Syllabi February 10, 2014

Figure skating is perhaps the least understood sport. The average layperson refers to every movement a skater completes as a “triple Axel” and forgets about the sport for four years at a time. Yet skating is, for some, an all-encompassing passion. A global sport, skating provides a lens through which one can explore some of the past century’s major historical phenomena (the AIDS crisis, the Cold War) and cultural trends (the cult of the sports commentator). The literature around figure skating is like the sport itself—entertaining, utterly human, flush with both absurdity and beauty. Here are the vital nonfiction skating