"Ryan's journalistic ability to unearth historical details and mix them into a compelling story is first-class! While balancing accuracy and fairness, he reveals a man whose life demonstrated enormous talent and creativity, celebrity and human frailty." - Debbi Wilkes, Olympic Silver Medallist, author and figure skating commentator "Informative, lively and scholarly, without being dry, packing in a wealth of figure skating history... Impeccable." - Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review Jackson Haines left America during the height of the Civil War and embarked on a remarkable journey across Europe. With his ingenious translation of ballet onto the ice, he revolutionized the world of figure skating. Mesmerizing Czars and Emperors with his breathtaking performances, he became a catalyst for the creation of several of the world's oldest skating clubs. He left such an indelible impact that he is remembered today as The Father of Figure Skating. In this captivating biography, figure skating historian Ryan Stevens masterfully recounts Jackson Haines' incredible story, from his modest origins in New York to his tragic death in Finland in 1875 - both on and off the ice. If you are curious about the history of figure skating, this book will both surprise and fascinate you.

This first-ever encyclopedia of the Midwest seeks to embrace this large and diverse area, to give it voice, and help define its distinctive character. Organized by topic, it encourages readers to reflect upon the region as a whole. Each section moves from the general to the specific, covering broad themes in longer introductory essays, filling in the details in the shorter entries that follow. There are portraits of each of the region's twelve states, followed by entries on society and culture, community and social life, economy and technology, and public life. The book offers a wealth of information about the region's surprising ethnic diversity -- a vast array of foods, languages, styles, religions, and customs -- plus well-informed essays on the region's history, culture and values, and conflicts. A site of ideas and innovations, reforms and revivals, and social and physical extremes, the Midwest emerges as a place of great complexity, signal importance, and continual fascination.

Rogues, aristocrats, and a future U.S. president. These and other governors are portrayed in this revised and updated edition of the classic reference work on the chief executives of New Jersey. Editors Michael J. Birkner, Donald Linky, and Peter Mickulas present new essays on the governors of the last three decades—Brendan T. Byrne, Thomas Kean, James Florio, Christine Todd Whitman, Donald DiFrancesco, James McGreevey, Richard Codey, and Jon Corzine. The essays included in the original edition are amended, edited, and corrected as necessary in light of new and relevant scholarship. The authors of each governor’s life story represent a roster of such notable scholars as Larry Gerlach, Stanley Katz, Arthur Link, and Clement Price, as well as many other experts on New Jersey history and politics. As a result, this revised edition is a thorough and current reference work on the New Jersey governorship—one of the strongest in the nation. Also of Interest: New Jersey Politics and Government The Suburbs Come of Age Fourth Edition Barbara G. Salmore with Stephen A. Salmore 978-0-8135-6139-4 paper $34.95 A volume in the Rivergate Regionals Collection Me, Governor? My Life in the Rough-and-Tumble World of New Jersey Politics Richard J. Codey 978-0-8135-5045-9 cloth $24.95 The Life and Times of Richard J. Hughes The Politics of Civility John B. Wefing 978-0-8135-4641-4 cloth $32.50 Governor Tom Kean From the New Jersey Statehouse to the 911 Commission Alvin S. Felzenberg 978-0-8135-3799-3 cloth $29.95

In contemporary North America, figure skating ranks among the most 'feminine' of sports and few boys take it up for fear of being labelled effeminate or gay. Yet figure skating was once an exclusively male pastime - women did not skate in significant numbers until the late 1800s, at least a century after the founding of the first skating club. Only in the 1930s did figure skating begin to acquire its feminine image. Artistic Impressions is the first history to trace figure skating's striking transformation from gentlemen's art to 'girls' sport. With a focus on masculinity, Mary Louise Adams examines how skating's evolving gender identity has been reflected on the ice and in the media, looking at rules, technique, and style and at ongoing debates about the place of 'art' in sport. Uncovering the little known history of skating, Artistic Impressions shows how ideas about sport, gender, and sexuality have combined to limit the forms of physical expression available to men.

Step into Jean Haines distinctive, exciting world of watercolour with this, the ultimate guide to her influences, style and work. Jean's loose, expressive paintings are filled with colour and personality, embracing a range of subjects that includes flowers, animals, people and places, all influenced by the countries and cities she's lived in and the people she's met during her life. This beautiful book contains easy-to-follow and inspiring introductory sections such as an artists treasure chest and the colour gym, offering practical guidance and in-depth exercises in an innovative and accessible way, and the numerous examples of Jeans work will inspire and encourage novice as well as experienced artists. After this introductory section, the book shows the reader how to put the skills they've learned into practice with gorgeous step-by-step projects packed full of expert tips and advice, encouraging them to move forward and develop their own style of working. Like her painting, Jean's writing is filled with passion and enthusiasm, transporting the reader through a world of watercolour that will not fail to excite and inspire.

"An overview of the modern Olympic Games featuring Winter sports played by individual athletes competing against each other ... These athletes compete in more than 100 events. The games showcase the strength and skills, stamina and endurance of amazing individual athletes from around the world."--