REVIEW for The Great Eight

I received this book from the Thomas Nelson Website.

TITLE: The Great Eight

AUTHOR: Scott Hamilton

GENRE: Christian/Biography

RATING: 3 Stars

I have been a fan of figure skating for a long time. I have actually met Scott Hamilton on a few occasions - in passing. I have to admit that the times I have seen it, Hamilton did not strike me as being a lonely searching person. He always seemed very outgoing and he especially seemed to have the world in the palm of his hand - especially since he was always, always surrounded by people telling him how wonderful he was.

So, it was with great surprise and a tad bit of skepticism that I discovered, while reading The Great Eight, that for the most part, this image that he portrayed was a front. Hamilton tells us in his book that he was searching for something for most of his life - and that when he finally found his faith and his wife - his life became more complete. Using parallels between his skating career and his faith - Hamilton goes on to describe specific events in which he managed to grow - despite the pain. Actually, this is pretty much the theme of this book - hope.

While I liked the book, I kept asking myself if it was just a little too much. Yes, I liked the "can do" attitude that basically describes Scott Hamilton! I also like that he is tough and although some of the events in his life could have brought him to his feet, he chose to fight another day. However, I thought the book was also a tad preachy at times. He also made his wife sound like a saint - which removed from the book for me. He tends to put some people high on a pedastal (such as his wife) and this makes parts of the book sound unrealistic to me.

Still, it was interesting to read up on some of Scott's skating career and I do wish him health and joy.