employed in the book industry, I am closely watching how things like the Kindle are developing. eBooks have completely failed over the past few years for numerous reasons such as too many differing proprietary issues instead of universal standard, eBooks costing too much, and people feeling attached to the tactile sensations of a book. But ultimately, the reason digital failed, is unlike other digital conversions (such as music and video), the delivery method of books changes the experiences too much and is not yet user friendly.

The Kindle takes a first step in the right direction but it isn't there yet. Also, too expensive and not yet enough content, but still a good first step. The biggest issue with digital conversion of books is that publishers can not simply copy content page by page. People read things differently on a screen. The best comparison I have ever heard is thinking of like a scroll versus a book. On a computer, we read things on a single page in a long scroll but in a book we have non-scrolling short pages that get turned horizontally instead of vertically.

Ideally, I would love to start seeing "computer books" such as the Kindle that look like a book but act like a computer. Right down to being able to slide a finger across a "page" to initiate a "turn." Years ago the demise of the book was predicted but I suspect it will be much later in my life time, perhaps two or three dozen years before digital really takes over.

 

[thinnmann]

The Kindle takes a first step in the right direction but it isn't there yet. Also, too expensive and not yet enough content, but still a good first step. The biggest issue with digital conversion of books is that publishers can not simply copy content page by page. People read things differently on a screen. The best comparison I have ever heard is thinking of like a scroll versus a book. On a computer, we read things on a single page in a long scroll but in a book we have non-scrolling short pages that get turned horizontally instead of vertically.

Yea - I have read a couple of books on a PDA, and it sucks. And if the Kindle tech gets cheap enough to almost give away, that would give Amazon another constant source of income as users would buy the content only from them.

But still it seems like a possible alternative if a person is in a location where the libraries are bad and the bookstores far away... as long as there was a cell phone signal, which is sometimes limited in the northeastern snow country.