The Fall Line: America's Rise to Ski Racing's Summit
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
“Great sports writing. . . . [Vinton] is taking us inside a world few ever visit.”—James Hill, Washington Post
Harnessing nature’s most powerful forces, elite downhillers descend icy, rugged slopes at speeds cresting 90 miles per hour. For decades, American skiers struggled to match their European counterparts, and until this century the US Ski Team could not claim a lasting foothold on the roof of the Alps, where the sport’s legends are born.
Then came a fledgling class of American racers that disrupted the Alpine racing world order. Led by Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn, Julia Mancuso and Ted Ligety, this band of iconoclasts made a place for their country on some of the world’s most prestigious race courses. Even as new technology amplified the sport’s inherent danger, the US Ski Team learned how to win, and they changed downhill racing forever.
The Fall Line is the story of how it all came together, a deeply reported reconstruction of ski racing’s most dramatic season. Drawing on more than a decade of research and candid interviews with some of the sport’s most elusive figures, award-winning journalist Nathaniel Vinton reveals the untold story of how skiers like Vonn and Miller, and their peers and rivals, fought for supremacy at the Olympic Winter Games.
Here is an authoritative portrait of a group of men and women taking mortal risks in a bid for sporting glory. A white-knuckled tour through skiing’s deep traditions and least-accessible locales, The Fall Line opens up the sexy, high-stakes world of downhill skiing—its career-ending crashes, million-dollar sponsorship deals, international intrigue, and showdowns with nature itself.
With views from the starting gate, the finish line, and treacherous turns in between, The Fall Line delivers the adrenaline of one of the world’s most beautiful and perilous sports alongside a panoramic view of skiing’s past, present, and future.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Vinton (American Icon) takes readers deep inside the sport of downhill racing by focusing on Lindsey Vonn and Bode Miller in the year leading up to the U.S. ski team's historic performance at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Along the way Vinton provides a solid history of the sport. Vonn is depicted as a careerist, a media figure willing to do whatever it takes to become a successful skier; Miller, an iconoclast, is more ambivalent about the trappings of fame. He loves skiing, and he clearly welcomes the race and sponsorship money, but his relationship with the media varies from nonexistent to tense. The contrasts between the two athletes are fascinating, and Vinton, a former ski coach, ably focuses on the essential details and stories in a style reminiscent of David Halberstam. This is an intriguing book that will be devoured by fans as well as those who don't know a slalom from a super G.
Customer Reviews
Good book
Great book
Wow! Great read for old and young
This was a great read! I raced as a Jr. and now that my kids are learning to ski, I wanted to get caught up on ski racing. This book was fun to read, the author really brought out the excitement of racing. So much so, I signed up to race masters. And yes I raced my first slalom in 26 yrs the other day. Best part, my kids loved seeing there dad in the gates. Amazing how a book can get you pumped up and excited. Thanks.