Controlled Fall: Collected Ski Stories is perhaps the most curious compendium of ski tales ever assembled.
Author’s note
That all these stories are the product of one brief career in ski “journalism” is perhaps frightening. The pieces assembled here—some slightly used by prior appearances in the pages of SKI and Skiing Heritage, some sparkling new—are categorized under such headings as Why We Ski, Thoughts about Equipment, and The Greg Stump Songbook. The selections range in style from brief meditations to howling yarns and include 24 unpublished lyrics and 7 recipes of cloudy provenance.
If you were raised properly, you know better than to mention price, so any of you who were raised properly may skip the remainder of this paragraph. The rest of you—I note you’re all still here—please read on. Unless you find a way to steal it, Controlled Fall will run you a mere $2.99. I know for a fact that SKI magazine wants ten bucks for a subscription (who says Jackson does no research?), and it doesn’t include a single article by Jackson Hogen. When compared to Controlled Fall and its 73 pithy entries, unfettered by bleating ads, adorned by glorious full-color photography, well, we don’t want to rub it in, but I trust you see that the book is a MUCH BETTER VALUE than the magazine, any magazine, take your pick.
Now that we’ve decided that Controlled Fall is a great American way to spend $2.99, let’s see who else thinks so! Here are a few vividly imagined quotes from some of the famous people who could have or could one day in the near future read Controlled Fall:
“Jackson’s book puts the “self” in self-indulgence.” Jean-Paul Sartre
“Promise you’ll never tell anyone I booted off the lift.” Kim Jong Un
“After reading Jackson’s book I raced out and got a lobotomy and now my back feels so much better.” Greg Stump
“Who the hell is Jackson Hogen?” Warren Miller