Customer Reviews

Totally Tara: An Olympic Journal

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

As a fan of Lipinski's I was extremely let down by this book. It was Juvenile and frankly she seemed sort of gloating and egotistical. Tara no longer seems as fun to me :( .

The book itself is complete fluff. I couldn't even finish it and found it to be a waste of money. Worst of all was picture that showed Michelle Kwan crying next to Tara with her huge grin. I thought that in poor taste and a horride-over-the-top addition to a totally horrible book.

I was totally disgusted by the picture of Michelle Kwan crying and Tara next to her with a cheshire cat smile on her face. True, Tara skated ok at the Olympics, but I think that when people look back at the Nagano Olympics people will remember Michelle Kwan and the admirable way she handled herself when she won the silver medal more than people will remember Tara Lipinski and her winning the gold medal. Besides, Tara is very childish. When she won, she started screaming and jumping up and down like a two-year-old throwing a temper tantrum. That's our gold medalist? God help us all.

....UNTIL I saw that picture of Michelle Kwan that has been mentioned in several other reviews. I'm sorry but why on earth was that necessary to include in a book about TARA? It seemed to me to be a rather immature thing to do, if you've won the gold medal why on earth would you be interested in anything but enjoying that medal, instead of "rubbing it in" to the silver medalist as it seems to be doing here? Totally unneccesary to a book that should have been all about Tara and her enjoyment of the Olympics. The rather tacky inclusion of that photo made me put this book back on the shelf as quickly as I had picked it up.

I did not buy this book but I checked it out of the public library, I am glad I did not buy it. Thought it had some wonderful photos of Miss. Lipinski I do not think it was written very well, it was mainly just pictures... I think Tara could have gotten a better author to write for her. I do not dislike Tara but I do dislike this book... and I really disapprove of the photo of Michelle Kwan at the very end! That was rude in my opinion, they could have found a much nicer picture of Miss. Kwan... or just not have put her in the book at all!

In this pictorial legacy, the reader is treated to the history and triumphant win of Gold Medal winner, Tara Lipinski, the fourteen year old who claimed the highest honor in women's figure skating in the 1998 Winter Olympics. Simon Bruty's exquisite photographs showcase the hard work, beauty, grace and poise of this young skater, who claimed the hearts of sports enthusiasts worldwide in that chilly winter in Japan. This book is a real treat to those who love the sport in all of its marvelous facets.

I never received this book. I was charged on my credit card and have still not received the book a month later!

This book is 145 pages long, and nearly every single one of those pages is a picture. Some of the pictures have words written on them, but this is a picture book. Don't get me wrong though, these pictures do a good job of showing Tara's preparation for the 1998 games, and her experiences while she was there. You get a good look inside her training, and her mind set entering the games.

So, if you want to see a LOT of pictures of tara, and get a somewhat limited idea of her life, buy this book, but if you're looking for an autobiography...this isn't one.

How concieted can you get? This book does nothing but glorify it's subject and belittle her competitors. To add, the writing in this book is minimal. It's more of a picture book for the elementary school student as it has little literary value. If you want a book on figure skating, buy Culture on Ice instead.

Why is figure skating my favorite sport? Actually, there are several reasons. First, it is a truly international sport. Also, it has both athletic and artistic sides to it, and it is performed to a great variety of beautiful music. And most of the female competitors look like fashion models, with glamorous costumes that only heighten the illusion. And then there are the rivalries, which range from friendly (The Battle of the Brians, for instance) to highly acrimonious (Tonya vs. Nancy, "Pasha" vs. Maia), giving the sport its gossipy appeal.

The greatest rivalry of the late 90's, of course, was Tara vs. Michelle, as they battled on almost equal terms for the U.S., World, and ultimaltely the Olympic championships. This seemed to be a classic case of the "athlete" (Tara) versus the "artist" (Michelle) as each had the reputation (and higher scores, overall) in these respective areas (although both were great all-around skaters). The advantage, of course, would go to the "athlete" most of the time, since a fall on a jump is marked down much more severely than, say, an inferior leg position on a layback spin. Also, Tara benefitted from being the "underdog" in most of the big competitions, since there is always more pressure and distractions for the "favorite" to contend with. It also didn't hurt that Tara has the perfect body for figure skating (very short and pencil-thin), which no doubt contributed to her ability to rotate incredibly fast on jumps where she barely seemed to leave the ice. And switching coaches to Richard Callaghan was also a wise move, given his outstanding track record, not to mention having a hard-working and dedicated training partner and "role model" such as Todd Eldredge.

The words that seem to best describe Tara would, I think, be precocious (youngest U.S., World, and Olympic champion), focused (having the ability to "bounce back" after lackluster performances), and gregarious. In other words, when it comes to Tara's skating style and accomplishments, she gets 5 "stars" (as does Michelle Kwan, for that matter), but as far as this book goes, I would only give three. Although the photoghaphy is certainly very nice, there is very little text (116 pages to 26) and it is mostly superficial and, as is typical in a semiautobiographical book, tends to look only at the good side of Tara (for a more "in depth" and not nearly as flattering look at Tara, see Christine Brennan's excellent figure skating "storybooks", Inside Edge and Edge of Glory...