Ice Cream: Thirty of the Most Interesting Skaters in History

by Toller Cranston, Martha Lowder Kimball

The skaters included in this book all made a strong impression on the skating world, contributing to the development of the sport through commanding athletic prowess, unusual aesthetic characteristics, or sheer force of personality. They reflected and illuminated their times and environments. Certainly none of them could be called boring, the deadliest sin in Toller’s lexicon. In many cases they are skaters who elevated figure skating to an art form, but some altered the course of the sport in a way that may have been negative.

Each chapter starts with a short biography and then Toller contributes his well-honed and very personal assessment. Finally, Toller brings the book right up to date with his A Salt Lake City Retrospective.

Readers and fans are aware of Toller Cranston’s way with a quip, his flamboyant personality, and his outspoken opinions. In Ice Cream, they will also learn more about his deep knowledge of skating, his sensitive artistic judgement, and his acute observations of fellow skaters. But make no mistake, the Toller we all know is here in spades.

Genres: Figure Skating

296 pages, Hardcover

First published August 26, 2002

Reviews

[Ryan Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Toller never minced words and his assessments of many of figure skating's greatest stars are an entertaining read. His wit is ever present in this book and although I didn't agree 100% with all his takes on certain skaters, I did share many. The chapter on Laurent Tobel, in particular, was beautifully written.

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god, this was fabulous! So I'm on a major ice skating bio kick right now, and Toller Cranston is a new discovery for me (I'm old enough to remember him but missed him because I started watching competitive skating after he'd been professional for a few years and later only watched professionals I'd seen compete as amateurs). In looking for a good bio on him, I found this - 25 chapters or so on skaters he had Thoughts about. All from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, all skaters I watched or discovered later with just a few exceptions.

There are plenty of compliments and plenty of complaints to go around. The thing he seemed to hate the most was when skaters would stop chasing technical proficiency and just dialed it in after turning professional. (the 2 skaters he specifically said who did NOT do this were Brian Boitano and Kurt Browning). The thing he hated next most was the judging at professional competitions - just a popularity contest, regardless of the actual quality of the skate. But if you watched those competitions (I did), you already knew that.

I will say that I spotted several minor errors in the mini bios that opened each chapter, written by Martha Kimball. Things like referring to the Protopopovs as ice dancers instead of pair skaters, and noting that Jayne Torvill with her first partner came in second at the British Championships in pairs, when actually they won. But nothing major.

If you were a fan in those golden years of figure skating, this book is a must read.

[Surreysmum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toller's opinions on: Sonja Henie; Ludmila & Oleg Protopopov; Ludmila Pakhomova & Alexander Gorshkov; Peggy Fleming; John Curry; Beatrix Schuba; Dorothy Hamill; Robin Cousins; Torvill & Dean; Scott Hamilton; Gary Beacom; Underhill & Martini; the Duchesnays; Brian Orser; Jozef Sabovcik; Elizabeth Manley; Katarina Witt; Kurt Browning; Midori Ito; Nancy Kerrigan; Tonya Harding; Phillippe Candeloro; Laurent Tobel; Oksana Baiul; Lucinda Ruh.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toller Cranston has always been known for being extremely opinionated. Whether or not you like him or agree with him, he's always interesting and doesn;t shy from sharing his sometimes controversial takes on skating and skaters. A fun, light read but it's worth investigating other sources to get other opinions.

[Kay Van Slyke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting insight into the world of ice skating personalities and politics. I enjoyed his honesty and sense of humor.