ICEBREAKER

Icebreaker is available in three editions. The original hardcover, published in the spring of 1997 is still in print. The paperback version of Icebreaker, published in 1998, is also available. It includes a ten page postscript, dated December 1, 1997, in which Rudy talks about his life as a touring professional and updates personal and family events. Amazon.com also lists a 1999 hardcover (library binding) reprint of the 1998 edition, although it appears to be on backorder.

Those who came to know and enjoy Rudy as a competitor and performer after '96 will find Icebreaker a compelling read. Others who became familiar with him in 2000 after his  announcement that he is living with HIV will also be moved by his life story. (The E! True Hollywood Story biography of Rudy, first aired in 1998, is often repeated and dramatizes much of the information included in the book.) The list price ranges from $18+ for the hardcover to a discounted price of $11.20 from some sources for the paperback. The Spanish version of Rudy's book, Icebreaker: La Autobiografia De Rudy Galindo, is also available in paperback.

Thousands of public, school, and college and university libraries across the United States have one or more versions of Icebreaker.
 

See Patricia Holt's review of the hard copy version of Icebreaker, "Breaking the Ice Barriers--Skater Rudy Galindo Tells of His Struggles."San Francisco Chronicle, March 18, 1997, p.B1

See also a review from Gay Today at Badpuppy

And an update of Jesse Monteagudo's review (above) in IGLR, International Gay and Lesbian Review

See Book Party for Rudy Galindo, report by Lorrie Kim

See Sandra Loosemore's review of Icebreaker
 

From Kirkus Reviews , 03/15/97:
Tonya Harding is not the only figure skater born on the wrong side of the tracks--and others, like Rudy Galindo, have achieved respect along with their success. Galindo--a gay Mexican-American who grew up in a trailer park--pulled off a stunning coup in 1996, winning the men's title at the US National Figure Skating Championships; he followed that with the bronze medal at the world championships. It was a wonderful triumph for the 26-year-old Galindo, after a halting career punctuated by tragedy: the deaths of his father, coach, and brother. With the help of Eric Marcus (Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 19451990), Galindo writes in straightforward, unself-pitying prose of his anger when Kristi Yamaguchi ended their successful pairs partnership; his difficulties at home with a manic-depressive mother; and the question of whether the US Figure Skating Association held him back because of his homosexuality. His story is more edifying than Ekaterina Gordeeva's--but can he join her on the bestseller list? -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the hardcover edition of this title.