60 CENTURIES OF SKIING

by Charles M. Dudley '29. Stephen Daye Press, 1935.

The author is one of those ski fanatics "whose religion has its roots in the weather, whose Bible is written in snow, and whose icons are made of wax." His own enthusiasm for skiing, his belief that skiiing is especially conducive to good health, good will, and good sport, gives the book an 61an which is like a breath of cool air from the slopes of Moosilauke. This book is not merely a history of skiing, the origins of which go back at least six thousand years, but it is also an enthusiastic and intimate conversation with all those who know the thrill of making a successful Christiania, of competing in a slalom without hitting a flag, of leaping on wings of hickory anywhere from twenty-five to over three hundred feet, or of beginners whose blood quickens when they try a simple slope, and to all whose love for nature is satisfied as they speed down a hill between snow-laden fir trees underneath a clear blue sky. This is, so far as I know, the first comprehensive history of skiing ever written.

The book is divided into two parts. The first, "Down the Years," is comprised of six chapters which deal with prehistoric skiing (there are skis extant which are 25 centuries old) with various early and late techniques, with the history of competitions and records, with a sketch of early American skiing, in which the Dartmouth Outing Club played a prominent part, and with the ski in literature. Part two is a comprehensive history of skiing in sixteen different countries or continents from the United States, Norway, and Sweden to the far off countries of Australasia, Africa, and Japan.

In these 207 pages one learns, among other things, how skis are made. One reads of the deeds of our own skiers, Fred Harris, Jack and Dick Bowler, and John Carleton, of the first trip on skis from Hanover to Moosilauke and back, of the development of skiing throughout the world, of different techniques and systems and their sponsors, of one amazing jump made by Ulland in Planica, Czechoslovakia, of 338 feet, and of the progress of our own D.O.C. in recent years. One learns also of the methods used by various countries (Sweden's being the most appealing) of teaching and encouraging skiing among children.

The author is a skier of note who writes from personal knowledge of the thrills and difficulties of skiing; who has travelled through Europe and Scandinavia, Canada and the United States, and visited their most famous ski centers; and who knows also the literature on skiing. The book is a labour of love and will prove interesting and instructive to all who ski, or who ever expect to ski. The appearance of the book is timely, for there is probably more interest in skiing at this time than ever before in history.

The book has no literary pretensions and is written in a simple expository style. More careful editing and further revision would have helped.

The illustrations, printed on linen-weave paper, are superb and profuse, and in themselves are worth the price of the book.