A roller derby retrospective lacks the anecdotal material that might have brought a colorful sport to life.
A former roller derby skater traces the sport’s roller-coaster ride.
These days, roller derby barely registers on the American sports landscape. But during its heyday in the 1960s and early 1970s, it was a major draw, supporting two leagues, sometimes drawing crowds as large as the those of the National Basketball Association, and even inspiring Kansas City Bomber, a movie starring Raquel Welch. Roller derby was “a unique combination of sport and entertainment,” Stephens recalls in a history of the sport that captures some of its color without making it sing. The book focuses on the Roller Games league, which was launched in 1962, and its flagship team, the Los Angeles Thunderbirds, for which Stephens himself played. Sports fans will appreciate the roller-coaster arc of the narrative as Roller Games initially thrived by “[taking] showmanship to new levels,” offering everything from a dwarf mascot named Little Angie to “intricate storylines” that skaters were expected to perform. The league had prime-time TV exposure and sold-out arenas, with the T-Birds being particularly popular among minorities, including the gay community, who, Stephens argues, identified with the “morality play” elements of the contests. “Fans were often so emotionally attached to what was occurring on the track, some had to be restrained from instigating violence upon unsuspecting visiting skaters,” he writes. Then, by the mid-1970s, came the downward slide, fueled by overexpansion, “cheesy theatrics,” a diminished talent base, and the loss of its TV syndication deal. “There is a delicate balance in this business of sport vs. show,” and Roller Games was “guilty of getting carried away with [the showmanship] aspect of the game,” the author concludes. The book features such unusual characters as Roller Games co-owner Bill Griffiths, a “crafty former television pitchman,” and star skaters Ronnie “Psycho” Rains, Ralph Valladares, and Shirley Hardman. Stephens gives too much space to eye-glazing recitations of team rosters and game schedules while neglecting anecdotal or “behind-the-scenes” material that distinguishes the best sports books. But he puts roller derby in its rightful place as a template for other sports, ranging from wrestling to football, that have made showmanship a core component of their appeal.
A roller derby retrospective lacks the anecdotal material that might have brought a colorful sport to life.Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5320-8473-7
Page Count: 347
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorkerstaff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.
Words that made a nation.
Isaacson is known for expansive biographies of great thinkers (and Elon Musk), but here he pens a succinct, stimulating commentary on the Founding Fathers’ ode to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” His close reading of the Declaration of Independence’s second sentence, published to mark the 250th anniversary of the document’s adoption, doesn’t downplay its “moral contradiction.” Thomas Jefferson enslaved hundreds of people yet called slavery “a cruel war against human nature” in his first draft of the Declaration. All but 15 of the document’s 56 signers owned enslaved people. While the sentence in question asserted “all men are created equal” and possess “unalienable rights,” the Founders “consciously and intentionally” excluded women, Native Americans, and enslaved people. And yet the sentence is powerful, Isaacson writes, because it names a young nation’s “aspirations.” He mounts a solid defense of what ought to be shared goals, among them economic fairness, “moral compassion,” and a willingness to compromise. “Democracy depends on this,” he writes. Isaacson is excellent when explaining how Enlightenment intellectuals abroad influenced the founders. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Declaration’s “five-person drafting committee,” stayed in David Hume’s home for a month in the early 1770s, “discussing ideas of natural rights” with the Scottish philosopher. Also strong is Isaacson’s discussion of the “edits and tweaks” made to Jefferson’s draft. As recommended by Franklin and others, the changes were substantial, leaving Jefferson “distraught.” Franklin, who emerges as the book’s hero, helped establish municipal services, founded a library, and encouraged religious diversity—the kind of civic-mindedness that we could use more of today, Isaacson reminds us.
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781982181314
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
