Winner of the 2009 One Book, One Vancouver: The Host City Reads

"Janet Love Morrison has written about an important part of our sporting history . . . For a younger generation, this is like discovering the people who laid the first tracks in fresh powder--the boys of winter who inspired so many who followed."
--Peter Mansbridge, foreword

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'Isère 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 Crazy Canucks provides a timely look at a most distinguished--and colourful--chapter in our nation's sporting history.

Janet Love Morrison travelled extensively across Canada, Europe and South America to research this book. She interviewed over seventy people: competitors such as Franz Klammer, coaches, family members, journalists, trainers and many others. In 1997 she worked with Summerhill Productions on the CBC's Life and Times: These Crazy Canucks. Love Morrison lives in North Vancouver, BC.

Janet Love Morrison's profile page

The Crazy Canucks: Canada’s Legendary Ski Team

The Crazy Canucks recounts the story of the glitzy ski racers Steve Podborski, David Murray, Ken Read, Dave Irwin and Jim Hunter, who excited the skiing world in the 1970s. Compensating for a shortage of resources with courage and daring, the group forced their way into the world of downhill skiing with a crowd pleasing combination of skill, determination and high spirits. Carefully researched and drawing on interviews with all the significant participants, The Crazy Canucks is a generously illustrated and detailed study of the characters and the legend they created. As Steve Podborski, North America’s most successful and most decorated ski racer, said about the Crazy Canucks phenomenon: “The lines blur between culture and sports, and this can’t help but benefit both”.

The Crazy Canucks is the adult selection for The Host City Reads program, 2009.