The text varies in difficulty, largely due to the fact that there are several contributors, each with his own writing style. Brooke's portions of the book are well researched and written in fairly typical expository style, whereas the interview responses and letters from skateboard inventors and aficionados are far more casual in style and have simpler vocabulary. The beauty of the book is that it does not necessarily have to be read in its entirety or in proper sequence. Readers may choose their particular area of interest and not even bother with the "heavier" stuff. A word of caution: some of the vocabulary and illustrations (of company logos on stickers, boards and in cartoons) might be offensive to some readers, and so, for this reason, the book might not be suited to an elementary school library (although the kids themselves have been exposed to the language and off-colour slogans every time they've entered a skateboard shop). The book also provides sections on skateboarding legends of each decade, appendices of skate pros over the past 40 years, skateboard movies, competitions, memorable skateparks of North America, skate 'zines, a list of resources, an index and a table of contents. There are plenty of colour (and some black-and-white) photographs which expertly match the text. The layout is bright, contemporary (read "cool") and attractive.

Recommended.