Sick: A cultural history of snowboarding

Howe sets out to chronicle snowboarding from its early days on wooden and fiberglass toys to the multibillion dollar industry it is now. Additionally she aims to cast snowboarding and its characters in a specific sociopolitical framework. Its a tall order and she comes up a little short. The book does chronicle the history of the sport but feels much like a outsider looking in. I'm no pro but I've been sliding since the late 80's and this book wasn't written by and insider. It certainly tries to drop the 'cool' phrases to obtain wider appeal.