Customer Reviews

Women's Gymnastics a History: Volume 1 1966 To 1974

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For all you fans of women's gymnastics, this is the book you have been waiting for! It leaves no stone unturned in the gymnastics happenings between 1966-1974. We see the descriptions, both in word and in Code of Points illustrations, of the routines performed by famous gymnasts such as Caslavska, Tourisheva, Rigby, Korbut, Zuchold, Janz, and many others. The pictures are terrific! So are the bio's.

This book takes you back to the glory days when women's gymnastics was performed by WOMEN, not by anorexic teenaged dwarves. In fact, it inspired me to resume gymnastics after an 18-year hiautus!

I got in touch recently with Mr. Simons, the author, to order Volume II, but it has not yet been released. Please do so immediately, sir!! So many people are waiting eagerly for it!

What an extraordinary book! Anyone with any interest in gymnastics NEEDS this book! I've always been saddened by the lack of any good books about gymnastics for adults (why do publishers think that only ten-year-olds want to read about this sport?) but now Marc has done something to set this right. I couldn't put it down from the moment it arrived--the photos alone make the book worthwhile, but the historical information is also amazing--this is a gripping read for anybody interested in the summer olympics or the history of sport in the days of the Iron Curtain. I can't recommend it enough.

The most wonderful women's gymnastics book written.
I have been waiting for a long time for volume II, and that is the ONLY dissapointing thing about this book. Worth every cent.
Mr. Simons----please put out Volume II soon!!!!

It just does not get any better than this. This book is an absolute must for any gymnastics fan. I bought it as soon as it was published and do not understand why volume 2 is not yet available. I understand four volumes were originally planned. I really hope they will be out soon.

For those who dispair that there are no books for the gymnastics fan written for an average age above 10, here is your book! I love the sport as a fan. Beyond back issues of gymnastics magazines, it is hard to find good information. This book is excellent! It describes in detail the competitions, routines, and competitors of its time. My only disappointment is that it ends in 1974, and I have yet to see Volume 2 hit the shelves. A great read!

The information in this one book is undelievable! You get step by step descriptions of the routines of gymnasts from this era-such as Vera Caslavska, Olga Korbut, Ludmilla Turisheva, Cathy Rigby, Erika Zuchold, Joan Moore Rice, Natalya Kuchinskaya, Karin Janz, and MORE! The book is divided into chapters, each chapter is dedicated to one major competition (i.e. Olympics, World Championships, European Championships) or several small competitions (i.e. Pan-American Games, the Spartikaides, Champions All). It provides in-depth rotation by rotation info on scoring and other things. The pictures are endless, and so are the diagrams of skills from the 89 Code of Points. I would be aprehensive to spend $30.00 for a book, but having read it, it is extremely worth it. I'm very cheap and I would buy it (I got it from my library if your wondering). I knew very little about this era of gymnastics until this masterpiece of sports journalism. The addresses to obtain copies of gymnastics routines described in the book are included too! One gymnastics obsessee to another--this book is truly a must have--A PERFECT 10!

This book is a must have! Its well written, has excellent photos and interviews with many gymnasts. Not only is it comprehensive - its accurate!!! Can't wait for Volume 2.

This book is unbelieveable! It has everything and more! There are routine discriptions, Code of Points, biographies, and very deatailed competition summaries. You will never be dissapointed in this book except when you finish it and have to wait for volume 2-4 which are for 1975-1980, 1981-1988 and 1989-1996. This is the most complete book on gymnastics that I have ever read and ever will read for a long time.

This book was great! I read it sparingly, so that I took the time to enjoy it! It was neat to get an account of athletes and competitions which happened before I was born. I can't wait for the next 3 volumes!

Last I checked, website Grips Etc was still selling new copies of this book for $35. So before you drop $240+ on a used copy, I suggest you investigate that avenue.

Not quite a coffee table volume, but more than a mere history, this is easily the most comprehensive, thoroughly illustrated, and ambitious history of the sport I've ever encountered. With its play-by-play of every major gymnastics event, it threatens to be TOO detailed. But who can really complain, especially when there's so much interesting stuff on offer (particularly the fascinating "where are they now" interviews with the legends of the sport)? And it's all printed on glossy white paper. Classy.

Book has some drawbacks. There isn't an index, which is a sin considering there's 400 pages of detailed text to sort through. The prose is frustratingly passive in tone and, at times, chaotically arranged (quoting paragraphs-long passages from other sources really breaks the flow). This robs the book significantly of dramatic power. The photography is good, but not breathtaking, and most of the images are relatively small, which might frustrate fans seeking something more, er, coffee-tably. In other words, this is a history for fans of 1966-1974 gymnastics only--which must be a very small audience indeed.

But that small audience will be hugely impressed. You realize how special this book is when you consider how most gymnastics history books today are just heavily authorized biographies, "inspirational" works that, quite honestly, are very dull (the only really good reads lately have been those that criticize the sport--at least there's *drama* when things go horribly wrong). It amazes me that there is a void that has yet to be filled for a great illustrated history of gymnastics (even the International Gymnastics Federation has failed to address that, preferring to put out coffee table photo books that are frustratingly devoid of detail--more propaganda works peppered with inspirational writing than real histories).

So, this book stands alone. There's never been anything like it--making the fact that the sequels seem fated never to materialize all the sadder. The thing really is (almost) worth $240. But go to Grips Etc. first for your $35 copy anyway. ;-)