P3: Pipes, Parks, and Powder - Tapa dura

Richards is a world-class snowboarder, one of the sport's superstars, an Olympic contender, inspiration for a video game, and subject of numerous magazine articles. This is his autobiography, written (with coauthor Blehm) for readers familiar with the sport and its lingo (the uninitiated might find the whole thing a little perplexing). It's the story of a young man who comes to a sport in its infancy, who grows up as the sport is catapulted onto the world stage, and who, in fact, helps turn it from a pastime into a sport. If it were just about Richards, the book would seem drastically thin and rather self-absorbed. But, because it also chronicles the growth of snowboarding from skiing alternative to Olympic event, it has value for those interested in the history of winter sports. Ignore the book's oft-tedious then-I-did structure and concentrate on the bigger story of how a new sport graduates to the mainstream. A niche book, certainly, but just the thing for snowboarding fans. David Pitt
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