Rollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track
by Melissa Joulwan
List Price:
Our Price: $3.99
You Save: $15.00 (79%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.11 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Melissa JoulwanEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-02-06
ISBN: 0743297156
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Touchstone
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780743297158
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Rollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track
Book Review: A Review by Phil Arnold...
Summary: 5 Stars
Imagine living a fairly quiet life, having come out of the "dog eat dog" corporate world and moved to laid-back Austin, Texas. A real, enjoyable change has taken place in your life. However, one day you go and see a flat track roller derby match, and you are hooked so much by what you have seen, you decide to try out for roller derby.
This is just the beginning of a personal journey by author Melissa Joulwan, aka: Melicious, who describes in her book Rollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track an amazing adventure that brought an admitted nerd into team sports.
Readers find out that Melicious in fact worked very hard to get as good as she could, and loved skating with her teammates, although after her first regular season, felt there was nothing really satisfying about the team sport aspect of this new activity. That situation would change, and so readers share in that pursuit that saw the formation of skater-owned and operated flat track roller derby, and eventually the formation of well over 150 roller derby leagues throughout the world.
I found this book to be difficult to put down, although Ms. Joulwan's descriptions are so vivid at times I had to slow down and savor her writing. For a roller derby fan like me, it was a thrill to find out how the revival of roller derby in this decade came about. It was fascinating to hear stories like how her first pair of roller derby skates used for tryouts were just the wrong color (white) and so her husband Dave drew an anarchy symbol on them in magic marker to make them derby acceptable.
It is the first of many wonderful stories in this book. Highlights include the story of how a major injury in an uninsured venue, drove a split in the organization she was skating in, and eventually led to a skater-run league that would be the pattern for most emerging roller derby leagues in the next four years. It is also satisfying to read about her many friends and co-league skaters, all of whom seem to have very unique backgrounds that came together in this passionate love of an emerging sport.
And for Melicious, after four years of skating, and being a fan at the first National Flat Track Championship in Tucson, Arizona, a real transformation had taken place. The former nerd and sometimes roller skater had become a teammate, and a sports participant. She had gone from an empty feeling on team sports early in her derby experience, to understanding the artistry and strategy in other team sports.
This book is a must read for fans of roller derby, but I also think it is an excellent read for sports fans in general. As a sports fan, and a former player and coach in sports, this book reminded me of the unique qualities of team sports. Winning games and derby bouts may be nice, but the discipline of sports and the friends who support the effort are invaluable. These teammates and friends are truly treasures of life and I think Ms. Joulwan has done an excellent job of communicating this in Rollergirl: True Tales from the Track.
Summary of Rollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track
The 1950s phenomenon of Roller Derby is back in full force, and it's definitely not your grandma's game anymore. With leagues in more than one hundred cities across the country, a national tournament, and major sponsors, the new wave of the sport has gone mainstream. No one is better qualified to tell the story of Flat Track Derby's astronomic rise than Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan. As a founding member of the Texas Rollergirls -- the league that launched the sport and the reigning national champions -- she has helped redefine what it means to be stylish, sporty, and sexy.With her mouthy, tough-as-nails style, Melicious recounts her best tales from the track: her fierce rivalries with The Wrench and Ivanna S. Pankin, the scene at the annual national tournament, the thrill of a bout, and the infractions that so often bring her to the penalty box. From the minute she first laced up her skates and wrapped herself in her alter ego, Roller Derby has given her a confidence boost, and she shares the positive impact the sport has also had on girls -- young and not-so-young -- who tack posters of her on their bedroom walls and lace up their own skates.
Complete with photos and suggestions on how to develop a Rollergirl name and persona, this unprecedented tell-all comes from the woman who's watched the sport evolve from an underground Friday-night event to a bona fide national phenomenon.
Memoirs Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Memoirs Books
Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Centuryby Hunter S. Thompson
Penguin Books, Limited (UK); Published: 2008-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.11
Price in other shops:
Never Have Your Dog Stuffedby Alan Alda
Arrow Books; Published: 2007-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.59
Price in other shops:
The Hunger: A Story of Food, Desire, and Ambitionby John DeLucie, Graydon Carter
Ecco; Published: 2009-05-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.77
Price in other shops:
Brotherhood of Warriors: Behind Enemy Lines with a Commando in One of the World's Most Elite Counterterrorism Unitsby Aaron Cohen, Douglas Century
Ecco; Published: 2008-04-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.72
Price in other shops:
Not Lost Forever: My Story of Survivalby Carmina Salcido, Steve Jackson
William Morrow; Published: 2009-10-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Unlocked: The Life and Crimes of a Mafia Insiderby Louis Ferrante
Harper Perennial; Published: 2009-02-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.97
Price in other shops:
Writing Places: The Life Journey of a Writer and Teacherby William Zinsser
Harper; Published: 2009-05-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.08
Price in other shops:
Got the Life: My Journey of Addiction, Faith, Recovery, and Kornby Fieldy
William Morrow; Published: 2009-03-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.98
Price in other shops:
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.)by Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp
Harper Perennial; Published: 2008-04-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.10
Price in other shops:
The Ride of My Lifeby Mat Hoffman
It Books; Published: 2003-09-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.95
Similar Books and other products
Going in Circlesby Pamela Ribon
Downtown Press; Published: 2010-04-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
Knockdown Knits: 30 Projects from the Roller Derby Trackby Toni Carr
Wiley; Published: 2008-08-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops:
Hell On WheelsRelease date: 2009-02-24; DVD
Best price: $24.95
Whip ItFOX; Release date: 2010-01-26; DVD
Best price: $7.23
Price in other shops:
Whip Itby Shauna Cross
Square Fish; Published: 2009-09-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops:
Kansas City BomberWELCH,RAQUEL; Release date: 2005-05-31; DVD
Best price: $7.73
Price in other shops:
Going in Circlesby Pamela Ribon
Downtown Press; Published: 2010-04-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.12
Price in other shops:
Brutal Beauty: Tales Of The Rose City RollersMVD; Release date: 2011-02-22; DVD
Best price: $5.46
Price in other shops:
Blood on the Flat TrackRelease date: 2010-02-23; DVD
Best price: $13.52
Price in other shops:
Down and Derby: The Insider's Guide to Roller Derbyby Alex Cohen, Jennifer Barbee
Soft Skull Press; Published: 2010-07-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.25
Price in other shops: