skategoat Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 I bought Chris Klug's book mainly because my mother was the recipient of a liver transplant in 2000 (same year as Klug). It was an incredible, harrowing, roller-coaster experience for her and our whole family. So naturally, I was interested in reading about Klug's tale. I really didn't expect much of the book. It took me weeks to even open it but when I did, I could not put it down. I finished it in three nights which is pretty close to a record for me. "To the Edge and Back: My Story from Organ Transplant Survivor to Olympic Snowboarder" is really two books in one. First, it's an inspirational story about a medical miracle. Klug's resilience in the face of physical challenges is amazing to me. I know what my mother went through with the liver. Like Klug says in the book, the surgeon basically "splits you open like a trout". He pulls out half your guts and lays it on your lap. Then he cuts out the old liver and sews in the new one before sewing you together with about 1000 stitches. Afterwards, you're black and blue, you have tubes sewn into your body and your abdomen looks like a baseball. I can't believe Klug was walking the day after surgery. Second, the book is a walk through the history of snowboarding. The stories about the early pro tours and World Cup are very entertaining. It's great to read about the early days for all those names I read about on Bomber - Brushie, Jealouse, JJ Anderson, Kelly, Thorndike, Fawcett. That Anton Pogue sounds like a fun (and dangerous) guy. Klug doesn't duck controversy either. He expresses his opinions on the ISF/FIS wars, Rebagliati's "Weed-gate" and the demise of racing in favour of freestyle. If you're a recent convert to alpine snowboarding, this book is a must-read. For those of you who know Chris or follow his career, a couple of questions - is he still sponsored by Burton? Is he still riding Burton gear? If so, is it old stuff or the Burton gear they sell in Japan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted January 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 P.S. To Canadian readers: I was able to get the book in 3 days from Indigo/Chapters Online. Amazon.ca was quoting several weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 I've been reading it on and off for about 2 weeks, at this point I'm almost done. His description of Ross-tafari Rebaglati had me in tears from laughing so hard. There are a number times I went from laughing tears to tearing up from the emotion...that poor guy went through hell for both for his love of snowboarding and for his life... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil sunday Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 Skategoat, I agree with your positive response to Klug's book. Having raced for 16 years, it was like a "timeline" of what has transipired for our sport. Klug still rides and works closley with Burton products. Check out his website at: www.klugriding.com for more info on that. You can also order his book directly from the site. The book has become required reading for the kids on my snowboard team this season, as I feel they can learn from an olympians perspective of what is really important in life, and that there are other things out there than just snowboarding. Klug's dedication to physical training is a positive motivator for all of my athletes (and myself) as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 I had no idea he was from Bend! its definitely cool to see this sort of thing. reminds us of how powerful we really can be. was fun watchin the Jeep races yesterday too...Jasey Jay is a blast to watch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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