My apologizes to the author for not getting to this book sooner.

As the author states, this book is for the die-hard skating enthusiast, which I am, for the most part. I found the biographical details of Barbara Ann Scott's parents a little too lengthy and irrelevant to the story of Barbara Ann Scott's career. Of course it was necessary to introduce her parents and explain what happened when her father died but the details of her mother's first marriage and father's career didn't interest me.

The writing style is of this book is moderately casual. It's easy to read and understand. At times the author inserts his own opinions and editorializes, such as when during Ms. Scott's professional career, she skated "ethnic" numbers which today would be considered racist and in poor taste. I think people can figure out on their own that it was a different time and they had different ideas about what was in poor taste. It doesn't make me think less of Ms. Scott anyone else from the past.

I didn't know much about Barbara Ann Scott before reading this biography. I had heard of her from Dick Button when he used to appear on TV regularly. They competed at the same time and were the only North Americans to win the European Championships, a competition that subsequently barred North Americans from competing! I also saw her in the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics on TV. Her work ethic was incredible and it paid off. It amazes me that people skated outdoors on natural ice and in terrible conditions! That's insane! Of course back then they didn't do 3 Axels and Quads. She won everything she could back in her day and went on to a successful professional career before marrying. She lived long enough to predict the current trends in figure skating after the elimination of school figures and I wholeheartedly concur: If the television audiences don't like it and don't understand it, then just don't televise it! (It's more complicated than that and to read Mr. Button's opinions on the subject, read his book titled Push Dick's Button). She was also a philanthropist and had a varied career in figure skating and with horses. Barbara Ann Scott was a national treasure in Canada and it's crazy to think she had creepy stalkers and strangers invading her apartment and her life just like that without any kind of security presence.

I would love to see an interactive e-book with links to the archives where one can view the actual sources and see videos of Barbara Ann Scott's skating. Young Canadian skaters coming up should probably read this and look at the videos! To date, Barbara Ann Scott remains the only Canadian singles skater to win an individual Olympic gold medal.

The photo section in the middle was nice. There are pictures of Barbara Ann Scott with a very young Dick Button early in his career.

I enjoyed reading this book and learning about Barbara Ann Scott.

This was a great biography even though it was on the shorter side. However, it never felt boring and if you're interested in figure skating this is a great book for you. Barbara Ann Scott was truly amazing and it was fun to read about her.

“Barbara Ann Scott: Queen of the Ice” is a non-fiction book by Ryan Stevens. This book is a biography of Canadian Olympic skater Barbara Ann Scott. Skating during the 1930s/1940s (Ms. Scott’s prime skating time) was very different from now. Then a lot more emphasis was on the fundamentals - compulsory figures were mandatory back then (removed around 2000) - and artistry (free skate really was a free skate). If you’ve watched a Sonia Henie movie, her skating was an example of skating of that time. Anyway, while Ms. Henie makes a few appearances in this book, there is no gossip, no scandal, and no rivalry. Ms. Scott seems like a perfectly nice, sweet woman who enjoyed skating and was willing to put in the time and effort it required to make skating a huge part of her life. I cannot say I learned a lot about skating per se in this book, but I did learn a lot more about Ms. Scott. Mr. Steven’s writing is to the point but enjoyable. This book included photos and was a fast few hour read for me. I recommend this book to those who want to learn more about Ms. Scott or more about ice skating in its early days.

I really enjoyed getting to read this, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed learning about Barbara Ann Scott. I was invested in what was going on and was hooked from the first page. It was a great biography and enjoyed reading this. Ryan Stevens does a great job in writing this and am excited for more.

I enjoyed this biography about Barbara Ann Scott. It was interesting to read both about her journey to the Olympics and her professional endeavors. I found it impressive how unaffected she seemed by her superstar status. It appears she truly lived up to her title of Canada's Sweetheart. I appreciated the many photographs that were included. It was fun to read about a bygone era of skating, and I liked getting Barbara Ann's opinion on some of the changes to her sport. I definitely recommend this to figure skating fans.

Thank you to the author and to NetGalley for the early read.

I received a free copy of, Barbara Ann Scott: Queen of the Ice, by Ryan Stevens, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Barbara Ann Scott is an inspiration for Canada, the first woman to win a medal at the winter Olympics. Barbara was a beautiful skater and women. I really enjoyed this book, and learning ore about her.

What a wonderful approach to a Canadian legend we rarely hear about nowadays. I loved reading about her early life and years of success competing and touring, which were well detailed.

I loved this book

I am a huge figure skating fan, but this book is aimed at every audience.

My love for the sport developed with the Battle of the Brians, so in 87-88 so i was focusted more on the, at the time, newcomers to the sports.

However, I always heard bits and pieces about Scott and finally, I got to actually read her story.

I cannot believe how much she did for the sport.

Her life is so cool and the author did a wonderful job os telling us her story without a bunch of boring statistics.