Life and Limb: Skateboarders Write from the Deep End [Paperback]

Justin Hocking (Editor), Jeffrey Knutson (Editor), Jared Jacang Maher (Editor), Jocko Weyland (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 21, 2004

Although the stories and essays in Life and Limb are diverse in subject and voice — and some explore tangential activities from tree eating to the historical and cultural significance of boulders — they all express certain approaches common to skateboarders everywhere. These include an iconoclastic sense of creativity fostered by a lifetime spent outside the restrictions of team sports; a collaborative artistic spirit and a disdain for overt competitiveness; a sense of humor; an appetite for risk that often borders on self-destructiveness; a youthful distrust of authority; and a reluctance to join the "adult" world of commerce and responsibility. While all the contributing writers have been heavily influenced by skateboarding, the stories in Life and Limb don't glorify or idealize the sport. Many of the pieces reveal a darker side — the curse that accompanies the blessing of a lifetime spent rolling very fast over very hard surfaces.

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Soft Skull Press (May 21, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193236028X
• ISBN-13: 978-1932360288
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #558,052 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dude, I Totally Wrote a Review, August 23, 2005

By 

Mary Fenton "CreteSlut" (BK, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life and Limb: Skateboarders Write from the Deep End (Paperback)

Many people have written about shred-stickery, but this book, for the first time, dismisses notions of the bong-toking, Tony Hawk Pro Skater-ing, Gravity Gaming, Tech Deck fingerboarding demographic of vidiot savant vandals who demoralize and destroy society with their wild antics on four wheels. This is a book written by skateboarders who convey more passion and garner more respect than any Tiger Woods or Mark McGuire, while simultaneously defying all that is conventional about "sport."

Life and Limb shows that talented skateboarders can also be talented artists, deep thinkers, and true souls in a society overrun by celebrities and sports aimed at breeding consumers. With pieces by many influential skaters whose lives have been touched, and in many ways shaped by the sport, Life and Limb is a revolutionary anthology that any skater, philosopher, activist, literati, industry entity, or martial artist can relate to. Its reading is therapeutic, reassuring, and restores lost faith in an ideology that has been packaged and sold to the branded masses.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars look deeper for the value, August 20, 2005

By 

J. Michael - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life and Limb: Skateboarders Write from the Deep End (Paperback)

some of the amazon reviewers are overly hung up on a very static evaluation of this text: 'is the writing good?' instead the highest value of this book is recognizing that it was created entirely by those within the skateboarding world and at times doesn't even address skateboarding itself - no need to always talk about it, they ARE the culture, they live it.

this is almost a sociological study of skaters at different times in their lives, from young to 'mature,' making sense of this subculture that has defined their lives. some of the tales are simple/straightforward, others are more experimental or fantastic. yet others seem to have no tie to skateboarding other than being in the anthology - but their placement within it makes connections inevitable.

it's a fascinating text as a study, and some of the writing is quite good - or at the least thought-provoking. peter pan-ish themes weave throughout, which says a lot, doesn't it? it's not amateurish, it's D.I.Y., which as all skaters know is also very much part of the culture. the fact that non-writers were welcome to contribute should be applauded. rules are broken, gems revealed. bravo to life and limb.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just another skateboarding book, June 21, 2004

By 

"alexolsen1" (Broomfield, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life and Limb: Skateboarders Write from the Deep End (Paperback)

Life and Limb winds through a wide array of experiences and perspectives, demonstrating the depth of a sub-culture of American life. With the use of humor, introspection, and fury; the collective authors are able to demonstrate the thoughts and feelings of the lost youth.

This should not be considered just another skateboarding book. This is an excellent read, and provides a vastness of thought that can only be attributed to many voices and many thoughts.