The Crazy Canucks : Canada's Legendary Ski Team

No one in Europe had ever seen anything like it: a handful of young Canadian men fearlessly hurling themselves down the iciest, steepest courses of the ski racing circuit.

At first they were regarded as a bit of a joke as they travelled in a rusty old Volkswagen and showed little regard for the niceties of European alpine traditions.

In the early 1970s no non-European had ever won a Men's World Cup downhill and nobody expected this to change.

Then in 1975 Canadian Ken Read won at Val d'Isere and the Canadian boys began appearing on World Cup podiums with increasing regularity.

It didn't take long for journalists to start calling them the "Kamikaze Canadians", but the name that stuck was the "Crazy Canucks". The courage and high spirits of the young Canadian racers -- Jim Hunter, David Murray, Dave Irwin, Ken Read and Steve Podborski -- made them favourites across Europe, where Swiss or Austrian or French fans would rather see Canadians win than their old archrivals. In "The Crazy Canucks", Janet Love Morrison chronicles the grit and perseverance of the young skiers who believed they had the right stuff to win and keep winning. Her careful research and interviews with all the key players paint a detailed picture of the Crazy Canucks.

As Canadians approach the 2010 Olympics with high hopes for their ski teams, the book provides a timely look at a most distinguished -- and colourful -- chapter in our nation's sporting history.