Landing It: My Life on and Off the Ice

by Scott Hamilton, Lorenzo Benet

The Olympic champion skater recalls his life, from a childhood spent fighting a disease that stunted his growth to eventual triumph in the 1984 Olympics and the later revelation that he had contracted testicular cancer. Reprint.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Figure Skating, Biography, Autobiography, Biography Memoir, Memoir

480 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

The most recognized male figure skating star in the world, Scott Hamilton has won 70 titles, awards and honors including an Emmy Award nomination, induction into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame and a privileged member of the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

In 1984, Scott captured the attention of the world with his Olympic Gold medal performances in Sarajevo and since has shared his love and enthusiasm for the sport as a analyst/commentator, performer, producer and best-selling author (Landing It, 1999; The Great Eight, 2009). He further inspires others as a speaker, humanitarian, and as a cancer and pituitary brain tumor survivor.

After losing his mother to cancer, then becoming survivor himself, Scott turned activist, launching the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation (Cancer Alliance for Research, Education and Survivorship). He founded several education and survivorship programs including Chemocare.com and the 4th Angel Mentoring Program. Events such as Sk8 to Elimin8 Cancer and An Evening with Scott Hamilton & Friends galas fund research into treatments that treat the cancer and spare the patient.

He is also the founder of the Scott Hamilton Skating Academy at Ford Ice Center in Antioch, TN, where he may frequently be found coaching Learn to Skate students and sharing his love of skating.

In what little free time remains, Scott can be found on the golf course and enjoys spending time with his wife Tracie and four children – at their home outside Nashville, Tennessee.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scott Hamilton and I were born in the same town in the same decade. We learned to skate on the same ice and both of us dreamed of Olympic gold. He started his lessons when his age was a single digit. I started mine when I became single again.
I have been in love with ice skating since Peggy Fleming won the gold in Grenoble. Having Scott Hamilton in the Olympics brought the northwest corner of Ohio rooting for the hometown boy.
It was interesting to see behind the scenes in the ice skating with many familiar skaters.
Hamilton comes across as a considerate, self-reflective, caring person. His recollection of the death of Sergei Grinkov is so poignant brought tears to my eyes.
Despite that loss and those of both of his parents and others and his own bouts with cancer, Hamilton manages to keep positive.






The book has two errors that only someone native to the Toledo area would notice that I was tickled to note.
This book was written in '99 before he was married and had children. It would be nice to hear about his life in the last 15 years.

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super detailed bio covering his competitive and professional careers and personal life, until 1999. Probably most interesting to people who were watching skating in the 1980s (I was) and know who the big stars were and/or who skated themselves (I did) and are familiar with the technical side of skating. I have read a lot of bios of 70s/80s/90s skaters and I think this is the best so far. A lot of that is due to Scott's extroverted personality which really comes through. I kind of wish he'd write another bio covering the last 20 years (why not? Torvill and Dean have had several).

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. Scott Hamilton is one of the most inspirational skaters ever and not only is a tremendous athlete but has also pushed the sport of figure skating into something better than it was. Watching his career both amateur and professional was never anything but a pleasure. His personality and persistence of surviving whatever life throws at him is shared in great detail in this book. This book is a must read for skaters.

[Marguerite Nico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scott Hamilton is one of my favorite skaters. This book was well presented. It wasn't a "pat yourself on the back" book, as many biographies can be. Instead, he presented himself as a real human being, with many issues. I learned a lot by reading this book. I had absolutely no idea that Scott had lost his mother to cancer or even that he was extremely ill as a young child.

[Kait · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been watching him skate all my life so getting to read about his extraordinary life and accomplishments was a treat for me. P.S. I've met him and I made an utter fool of myself when I did but he was incredibly gracious and it's definitely a highlight of my life.

[Michelle Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Scott Hamilton and thoroughly enjoyed this book. Since I follow figure skating I enjoyed getting a glimpse of some of the behind the scene goings on and of course his take on many issues within the skating world such as the notorious judging, drama with competitors and his opinion with Harding-Kerrigan scandal. I've always enjoyed watching the Russian team compete and it was interesting to learn more about them especially during the Soviet era and of course Scott's personal sadness over the loss of his good friend Sergei Grinkov. Highly recommend this book!

[Dana Tuss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dated, and I’ve just recently read a later book of his, but still couldn’t put it down. He’s such a fascinating guy — and honest. So many moments brought tears to my eyes.

