ICEBREAKER

Tonya Harding is not the only figure skater born on the worng side of the tracks—and others, like Rudy Galindo, have achieved respect along with their success. Galindo—a gay Mexican-American who grew up in a trailer park—pulled off a stunning coup in 1996, winning the men's title at the US National Figure Skating Championships; he followed that with the bronze medal at the world championships. It was a wonderful triumph for the 26-year-old Galindo, after a halting career punctuated by tragedy: the deaths of his father, coach, and brother. With the help of Eric Marcus (Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 19451990), Galindo writes in straightforward, unself-pitying prose of his anger when Kristi Yamaguchi ended their successful pairs partnership; his difficulties at home with a manic-depressive mother; and the question of whether the US Figure Skating Association held him back because of his homosexuality. His story is more edifying than Ekaterina Gordeeva's—but can he join her on the bestseller list?