Description
Book SynopsisOn February 15, 1961, all 18 members of the U.S. World Figure Skating Team were killed in a plane crash, along with 16 coaches, officials, and family members. Frozen in Time takes readers inside the lives of the young skaters who died in the crash, revealing their friendships, romances, rivalries, sacrifices, and triumphs. The dramatic focus lingers on two families of powerful women: the Owens and the Westerfelds. Maribel Owen, the most famous woman in figure skating at the time, relentlessly drives her two young daughters--pairs champion Mara and the spectacular Laurence, who graced the cover of Sports Illustrated on the day she died. Myra Westerfeld, meanwhile, loses her marriage while guiding her daughters Sherri and Steffi to the pinnacle of the sport. Along with the bittersweet personal stories, author Nikki Nichols recounts the U.S. skating program's lengthy struggle to rebuild after this devastating accident.
Trade Review“
Frozen in Time is the beautiful, heart-wrenching story of the eighteen members of the U.S. figure skating team of 1961 and the sudden tragedy that took them from us at the summit of their achievement.
—Senator Edward M. Kennedy
“Nichols does a masterful job of seamlessly weaving together this long-ago era with the contemporary world of the sport. It is a terrific and informative read.”
—International Figure Skating magazine
“The sensitivity of the writer will touch every skating fan in what may be one of the ten best-written sports books of the year.”
—Barry Federovitch, Trenton Times
“A moving tribute to the skaters who died for their sport.”
—Indianapolis Star
“Written with an insider’s perspective, Frozen in Time is a painstaking and heart-breaking love letter to the sport as well as to those who perished in the crash. I highly recommend it whether or not you are a skating fan.”
—Jennifer Woodlief, author of Ski to Die and A Wall of White