[Victoria Sigsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who decided to take up figure skating at 14 just to learn another skill and understand how to do it, it changed my life and I have been doing it, watching it and reading about it ever since.
Scott Hamilton was a U S Olympic Gold medallist in the 80's and this book covers his life before, including the Olympics and up to 1999.
He was born weighing only 5 pounds and seven ounces and I was born weighing 5 pounds 3 ounces and we have both remained small since so I understand about these challenges. He talks about how his childhood was beset with a mysterious illness and also stunted growth, for which they have never found an answer for either and how he went through so much because of this. In some ways this prepared him for adversity later when he dealt with cancer and determined to beat it. He also goes into detail about how his mother died from cancer also.
This book covers the competitions he did and he writes about the former marking system and about how you wait your turn to win but how he worked hard to beat this. It also covers his professional skating career doing shows.
There are many other skaters who are mentioned and if you know about skating they will be familiar to you. Interestingly he writes about 1 skater and how they are with him and having read the book written by that person, they obviously see themselves and their career differently which show another insight into skating life. However there is mention of a certain coach and they both say similar things so now, I feel that this aspect of this person must be the accurate one.
He also talks about being there when Sergei Grinkov collapsed and died during a tour and how he feels he will never get over it. He also pays tribute to Rob McCall and Brian Pockar who died from aids related illnesses.
In his epilogue he gives good advice to novice skaters.
He also talks very honestly about himself and how certain ways of thinking challenged him and enabled him to think differently about certain things. He also talks about how he liked to enjoy the high life but that is often how young men behave anyway and for those saying it demonstrates him being privileged and spoiled I don't see how this can be the case considering how his life started. However I will leave out the other details concerning this so the reader can make up their own mind.
I gave this book 5 stars as I found it really interesting especially reading about a skating life which I myself will never experience.
He talks about the charity he founded. As this book finishes in 1999, many people want there to be a second volume to learn about his life now and how the charity is developing and I have to say so do I.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was well-written, and I appreciated its honesty. It's open about Scott's life and personality. He wasn't a perfect person. He shows us the lack of discipline he had throughout the first half of his skating career, his party-person lifestyle, and some social faux pas he had. What I really appreciated and connected with was how candid he was about his physical health issues. I've had my own health adventures involving mysterious symptoms and had what felt like every test under the sun...and then trying to figure out how exactly to treat them. So reading how Scott went through that himself, and about his cancer journey as an adult, was very helpful for me. He is open about the messiness of medical issues - they involve intimate procedures, they're scary and exhausting, and the treatments and testing are far from glamorous. Knowing that an Olympic gold medalist and sports celebrity figure like Scott Hamilton went through that himself has been so helpful and reassuring for me in my own recovery journey. He didn't have to share those details, but he did, and he survived them, which shows me I can get through my hurdles too. That has been very valuable to me.

I also enjoyed the inside look at figure skating. I don't skate, but I'm a big fan. I learned more about skating technique from this book and have an even greater appreciation for what figure skaters do. I also learned about the politics of it, and what it takes to get to the elite skating level. I didn't know anything about professional skating, so reading about Stars on Ice also interested me. It was also cool to learn a little about some other skaters who were prominent during Scott's time.

Overall, I think this book is a good balance of personal life and an inside look at figure skating. The pacing is good for an autobiography, and it's told in a personal voice. Scott's personality shines through, and even though I'm the complete opposite of him, I felt like I could connect with his experience. I've re-read this book and recommend it.

[S.J. Tyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Landing It" is the autobiography of American figure skater Scott Hamilton. The book covers his personal and professional life from his childhood through adulthood. Published in 1999, the information is not completely up to date (since the book was published he has moved more fully into his post-skating career, as well as dealt with a recurrence of his cancer). Regardless, if you are a fan of Scott Hamilton, or of figure skating in general, this book is an interesting read. He is honest and forthcoming regarding himself and others, discussing aspects of his life that were surprisingly different from his public persona. He was not perfect in all his actions and choices, and he openly says so. It would be nice to have a sequel to this book, or at least a revised version updated to include the last 18 years since this was originally published.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it but it was also pretty niche. Lots of great stories and impressions about tonya harding (v harsh too her - ‘the act was getting old - once in a lifetime events for other skaters happened for her over and over again - but i gave her the benefit of the doubt’), nancy, kristi (elegance and technical competence), midori ito (and relentless pressure causing her to crumple), oksana baiul’s artistry and iconic swan program, brian orser, sergei, and part of the universal admiration for brian boitano. Discussed training, winning, skating in shows, being a commentator, suffering through cancer. A big life. Eye opening what the first prize was for winning a pro competition - 200k (400k in 2021), which at the time was enough to buy ‘a condo and a porsche.’ (Meanwhile 1st place for gpf right now is 18k).

