Pretty Good for a Girl: The Autobiography of a Snowboarding Pioneer [Paperback]

Tina Basich (Author), Kathleen Gasperini (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 2003

When Tina Basich grabbed her rented snowboard and headed to the mountains in Lake Tahoe, snowboarding wasn't even considered a sport ... yet. It was the beginning, and could have easily gone the way of many other sports and become dominated by male-driven competition.

But not with Tina on the scene ...

Comments like "You're pretty good ... for a girl" only pushed her harder to be the best and to prove she was more than just a token player on the slopes. Representing for women everywhere, she became a snowboarding all-star, started her own signature board and clothing lines for women, founded Boarding for Breast Cancer, and followed her heart, which led her on the adventure of a lifetime.

This is her story.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tina Basich is an artist, musician, and professional snowboarder who was born and raised in Sacramento, California. When she's not following snowstorms and riding mountains around the world, she's hosting her own girls' action-sports TV show or organizing fund-raisers for her nonprofit foundation, Boarding for Breast Cancer. She lives in Northern California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: It Books; 1 edition (September 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060532203
• ISBN-13: 978-0060532208
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,169,386 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #71 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Outdoor Recreation > Snowboarding

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good For Anyone, October 10, 2003

By 

"dvg-pdx" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pretty Good for a Girl: The Autobiography of a Snowboarding Pioneer (Paperback)

I bought this book for my 16 year old cousin and read it myself before I mailed it. Basich has a great story to tell and the book is a joy to read. With her affable tone and clear joy for life she'll make you feel like a skater-girl pro-snowboarding insider, even if you're a grandpa or a businesswoman. Great fun!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good for an Autobiography, February 9, 2004

By 

takingadayoff "takingadayoff" (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Pretty Good for a Girl: The Autobiography of a Snowboarding Pioneer (Paperback)

I don't know anything about snowboarding and wasn't especially interested in it, but the title of this book caught my attention. God knows I heard "pretty good for a girl" often enough when I was growing up. Once I started Tina Basich's book, I was hooked.

She tells of growing up in a Sacramento suburb and going to an alternative school where art and music were stressed. Her parents kept the TV in a closet only to be brought out for special occasions, such as the Olympics. Basich and her younger brother entertained themselves by drawing, composing and playing music, staging shows, skateboarding, and reading. By the time she went to high school (a public high school), she was accomplished in a number of fields and her hero was Nadia Comaneci.

Basich tells of discovering snowboarding, becoming a pro, losing a friend to breast cancer and organizing snowboarding events to raise money for cancer research and education, and having several close calls of her own on the slopes. She talks about competitions, travels, and romances. She has a easy-to-read conversational style and the book is filled with photos and drawings.

Snowboarders will enjoy the story of how she perfected the backside 720 over a 60-foot jump, as well as the descriptions of competitions and the name-dropping. And everyone who has heard (or said) the words "pretty good for a girl" will enjoy the success story of a focused young woman.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beginner Snowboarder, February 25, 2005

By 

A. Hwang "bkdork" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pretty Good for a Girl: The Autobiography of a Snowboarding Pioneer (Paperback)

This book is awesome. I opened it and finished it in its entirety in one sitting. It was such an exciting read. I just recently started snowboarding and am totally psyched about it. Tina's changes in life are definitely relatable. She is an inspiration to me because there are so many girls who side-track themselves due to heartbreaking, intellectually debased boys. I've seen it happen all too often and has happened to me as well. To stay focused on your own goals and not let life get in the way is so difficult. Guys seem to have no problem doing it, but she proved that girls can pull it together too.

oh yeah, the foo fighters suck.