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book group selection, and as a figure skating fan, I looked forward to reading it. I remember watching Scott Hamilton as a kid, along with all the other figure skaters he mentions in the book. The beginning of the book was really interesting to me as he started talking about his cancer, but he quickly jumped back in time, telling all about how he got started with skating. It was interesting at first, but the book felt very repetitive after a while. I skimmed most of the book after that, because I just found it too wordy and I just lost interest in reading about all the details of each competition and practice session. The ending became more interesting to me again as he finished telling the story of his cancer diagnosis and treatment.

[Alissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

he comes across as a spoiled, privileged child and entitled, white, male, adult. also, his publishers couldn’t have put together a more “safe”, ultimately boring interpretation of scott’s life.

[Laura Duffield Biegger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Might have been helpful to know the skating terms used! But, the story as a whole, was delightful. Humorous, sad, uplifting look at Scott's life as a skater and as part of his family.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

#94 of 120 books pledged to read during 2019

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful detailed transparent view of Scott’s life & career. Thanks, Scott.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Landing It: My Life On and Off the Ice is a decent read if you're already somewhat familiar with Scott Hamilton's career or if you've been watching the Olympics for a few decades (as I have), otherwise I think readers might find this a rather dry tale. Lots of dates, names, places of competitions. Lots of ice skating terms. It often reads like Scott Hamilton's calendar rather than his story.

Scott Hamilton, who in his skating routines and as a sports commentator. seemed likeable and "nice", the all-American boy who made good, but comes across in his autobiography as a bit spoiled and one-dimensional. His entire life is skating. All his thoughts, hopes, and dreams revolve around skating. He admits this himself, and that's fine. It just doesn't make for riveting reading. Worth a look if you're a fan. Not sure I'll ever read it again though.

[Martina Frammartino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quando ho iniziato a guardare pattinaggio su ghiaccio Scott Hamilton era già un mito. Sapevo che Hamilton era basso, che era stato adottato, che da bambino era stato malato e che aveva iniziato a pattinare come terapia. Saperlo, come semplice informazione data da un cronista, non lo fa capire davvero come invece avviene con questo libro. Il fatto di essere stato adottato per lui non è mai stato un problema, l’altezza e la salute sì. I medici hanno fatto chissà quante ipotesi, dal nanismo alla fibrosi cistica, gli hanno pure pronosticato solo una manciata di mesi di vita, quando andava alle scuole elementari, tanto appariva piccolo e debole. Poi per caso è andato a pattinare e le cose sono cambiate. Nessuno, ancora adesso, sa cosa avesse, quel che è certo che lo scoprirsi capace di pattinare meglio di tanti bulletti che lo tormentavano perché erano più grossi di lui gli ha dato fiducia, e insieme alla fiducia la salute è gradualmente tornata. Intanto lui ha iniziato a migliorare come pattinatore, anche se per arrivare a buoni livelli gli è servito il suo tempo, e ha dovuto affrontare difficoltà quali problemi economici – come tanti altri pattinatori – che lo hanno quasi costretto al ritiro e la malattia e successiva morte della madre a causa di un tumore.
E poi ci sono le gare, le difficoltà, i dubbi, il passaggio al professionismo e la necessità di inventarsi una nuova carriera, la nascita di Stars On Ice, la morte improvvisa di Sergei Grinkov e la sua stessa lotta, vittoriosa, contro un tumore. Una bella storia da parte di un uomo che ha sempre inseguito i suoi sogni e che non ha mai smesso di lottare.
Il testo completo: http://sportlandiamartina.wordpress.c...…

[fiona · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've decided to not finish this book. Preliminarily, I think I would give this 2 stars,
date: 2022

I read the chapters I was particularly interested in (Sergei, 88, 92, 94).

I am interested in FS after the 84 Olympics, and I am more interested in dance and pairs of that time. Much of Scott's rise to prominence was boring to me, and perhaps I would pick it up again when intrigue of that generation arises. He really was an integral part of 80-90s FS and has meaningful insight.
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I have read chapters 1-4.5, 15-20 which are the first few chapters of Scott's personal life and skating career prior to his mother's death as well as the coverage of 1988. 1992, and 1994 Olympics and Sergei's death. I am not finishing the book though because I am simply not that interested in the era when he was gaining prominence and success in his skating career. Maybe as I learn more about skaters of that generation (particularly male single skaters), I may pick up the book again. It is fair to say that he was a major proponent of why skating was so enjoyable and celebrated in the 80s-90s. But knowing how he is by hearing his commentary, you can tell he is majorly patriotic and definitely has his own biases which perhaps have skewed how people view certain skaters of that era. In that way, I think it was unfair and the book doesn't really help my prejudice.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Autobiography of Scott Hamilton's life up through 1999. It chronicles him learning to skate, his mother's death, his skating benefactors who helped him keep skating when his parents couldn't afford it, his time in competition (amateur and pro), some of his romances (notably Kitty Carruthers and Karen Plage), and his diagnosis with testicular cancer and subsequent return to skating.

It's interesting to me because he talks of the people I grew up watching skate -- Tai and Randy Babilonia, Robin Cousins, Kurt Browning, Brian Orser, Brian Boitano, Rosalyn Summers, Kristy Yamaguchi, etc.

Scott is overwhelmingly positive in the book, although he's very willing to point out when he screwed up by not working hard enough or having a bad attitude or by not having enough confidence.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the first half of the book more interesting than the second half. I well remember Scott's competitions as he was coming up in the Worlds and the Olympics. He was fun to watch grow both athletically and physically. I knew about his health problems, as well. This book filled in a lot of background information about his life, both before and after the Olympics, and he gives us a lot of information about how skating competitions were then and are now structured. He also gives us information on many of the other skating stars, their particular skating talents, and how they matured before and after the Olympics. A worthy read.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in Hamilton's trademark humor and style, the book follows his long journey as a sickly kid growing up in Bowling Green, OH to becoming one of the most celebrated male skaters in the world, and his struggles with cancer in his late 30s.

Sorry Scott, had to dock you a star for freaking me out reading about your experiences in Lake Placid while I was in Lake Placid competing at Adult Nationals. I blame myself for reading the chapter of your freeskate the very day I was scheduled to compete MY freeskate on the '80 rink.

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I confess, I only read the beginning and the end of this book. I already had a pretty good idea of what happened in the middle, and I have so many books in my queue that I just decided I would limit my reading to what I was really interested in-and that was the adversity Scott faced early in his life and when he was diagnosed with cancer. He is a likable person, partly because of the courageous way he has dealt with adversity, but I think it would take a true skating fan to plug through the whole book.

[Tristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been an avid figure skating fan my whole life, so it was fun to learn more about Scott Hamilton and hear some of the behind-the-scenes stories. I think what I liked the most was the fact that Scott told his story simply, without making himself out to be the hero in every situation but admitting his fallibility, which of course made me like him even more. This book was enjoyable and will definitely be a must-read for skating fans.

[Surreysmum · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good read: personal, anecdotal, and well balanced over the course of Hamilton's lengthy career, without undue emphasis either on the competitive end or the health problems which bracketed his career, although both are addressed. I enjoyed his accounts of tour life, and his appreciative comments about his colleagues.

[Faithann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scott Hamilton is an amazing skater with an amazing story behind it all. Reading about the things he has gone through, and how he handled them, is a true inspiration. Although some parts of the book seem to drag, his thoughts do seem to be a little scattered at points, reading this book has only made me like and admire him as a person and not just a skater.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great story about an athlete I greatly admire. Scott tells his story of overcoming obstacles and his career in figure skating. Being a huge figure skating fan, I loved hearing the inside stories of the olympic, World and National competions as well as his relationships with the other skaters. The way he handled his health crisis is truly inspirational.

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting to read about the details of the sport, as this was written pre-2002 when the change was made in the marking system following the scandal at the Salt Lake City Olympics. I didn't become a serious skating fan until after the new marking system was implemented, so I didn't know a lot about the sport under the old system.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. Liked hearing some of the background stories and was impressed how long some of these skaters have known each other.

But there was alot of technical stuff that I just skipped over because I had no idea of what he was talking about. :)

Chances are I'll read it again down the road. Gotta naw on it for awhile.

[Becky Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing with my theme of reading as comfort food, you'd have to be an ice skating fan to enjoy this book. It was fun to read about competitive figure skating in the 70's and 80's, but I was little amused and a bit dismayed to read about all the different people Hamilton has had issues with over the years. I guess the cast of his touring company, Stars On Ice, are the only ones left standing.